6978 offline - can't get it to work!

[Nancy924]

My 6978 is offline for my laptop but not my husband's.  I can't get it back despite uninstalling & reinstalling the driver and trying other recommendations found online.  I can't even cancel a test page currently in the que.  Getting VERY frustrated. Can anyone help

[DavidSMP]

@Nancy924,

Good Day.  Thanks for reaching out. I will be glad to assist you and let’s get right to it. Superb description the issue. It is amply appreciated.

• Did it happen after a power outage or surge?
• Is it a USB or wireless connection?
• I think it is an Officejet printer. Is that correct?
• Did you run Hp print and scan doctor and check again?
• Does it make photocopies directly from the printer?

For now, try these steps:

from this link: https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-officejet-pro-6970-all-in-one-printer-series/8289585/model/1... (HP Printers - Printer Not Found During Network Driver Setup (Windows) Perform these steps if it is a wireless connection:

• Step 1: Restart the computer, printer, and router
• Step 2: Check the network and printer connection status
• Then update the printer’s firmware by following instructions from this link: https://support.hp.com/bg-en/document/c02919168
• Use a USB cable to update the printer’s firmware.
• Then run HP print and scan doctor from here http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c02073861  and check if the issue gets fixed.

if the issue continues, then try these steps:

Make 2 copies directly from the printer without any communication from the computer to eliminate hardware issues with the printer.

If it copies correctly then perform these steps:

• Press “Windows key” + “r” to get the “Run” window.
• Type "services.msc" to get Services – Go to “Print spooler” – Right-click and “Stop” the service.
• Now again open "Run" - Type “spool” and ok - Go to PRINTERS folder - delete everything in that folder.
• Go to services again - Start the print spooler.
• Now check for issue resolution.

If it continues, uninstall and reinstall the printer drivers at the root level by following these steps:

• First, unplug the USB cable from the printer, if present.
• Go to Control panel – Programs and feature – Select all the HP Photosmart printer entries and uninstall them.
• Now go to Control panel – Devices and printer – Select all the printer entries and remove the device.
• Press the "windows key" + "r" to get the "Run" window open - Type "printui.exe /s" (There is a space between .exe & /) and press enter.
• Under print server properties, go to drivers - remove any entry there as well.
• Again, go to the Run window, type – “c:/programdata” – Go to Hewlett Packard folder, remove any printer related folders & files.
• Restart your computer.

• Then create a new user account as an administrator  from this link: https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/instantanswers/5de907f1-f8ba-4fd9-a89d-efd23fee918c/create-a-loc...

Log into the new user account after restarting your computer

Then download the latest full feature driver from https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/swdetails/hp-officejet-pro-6970-all-in-one-printer-... and install it on the computer after selecting the correct operating system.

Connect the printer to your computer only when the setup prompts for the printer.

This should fix the issue.

If the issue continues then you need to follow the steps from this document: https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-officejet-pro-6970-all-in-one-printer-series/8289585/model/1... (HP Printers - Printer is Offline (Windows)

Skip the steps that have been done already.

Also from the link mentioned above "HP Printers - Printer Not Found During Network Driver Setup (Windows)"  assign a manual Ip address by following directions from this section "Step 3: Manually connect the printer to your network (wireless connections only"

• Run all Windows 10 updates also.
• Update the router's firmware also

Good luck and keep me posted about the developments. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue and give the post a Kudos for my efforts to help. Thank you and have a great week ahead. 🙂