How can I get my Dell printer working again?

[Windows Central Question]

Dell printer doesn't work

The printer doesn't respond to the print message.

 

[jmshub]

Re: Dell printer doesn't work

Wow, there could be just so many problems causing this.

Does the printer connect to the PC directly via a USB cable, or is it network attached? If by cable, is it plugged in on both ends? If it is a network attached printer, make sure that the printer is online and connecting to your network. Also, make sure that your PC is connected to your network and not a guest network or a neighbor's network.

Make sure the printer is turned on and in service. It's not powered off or out of paper, is it?

There could be print jobs jamming your print queue, and while there are several ways to clear that in Windows, the easiest is to go into Devices and Printers, double click on your printer, and it will if you have any pending jobs in the print queue. You can clear them from there, and then I'd restart the PC. If none of that works, you'll have to come back, and explain your problem in greater detail for us.

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