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Why Isn't My Computer Printing?

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No matter how many times you have used your printer without a problem in the world, it is a safe bet that the time when you need it most is the precise moment that the silly machine will start acting up. As you are frantically striking keys and clicking buttons, it just sits over there next to the computer in silent oblivion. But, before you take a baseball bat to the contraption, here are a few ideas to consider that may help you out of your printing jam.

First let's look at your printer driver. No, your driver is not the guy that drives you to a fancy occassion. The printer driver communicates between your software and printer. If this printer driver is missing either due to a power surge or system crash then you need to reinstall it. Or if you have connected a new printer to your computer you need to make sure that the printer driver for the new printer is installed. Otherwise your computer will ignore your new printer.

If you printer used to work, but now does not, it may be to a crash or power surge on your system. This may have caused your printer driver to be uninstalled. If you have a new printer then you will need to install the printer driver for that new printer.

Check the ink level in your print. Is it out? If it is then you need to head to the office supply store for a new ink cartridge. Make sure write down the name or even bring the old ink cartridge to the store so that you buy the correct ink cartridge. This is a good idea because it is easy to purchase the incorrect ink cartridge.

Let's say you hit "print" and then realized that you don't have any paper in the printer. You may be tempted to stick more paper in the printer while the print job is initiating. However, this doesn't always work. The safest bet is to hit the reset button or paper feed after you put in the paper. You can also cancel the print job and start over.

Do you have paper in the printer paper tray? Seems logical, but sometimes the paper runs out and you don't notice it. Make sure to add paper and hit the paper feed button to get the printing process under way. You can also cancel the print job, refill the paper, and then create a new print job.

Remember that when you deal with changing the physcial connections on your computer and printer that you should shut down your computer before doing so. This is important because some computer operating systems go haywire or don't work properly if you fiddle with the connections while the computer is on. Restarting your computer after shutdown will help aleviate many computer problems.

However, it may confuse your computer and send it into a tizzy if you just plug the cord back in so it is best to play it safe and turn the computer off first. Then, just reattach it and restart your computer.