HP3830 prints on PC but not laptop

[rhampong]

Set up: Windows 11 Home ( Acer desktop) and Pro ( Lenovo T490 laptop). Printer HP Officejet 3830.
Printer software HPsmart

Printing works fine on Acer desktop.

However on the Lenovo T490 laptops ( I have two), when I print a text file, the following error occurs :

Notification > Printer needs user intervention
Printers and Scanners > Hp officejet 3830. Attention required
Print queue  > text file ..unknown status.

Printer will not print on any of the Lenovos. Only if I restart the Lenovos or manually stop and restart Print spooler, will the text file finally be printed .

I reinstalled HP smart to no avail.

further actions that did not work:  

-reset print spooler no effect
-delete files from windows/system32/spool/printers and reboot no effect.

-disable antivirus first Windows security > Network firewall > allow app through firewall ...File sharing was not checked. ----Checked it and no effect

-set print spooler properties> Recovery (all 3 boxes set to restart servcie on failure)

-rpc running

- HP smart diagnose and fix tool. reports print queue issue not resolved.

Thanks

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @rhampong 

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Thanks for posting your query! We're here to help you get back up and running.

You're being incredibly thorough in troubleshooting this issue, and that persistence is going to pay off! Since your HP OfficeJet 3830 prints fine on your Acer desktop but not on your Lenovo T490 laptops, and restarting the print spooler temporarily resolves the issue, it suggests a deeper spooler or driver-related problem.

Additional Steps to Fix the Issue

Check Windows Print Spooler Dependencies

• Open Services (Win + R, type services.msc, and press Enter).
• Locate Print Spooler, right-click, and select Properties.
• Go to the Dependencies tab and ensure that Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is running.
• Restart both Print Spooler and RPC services.

Manually Clear the Print Spooler Queue

• Open Command Prompt as Administrator (Win + S, type cmd, right-click, and select Run as administrator).
• Run the following commands one by one
  net stop spooler
  del /Q /F %systemroot%\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*
  net start spooler
• Restart your laptop and try printing again.

Check for Conflicting Printer Drivers

• Open Device Manager (Win + X, select Device Manager).
• Expand Printers and Print Queues, then uninstall any duplicate HP printer drivers.
• Restart your laptop and reinstall the latest HP OfficeJet 3830 drivers from HP’s official site.

Try a Different Connection Method

• If using Wi-Fi, try connecting via USB to rule out network-related issues.
• If USB printing works, the issue may be related to network permissions.

You're doing everything right, and I have no doubt you'll get this resolved! Let me know how it goes, and I’ll be happy to assist further. 🚀

If my response helped, please mark it as an Accepted Solution! ✅ It helps others and spreads support. 💙 Also, tapping "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" makes a big difference! Thanks! 😊

Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye

[rhampong]

A) further tests before your response :

Thanks for input. On one T490 laptop, I uninstalled Bullzip virtual printer. Suddenly the issue was gone and can print again. I ran the HP Smart Diagnose and Fix utility and showed no errors. I reinstalled Bullzip and strangely enough, printing still worked. No explanation. Very strange.

On the second T490 , I did he same thing but printing still did not work.

- HP Smart Diagnose and Fix utility showed error as before > Print queue issue not resolved.

- I then removed the printer from Printers and Scanners. Uninstalled Hp smart printer software.

- Went to registry  HKLM\SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet\ Control \ print\ Printers and deleted the one folder related to HP (under Printers). Rebooted

-Reinstalled Hp smart and readded the printer successfully.

No effect, still does not print.

HP Smart Diagnose and Fix utility showed error as before > Print queue issue not resolved.

B) Tests in response to your suggestions:

-RPC is running .Did restart.

-Printer spooler running. did restart.

- cleared Print spooler queue but in a different way. Deleted all files in windows/system32/spool/printers and reboot no effect.

-I do not see dupli cate Hp drivers in Device manager

-i use WIFI printing . installed printer using IP address.

-I connected USB cable.  Executed a print of text file. Waited minutes for it to connect to printer before PRINT box appeared. Clicked on PRINT and again waited for minutes for it to finally print. It prints but wait time is abnormal

- Of course I have uninstalled and re installed the HP Smart printer app several times

-Did an in place reinstall of win 11 pro keeping all apps and files. same problem.

-Problem unresolved

[rhampong]

Some further tests:

C)  since USB printing works (though slow), I used Print Management and checked security permissions for printer and the user has Allow :Print, manage printer, manage documents.  All permissions same as other working T490 Lenovo.

D)  -did an in place  install of win 11 pro  retaining all apps and files. Problem remains.

E)  Created a VMware virtual machine of win 11 pro.  HP smart software installed successfully in VM. Printing issue is the same. HP diagnose and Fix still shows Print queue error not fixed.   This test really does not help since printing in the VM simply routes the print to the host OS to handle printing.

[Hawks_Eye]

@rhampong 

It sounds like you've been incredibly thorough in troubleshooting your HP OfficeJet 3830 printing issue on your Lenovo T490 laptop, especially since it works fine on your Acer desktop. 

Given that USB printing works (but slowly) and Wi-Fi printing fails, the issue likely stems from driver conflicts, print queue errors, or network settings.

 

Additional Fixes to Try

Manually Install HP’s Latest Printer Driver

• Download the latest HP OfficeJet 3830 driver from HP’s official site here.
• Install it manually and restart your laptop.

Check Print Spooler Dependencies

• Open Services (Win + R, type services.msc, and hit Enter).
• Find Print Spooler, right-click it, and select Properties.
• Under Dependencies, ensure Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is running.

Try a Different Wi-Fi Connection Method

• Instead of using IP-based installation, try HP Smart Setup via USB first, then switch to Wi-Fi.
• Some users have reported success with this method.

Since you've already tested VMware, registry edits, and reinstallations, the issue may require HP’s direct support. If none of these steps work, consider contacting HP’s phone support team for advanced diagnostics. 

Let me know if you need further assistance! 🚀

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye

[rhampong]

Hp assistant 1HP assistant 2HP smart app1) All spooler dependencies have already been chceked as ok.

2) Manually installed the basic driver (HP assistant). It took me a while to figure out how to setup as USB printer.

    Printed fine from USB.

3) Then from HP assistant converted USB to WIFI connection ( The printer IP was never changed and still logged in to router)

4)  Then checked HP assistant main screen says CONNECTED but on Network settings could not show SSID or PSWD.

5) Now, I  Installed HP smart app and  error in network info6) previously I did not get these errors on HP smart app even though printing was not working 

6)  Scanner always works from all computers

see attached pics.

I am running out of things to try other tha wiping everything and doing a clean install or deleting every added program  ( not in common to both T490) one by one and hope something gets fixed.

So I have two almost identical Lenovo T490s.  One prints fine via network, the other does not.

[Hawks_Eye]

@rhampong 

Commendable diagnosis, superb troubleshooting and splendid description of the issue before posting. Hats off to you on that score. 😊 

Since your HP OfficeJet 3830 is printing successfully from one laptop but not the other, the issue is likely related to the computer’s configuration rather than the printer itself. 

Given that you've already tried extensive troubleshooting, including reinstalling drivers, resetting the print spooler, and even testing in a virtual machine, the problem may stem from system-level settings or network permissions on the affected Lenovo T490.

At this point, I recommend reaching out to Lenovo’s support team for further assistance, as they may be able to identify any Windows 11-specific settings, security policies, or driver conflicts that could be affecting printing on that particular laptop.

If you need any additional guidance, feel free to ask! 😊

Regards,

Hawks_Eye

[rhampong · Accepted solution]

Last ditch, I reinstalled win 11 pro from scratch and did some initial updates. 

1) installed Hp smart app. Diagnose and Fix tool showed no issue with printer.

2) when I tried to print, the file got stuck in the print queue  and did not print .

3) Diagnose and Fix tool showed no issue with printer.

4) This was slightly different than what I observed previously (I would have thought that an place repair of windows would have been the same)

5)  I was using a refilled BW cartridge only that was refilled but showed  low ink but did not signal a problem.

      I however had a wild hunch maybe it was related to that.  My new cartridges arrived today.

6) swapping in a new BW cartridge did not solve issue

7) However, whenever I put in a new color cartridge with either a new BW or the old low BW, suddenly I could print via network.

     I couldn't believe it that I swapped cartridges many times, powered on and off laptop and Printer many times to verify this. And only for printing with this laptop.  

Problem solved ??? I can't offer an explanation why this worked.

                                     Seems as though there were two  issues: windows got corrupted and problem unrecognized   and then the color cartridge issue 

[Hawks_Eye]

@rhampong 

That’s quite the troubleshooting journey! It sounds like you had to deal with both a Windows corruption issue and an unexpected color cartridge dependency—definitely not the most intuitive fix. 

Sometimes, HP printers require both black and color cartridges installed, even if you're only printing in black. The printer firmware might check for ink levels in both cartridges before allowing network prints, which could explain why swapping the color cartridge suddenly resolved the issue.

It’s great that you found a workaround, even if the logic behind it remains a bit of a mystery! If you ever run into similar issues again, resetting the printer firmware or reinstalling drivers might help avoid unnecessary troubleshooting cycles. Let me know if you want help optimizing your setup!

Regards,

Hawks_Eye

[rhampong]

THanks for all the help. I was down to  the very last option.

Still  why just this one laptop has the issue with needing to have both cartirdges installed to print is beyond all logic.

THanks  Ron