220-802 · Question #738
A Windows desktop PC user states that they have sent several print jobs to their locally connected printer, yet none have printed. The printer has no error conditions on the control panel. Which of…
The correct answer is D. Check if Use Printer Offline has been selected. When print jobs queue but do not print and the printer shows no hardware errors, the printer is likely set to 'Use Printer Offline' in Windows, which holds all jobs in the queue without sending them to the device.
Question
A Windows desktop PC user states that they have sent several print jobs to their locally connected printer, yet none have printed. The printer has no error conditions on the control panel. Which of the following should the technician do FIRST in troubleshooting this problem?
Options
- AOpen the printer properties page and send a test print to it.
- BClear the print queue of all documents and resend one to test the printer.
- CPower the printer off and on and send one test document to it.
- DCheck if Use Printer Offline has been selected.
How the community answered
(34 responses)- A3% (1)
- B3% (1)
- C12% (4)
- D82% (28)
Why each option
When print jobs queue but do not print and the printer shows no hardware errors, the printer is likely set to 'Use Printer Offline' in Windows, which holds all jobs in the queue without sending them to the device.
Sending a test print from printer properties is a useful step but would also fail silently if the printer is set to offline, so checking for the offline setting first is more efficient.
Clearing the print queue destroys the user's pending jobs before diagnosing the root cause and would not fix the underlying offline setting.
Power cycling the printer addresses hardware states or firmware hangs; because the control panel shows no errors, there is no indication of a hardware issue to resolve this way.
The 'Use Printer Offline' setting in Windows Devices and Printers causes the spooler to queue documents locally without transmitting them to the printer, even when the printer is physically connected and error-free. This matches the described symptom exactly and is the quickest setting to verify, making it the correct first troubleshooting step.
Concept tested: Windows printer offline mode troubleshooting
Source: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/fix-printer-connection-and-printing-problems-in-windows-fb3297c8-0f47-dbf7-53c4-c5f420a97dc8
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