Can't delete print driver, says it is in use

[Dilyn13]

Printer is off

[Garp_senchau]

@Dilyn13, Welcome to HP Support Community,

Thank you for posting your query; I’m here to help by guiding you through steps to resolve this issue

It sounds like the print driver might be in use by a pending print job or is being used by a process running in the background. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you fix the issue:

Cancel Any Pending Print Jobs

Open the Print Queue:

Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog.

Type control printers and press Enter.

Right-click on the printer that's using the driver and select See what's printing.

In the print queue window, click Printer in the menu and select Cancel All Documents.

This will stop any ongoing or stuck print jobs that might be locking the driver.

Stop Print Spooler Service

The print spooler service manages print jobs. Stopping it might help release the driver.

Open the Run Dialog (Windows + R).

Type services.msc and hit Enter.

Scroll down and locate Print Spooler.

Right-click on it and select Stop.

After stopping the service, try deleting the print driver again.

Delete the Printer Driver

Go to Control Panel > Devices and Printers.

Right-click on the printer and select Remove Device.

After this, go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Print Management.

Under Print Servers, select your PC name, and then under Drivers, right-click the printer driver you want to delete and choose Delete.

Use Device Manager

Press Windows + X and select Device Manager.

Expand the Printers section, right-click your printer, and select Uninstall device.

Restart your computer, then try deleting the driver again.

I hope this helps.

Please feel free to reply here if you have any questions or if you need further clarification on any of the steps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

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Regards,