Question

Suppose you are working in the IT Support department of a computer store. A customer calls you and says “My printer at home worked great until this morning. Now, when I try to print, nothing happens. It’s not just my computer. None of the computers in the house can print.”

Please assume the customer has rebooted the machine, has scanned the computer for malware, and has turned the printer off and back on. Please assume the computer has all of the latest software updates installed and has all of the latest drivers installed.

tell me 4 easy things a person can do to try to fix the problem. One or more of the suggestions must be a way to use the computer to get useful diagnostic information from the printer. ​

Answer 1

first step is

Basic troubleshooting
Once you find that your printer won’t print, you should check the status of the connection between
your printer and computer. Make sure your printer is properly connected, and the wireless network
or cable you use to connect your printer is normal.

then

Set your printer as default
In normal cases, the computer will assign the printing tasks to default printer unless you specify
another on purpose. Sometimes your default printer will be changed to another printer due to some reasons.
In these cases, you should note that, in the program that you use to print, you have to correctly select
your printer in order to print with the right one.

following steps are for set the printer to default one.

Press Win + R keys. Type “control” and hit Enter.

Select Devices and Printers.

In Printers section, right click on your printer and then select Set as default printer.

here select your printer and then right click on it and then select the set as default printer

You printer is now set to default!

third step

Cancel all print jobs
Another reason of printer not printing is that the print queue includes print jobs that has failed.
Therefore the printer gets stuck. You need to clean all print jobs in order to get your printer back to normal.

Open Devices and Printers settings (as the method above shows).

Right click on your printer in Printers section and select See what’s printing.

Open Printer menu and then select Open As Administrator.

Open Printer menu again. Select Cancel All Documents.

Confirm your action.

The print queue of your printer is clear. Now check and see if your printer can run normally.

forth step

Ink or Toner Issues in Your Printer
Ink and toner problems can include streaking and fading (which usually indicate a dirty print head)
or toner in a laser printer that is running low.

For inkjet printers, chances are the print head needs a good cleaning. The printer utilities app
that came with your printer includes a cleaning option. There are usually two; a light clean and
a heavy clean. Start with the light clean, since cleaning uses a good deal of ink. If that doesn’t
fix the issue, try the heavy clean option.

For laser-based printers, the likely cause is low toner, indicating it's time to change the toner.
If you don’t have a toner cartridge handy, you can extend the life of the current cartridge by
removing the toner from the printer, and slowly tipping the cartridge from side to side. Be sure t
he cartridge is closed when you do this. With any luck, this will redistribute the toner within the
cartridge and provide you with enough prints to give you time to find and purchase a replacement cartridge.

Check hardware status
If none of the methods above helps you, you may need to consider it as a hardware issue.

You need to check if your printer runs out of paper, ink or toner, and check if your printer
is stuck on paper jam. You may also need to check your printer cartridge or try replacing it
with a new one. If the problem happens just after you replace a part of your printer, you can
install the original one back to your printer and see if this fixes the problem.

You can also contact your device manufacturers for further assistance if you find any hardware
problem on your printer or your computer that you cannot handle.