As technology has progressed, so has the ease and convenience with which printers and computers are connected. It is now a simple process to connect a printer to a computer. A printer can be connected through USB (cables) or wirelessly to a network. In case you are using a wired connection (USB or cable), the printer will be automatically detected by your PC. If the printer is connected wirelessly to a router, you can go to the Settings page and add a new printer there.
Follow the steps listed below to connect a printer to your computer:
- Make sure the printer is on.
- For wired connection, make sure the PC and printer are connected using wired cables/USB.
- Connect the printer to your network if it’s a wireless printer.
- Install the printer drivers. For many printers, if you’re using Windows, it will automatically detect the printer and install the necessary drivers. Otherwise, you may need to download them from the manufacturer’s website.
- Set up the printer in your computer’s settings. On Windows, you go to Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners. On Mac, you use System Preferences > Printers & Scanners.
There can also be certain cases where your printer connects to a different computer. Let us look at some ways we can resolve this issue.
When another computer starts picking up your printer, it usually means there is some kind of technical error/glitch.
Let us look at some steps to resolve this technical problem.
Step 1: Reset Print Spooler:
Print spooler service is a software program. The main work of a spooler is to manage all the printing jobs such as document printing, image printing, photo printing, etc. that are coming from your computer. The spooler is easily visible to the users of the printers. To resolve the issue of a different computer using your printer, first cancel all the ongoing print jobs which use the printer spoolers to complete all the commands.
Here are some steps to restart the printer spooler service:
- To reset and clear the print spooler, you can follow these steps:
- On your keyboard, click both the Windows key and the R key.
- The Run dialog box will open.
- You have to write the text “SERVICES.MSC” there.
- Now press Enter to open the Services window.
- Find the Print Spooler service.
- Right-click on it and select Stop. Your Print Spooler service should now stop.
- Now, open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS. Administrator permission may be required to access this folder.
- Select all files In the PRINTERS folder and delete them. This should clear the print queue.
- Go back to the Services window, right-click on Print Spooler service, and select Start.
This will reset and clear your print spooler. Only delete files within the PRINTERS folder. Do not delete the folder itself.
Step 2: Full Power Cycle:
Power cycling is a method of turning off any device completely and restarting it again after a few seconds. This can be another method to resolve the issue of another computer connecting to your computer.
When we use power cycling method in any electronic devices, what happens to the device is that it resets the set of configurations and come back from the unresponsive state. This power cycling method resets all the network configurations which take place when you switch off the machine.
The steps are as follows:
- You have to switch off your Wi-Fi, your printer, and your computers.
- Take out all the power cable from the machines and from the main power supply.
- Once you cut off the main power supply, you have to wait for some time till all your machines become silent or idle.
- Now, wait for few more seconds after machines are in idle state and then plug all the wires and cords back into the machine and into the main power source.
- You can now restart your machines and check whether the error is resolved.
In case you still face printer-related problems, please reach out to us on our toll-free number or visit our local area representatives.