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Multiple Copies of Printer under Other Devices

Anonymous
2014-06-24T15:29:57+00:00

I am using Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit on an HP Desktop with a wireless HP Printer.  I have found hundreds of copies of the printer in Device Manager (see below).  I have not been able to delete any of them, even when logged in as the Administrator.  Any ideas?  Thanks

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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Anonymous
2014-06-25T10:33:52+00:00

Hello RenWal,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community Forum.

I would appreciate if you can provide us the following information to help us understand the issue better.

  1. Have you made any recent changes (Hardware or Software) on your computer?
  2. Do you have the entries for the same printer or different printers in the Device Manager list?
  3. How are you trying to delete the printers?

You may try the steps mentioned below to remove the printer.

  1. Right-click on desktop, create a new shortcut with target as 'cmd.exe'.
  2. Right-click on the shortcut, "Run as Administrator"
  3. Run the printui tool: printui /s /t2
  4. Try deleting the printers. If that doesn't work...
  5. CLick Start > Run > Services.msc
  6. Locate the Print Spooler service, and right-click > Properties > stop service.
  7. Open My Computer and browse to C:\Windows\System32\spool\Printers (you will need to click "OK" to get access to the folder).
  8. DELETE the contents of that folder.
  9. Restart the Print Spooler service.
  10. Go back into the printui utillity (you might need to restart it using same method as above) and try removing printers again. This time it should work. If necessary, check the "Ports" tab and remove any TCP/IP ports that are associated with the old printer.

Last but not least, check other computers on your home network to see if any of those map to the old printer, and remove these mappings.

Hope this would help. If issue still persists post back with answers to the question, current status of your computer and result of the proposed suggestion, we will be happy to assist you.

Thank you.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-06-29T05:25:24+00:00

    Hello Ren,

    Thank you for the update on the issue.

    If after running MS Security Scanner issue is still persisting, I would suggest you to boot the computer in clean boot and check the status.

    Putting your system in Clean Boot state helps in identifying if any third party applications or startup items are causing the issue. You need to follow the steps from the article mentioned below to perform a Clean Boot.

    How to perform a clean boot in Windows

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135/en-us

    Note: Refer "How to reset the computer to start normally after clean boot troubleshooting" to reset the computer to start as normal after troubleshooting.

    Hope this would help. If issue still persists post back with current status of your computer and result of the proposed suggestion, we will be happy to assist you.

    Thank you.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-06-28T13:13:28+00:00

    Thank you for the suggestion.  I downloaded MS Safety Scanner and ran the complete scan of the computer.  My computer was clean and no virus or malware was detected.  

    Upon re-booting, the system still tries to update the drivers for the HP printer and always fails.  Since the printer has been deleted and uninstalled, I don't know why the system still wants to update the drivers.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-06-27T09:55:42+00:00

    Hello Ren,

    Thank you for keeping us updated about the issue.

    If issue still persists then I would suggest you to run the security software and check if your system is affected by some viruses.

    The Microsoft Safety Scanner is a free downloadable security tool that provides on-demand scanning and helps remove viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. It works with your existing antivirus software.

    http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx

    Note: The Microsoft Safety Scanner expires 10 days after being downloaded. To rerun a scan with the latest anti-malware definitions, download and run the Microsoft Safety Scanner again.

    Note: Any data files that are infected may only be cleaned by deleting the file entirely, which means there is a potential for data loss.

    Hope this would help. If issue still persists post back with current status of your computer and result of the proposed suggestion, we will be happy to assist you.

    Thank you.

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-06-26T14:40:12+00:00

    Thank you for offering your help.

    1. No recent changes, only windows updates.  Had some difficulty installing the most recent 6 updates for windows 7 and had to do it in Safe Mode, but it finally worked.
    2. Yes, there are six pages of the same printer listed under Device Manager, as Other Devices shown as "Officejet 6500 E709n".  All show an exclamation mark, indicating no driver located?  Each time I log in, there is a message about trying to locate driver from windows update and it always fails.  I wonder if it adds another line in Device Manager each time?
    3. I have tried to delete these from Device Manager by clicking and uninstalling, as well as clicking, selecting driver and uninstalling.  No change, still over 6 pages of duplicate printer entries on Device Manager.

    I have already deleted the HP printer from my system and no printer are listed on Devices and Printers.

    I completed the recommended steps 1-10, rebooted, but saw no changes.

    I appreciate any advice that your can share with me.

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