Print jobs deleting after spooling - don't reach printer

[hostalibrary]

HP M281 & Windows 7 connected USB

Hi, I bought this multi unit a few years ago and it worked perfectly until a couple weeks ago. Now, when I send a job to the spooler, it completes spooling then shows "printing" or "deleting" for a fraction of a second and disappears with no activity from printer or error messages. Works normally printing test sheets and from flash drive. I've tried everything I could think of and nothing has any effect on it. So far I've ---

Uninstall printer and software 3 times cleaning files remaining in Program Files.
Reinstalled both with latest and original CD.
Disconnected/reconnected both USB and power cord.
Updated firmware.
Used HP Print and Scan Doctor - says it fixed spooling issues but no change
Tried different drivers
Cleared printer memory. Restored defaults.
Ran sfc in Windows
Checked System 32 folders - no jobs stuck there.
Checked settings in services.msc including dependent and no issues there
Empied Temp folder

I'm seriiously stuck here on this, so I need somebody smarter than I am. Help! please.

[Garp_senchau]

@hostalibrary, 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

Restart the Printer

1. Turn off the printer.
2. Unplug the power cord from the back of the printer.
3. Press and hold the power button for 30 seconds.
4. Wait for 60 seconds and connect the power cord back in.
5. Turn on the printer.

Delete All HP M281 Drivers

Go to Start > Print Management > All Drivers

Delete anything related to HP M281

Restart Print Spooler (Windows):

1. Search services in the search box. Open the service menu.
2. In the list, find Print Spooler.
3. Right-click Print Spooler and click Restart.
   1. If it’s stopped, click Start instead.
4. Close the window. Check if the issue persists 

Manually Choose the Driver

Select HP Universal Printing PCL6 from the list

Or use your M281-specific driver

Test Print from Notepad

Open Notepad

Type some text > Go to File > