HP Deskjet 2676 doesn't print - printfilterpipelinesvc.exe/hpbxpsv423.dll error - Win10 20H2

[GoytaBR]

I have just installed a "new" HP Deskjet 2676 all-in-one. The quotes are because I bought the printer a year and a half ago, but due to some personal problems (long and irrelevant story), it was sealed in the unopened box all this time and I only installed it today (read: out of warranty). It's working perfectly as a scanner and off-line copier, but it doesn't print from the PC. All print jobs appear momentarily in the spool queue (like 1-2 seconds), then just disappear without a trace.

Yes, the printer is turned on, connected, ink cartridges and paper are OK. It is connected to the PC via USB (I don't have a LAN or WiFi here). No LEDs blink and no message appears on the printer display - it stays idle, it seems that the printer doesn't even receive the print job. This happens regardless of which application sends the job - I've tried MS Word, Notepad, Write, Acrobat, all fail. The drivers are version 43.3.2478, dated from October 23, 2019 -- yes, over a year ago, but they're the latest available from HP for the 2676. [EDIT: Windows Update didn't find any newer driver.] HP's Web site lists a more recent firmware update, but when I tried to run it, the update program said it was "not applicable", while detecting the printer correctly. The PC runs Windows 10 20H2, all current Windows Updates applied.

I have uninstalled the drivers, rebooted the PC, disconnected the printer, reinstalled the driver, and reconnected the printer. No change. Further reboots have also been tried. Nothing appears wrong in "Printers and Scanners" or in the old "Devices and Printers", the printer appears all OK and ready on port USB001. The error occurs regardless of whether it's the default printer or not -- I've tried that, too.

I have run HP Print & Scan Doctor and it shows nothing wrong with the printer configuration, but the standard test page fails to print, while the internal test page prints successfully. If I understand it correctly (please correct me if I'm wrong), the standard test page uses the Windows spooler, but the internal one doesn't, sending instead a direct hardware command for the printer to print a test page stored in ROM. Since the internal test page and direct paper copies both print perfectly, I suppose there's nothing wrong with the printer hardware and this is a software problem (in fact, HP Print & Scan Doctor said just that and told me to uninstall and reinstall the drivers, which I did, to no avail).

Having a look at the Windows Event Viewer, I found an "Application error" code 1000 for each failed print attempt. Here goes a sample one. I use the Brazilian Portuguese version of Windows, so I'm going to translate it and the text may not be exactly what one would see in English-language Windows:

Name of the failed application: printfilterpipelinesvc.exe, version: 10.0.19041.264, date/timestamp: 0xafa6d643
Name of the failed module: hpbxpsv423.dll, version: 13.0.2.8, date/timestamp: 0x57b5e89d
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fail offset: 0x00000000004bc486
ID of the failed process: 0x2630
Time of start of the failed application: 0x01d6d95e27279553

Path of the failed application: C:\WINDOWS\system32\printfilterpipelinesvc.exe
Path of the failed module: C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\hpygid23_v4.inf_amd64_f14065726ad2721b\amd64\hpbxpsv423.dll
Report ID: 59c5893d-3b9e-4d83-822b-ed9b3eecf58b
Complete name of the failed package: [blank]

Any hint? Are there reports of compatibility issues with HP drivers on Windows 10 20H2? Or could it be something else?

Any help will be much appreciated. Thank you very much in advance.

[EDIT: I've just run sfc /scannow to test Windows integrity. No issues were found.]

[sandytechy20]

@GoytaBR

Welcome to the HP support community.

Perform root level uninstallation to remove all the printer related software's.

• In Windows, search for and open Programs and Features.
• Select your HP printer.
• Select Uninstall.
• In Windows, search for and open Devices and Printers.
• In the Devices and Printers window look for your HP Printer. If you see it listed, right-click on it and choose "Delete" or "Remove Device.”
• Open up the run command with the "Windows Key + R" key combo.
• Type printui.exe /s and click OK.
• Click on Drivers tab.
• Look for HP Printer driver. If you see it click on it and click Remove at the bottom.
• Select OK.
• Remove all instances of the same.
• Select Apply and OK on the Print Server Properties windows.
• Close Devices and Printers. 
• Restart the PC again.

