A user states that every print job submitted to a local printer prints out random characters. Which of the following steps would MOST likely resolve the problem?

Rebooting may temporarily clear a stuck queue but does not address the underlying driver corruption causing garbled output.

Clearing NVRAM resets printer configuration settings and network parameters, but does not fix driver-level data translation errors on the host computer.

The printer driver is responsible for translating print jobs into a language the printer understands (such as PCL or PostScript). A corrupt, outdated, or mismatched driver causes the printer to receive unintelligible data, producing random characters. Reloading the correct driver restores proper translation of print data.

A faulty cable would more likely cause the print job to fail entirely or produce incomplete output, not consistently random characters.