print jobs disappear from queue and nothing is ever printed

[ninasan]

"The document, owned by Catharina, failed to print on printer HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477. Try to print the document again, or restart the print spooler.

Data type: RAW. Size of the spool file in bytes: 48341. Number of bytes printed: 48341. Total number of pages in the document: 1. Number of pages printed: 0. Client computer: \\CATHARINA-TOSH. Win32 error code returned by the print processor: 2147500037. Unspecified error"

[dansdaduk]

>> ... Data type: RAW. Size of the spool file in bytes: 48341. Number of bytes printed: 48341. Total number of pages in the document: 1. Number of pages printed: 0 ...

I'm not sure if I can reconcile this with the earlier evidence.

• The 'spool file' size is presumably the size of the .spl file created in the ...System32\Spool\PRINTERS folder.

• Not sure about the 'number of bytes printed' value; I'd have thought that this would be the final print language data content, but your 'print to file' capture evidence suggests that this is always zero.

• The  'number of pages printed' value is spot on though!

• The 'number of bytes printed' value is the same as the 'spool file size', and the 'Data type' is shown as RAW, so perhaps the spooler believes that the data is already 'print ready'.

• But we (think that we) know (by having looked at retained .spl files) that the data is actually in XPS format, which will not be understood by the printer.

• Even if this is the case, I still don't understand why our diagnostic 'print to file' .prn captures are zero size.

So I'm a bit stumped - this is getting beyond my (limited) knowledge of the current Windows spooling model.

I don't know what to suggest next, other than to try (if you haven't already) installing one of the other available printer drivers - I'm assuming (but don't know for sure)  that you're probably using the v4 driver version.

[dansdaduk]

There are a large number of 'hits' on web regarding the "Win32 error code returned by the print processor: 2147500037. Unspecified error" error, but:

• Most of these indicate 'bytes printed " as zero.

• Many refer to use of 'sharing' and "Render print jobs on client computers" settings, whcih i don't think are relevant in your case.

• Others refer to printing 'homegroup passwords', whcih i again do not think is relevant.

[ninasan]

I looked back in the event viewer logs and I found two other error messages regarding PrintService (which occured very frequently during the last few weeks):

- Installing printer driver Microsoft XPS Document Writer failed, error code 0x0, HRESULT 0x80070705. See the event user data for context information.

- The print spooler failed to regenerate the printer driver information for driver Microsoft XPS Document Writer for environment Windows x64. Win32 system error code 1797 (0x705). This can occur after an operating system upgrade or because of data loss on the hard drive.

I don't know if these messages have anything to do with my Hp printer problem though?

In my attempt to install one of the other printer drivers, the existing HP software was removed and for some reason, a new full installation fails every time now. I don't get any error messages during the new installation, but afterwards I find that there isn't any HP-program (like HP Scan etc.) installed. The printer is displayed among the devices though and the driver seems installed as well. And printing still does'nt work, of course.

I have no idea what is going on. I did a disk cleanup once more, the antivirus program didn't find anything suspicious either, I scanned the hard disk for errors but there weren't found any... 

I must say I start considering to reinstall Windows after all. But first I will try to use someone else's laptop and see what happens then when installing or communicating with our printer. I'll keep you informed, and thanks a lot for all your efforts and thinking so far, it's very much appreciated!

[dansdaduk]

>> ... I don't know if these messages have anything to do with my Hp printer problem though? ...

Neither do I, sorry.

... and I don't know much about why you have problems attempting to reinstall drivers.

The 'scan' function will probably only be there if you install the "full feature" driver.

Did you try the Print and Scan Doctor utility?

Your printer is currently connected using a wireless connection, rather than using a wired ethernet connection.

I don't use wireless connections myself, but I assume that the connection is (partly) defined by a TCP/IP address.

Assuming that this is the case, to check connectivity:

• Use the ping command, within a Windows command-prompt session, to check the connection.

• Assuming that the ping works, use some of the tools (e.g. Font Sample, or Print Area) in the PCL Paraphernalia application to send test print jobs (either PCL or PCL XL) to the target printer address to confirm that the connection is OK.

Having said that, the evidence doesn't seem to suggest connectivity issues, but let's try to eliminate it anyway.

It does seem that there is a probably a driver problem, but I've reached a point where my knowledge of the intricacies of the MS print model is becoming exhausted.

I've no idea whether or not reinstalling Windows would make the slightest difference.

[ninasan]

Hi,

I have some pretty good news here: I got the printer back to work! 

When looking for possible solutions for the installation problems I had faced after removing the HP software, I found the following advice on https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Printer-Software-and-Drivers/M477-software-installation-fails-at-99/td...:

"I think I figured out the issue, windows 10 installs its own driver and the installer is waiting for the hp driver to install.

DO THIS DURING THE HP INSTALL PROCESS (when the percentage counter is going)

1. Go into the device manager and find the printer in the list of devices

2. Right click on the printer and select "Update Driver software"

3. Click "Browse my computer for driver software"

4. Select "Let me pick from...."

5. Select the driver named: HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477 PCL-6         (Make sure its the one with a dash between the pcl and 6!)

6. Click next and go back to the hp install box and it should now see the printer and continue the install."

I selected the driver (the one with the dash, not the who was in use and without the dash) manually in the printer properties, and that did the job! The printer works properly once again and all the HP programs are completely installed now. 

It all seems to have been a driver issue and it's quite disappointing that the HP technician wasn't able to help me out of this and left me to my own devices saying it was a network or system problem. I didn't change anything in the printer settings in the first place so I shoudn't have been bothering with this issue for weeks. Thank God there is Google and this HP forum with volunteers like you gladly helping people out. So thanks again for all your help and advice!

[dansdaduk]

Catharina

That's excelllent news.

It will probably forever remain a mystery as to why it suddenly stopped working in the first place, after having been working OK.

I'm pleased to have been able to (try to) help, but I don't think that I can claim any credit in assisting you at arriving at a resolution.

Chris