Download and install printer full feature driver

Click here to download the driver.

Let me know how it goes.

To thank me for my efforts to help you, please mark my post as an accepted solution so that it benefits several others.

Cheers.

[GoytaBR]

I had already done that, @Sandytechy20. It didn't work. The same errors occurred after thoroughly uninstalling the printer and its drivers. In fact, I did that more than once, first doing it as you described with the printer connected all the time, then on a second attempt doing that with the cable disconnected and, after the driver uninstallation, reconnecting the printer and letting Windows take care of it by using Windows Update. The results were exactly the same.

As of this writing, the printer is still inactive as such (it does work as a scanner and a copier).

In the meantime, further Web searches showed that this kind of problem is extremely common with virtually all HP printers, not only the 2600 series, and the only solution appears to be a clean Windows reinstall from scratch (or system restore), installing the printer and the drivers before anything else (even Windows Updates). Some obscure software component that is not originally present in a fresh Windows install appears to conflict with the driver, but not if the driver is installed first. Go figure...

Unfortunately, a complete clean Windows reinstall or restore is a major and very time-consuming undertaking. It implies having the PC unavailable for normal use for a significant time, until everything is installed and configured again, and I've been too busy with my work and needing my PC all the time. That's unfeasible at the moment.

Moreover, if this problem is as common as I found it was, HP should have another solution for it. Does it?

[GoytaBR · Accepted solution]

Well, the problem is solved, but in a very unsatisfactory way. Or, I've got good news and bad news, and they happen to be the same.

TL;DR version: I have confirmed that the only solution really appears to be doing a clean Windows reinstall or restore and then installing the HP drivers first thing.

Now the long version:

An apparently spurious hardware failure in my PC corrupted my Windows installation. This forced me to do what I didn't want: restore Windows (the effect is almost the same as a clean install). As I had mentioned in my previous message in this thread, based on my Web searches, the only way to fix this problem appears to be doing just that (or an actual clean reinstall of Windows), followed by the immediate installation of the HP printer drivers, before anything else, including Windows Updates (for this reason, it is advisable to reinstall or restore Windows while disconnected from the Internet).

Since now I had to restore Windows anyway, while I was at it, I remembered to do exactly that, and now my printer is finally working!

Happy end? Not exactly. The whole experience left HP's reputation pretty much damaged with me, because:

- I found out that this issue is extremely common with all HP printers, but there is no official or recommended fix from HP. All users who reported this issue and were able to resolve it, did so on their own.

- It took months for my message here to be replied, and then only by pasting a canned standard text with suggestions that I had already said I had tried. Apparently, nobody at HP knows how to fix it and can do nothing but try to save face with that canned reply. Obviously, the user community doesn't know any solution either.

- What appears to be the only solution (restoring or cleanly reinstalling Windows and then installing the drivers first thing) is too drastic and laborious, and unfeasible for many users. You know the royal pain it iis. I avoided doing that myself as long as I could, until forced to do it for other reasons. Yet the issue obviously stems from some software conflict that HP either couldn't identify or didn't even bother to investigate. I would expect a large organization with plenty of resources like HP to have investigated this problem seriously (especially as it appears to be very common) and issued a fix for it. It didn't. In the meantime, my printer (read: my investment) was unusable as such for months (it did work as a scanner and copier).

Well, I hope this helps other users with the same problem, but I have to say that I'm very disappointed with HP's lack of effort to solve this problem, and I don't think my next printer will be from HP, regardless of quality, features, and price. It's hard to gain someone's trust, very easy to lose it, and almost impossible to fully regain it afterwards. This is exactly what happened with HP and me.

[sandytechy20]

@GoytaBR

I have brought your issue to the attention of an appropriate team within HP. They will likely request information from you in order to look up your case details or product serial number. Please look for a private message from an identified HP contact. Additionally, keep in mind not to publicly post personal information (serial numbers and case details).

If you are unfamiliar with how the Community's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.

Thank you for visiting the HP Support Community.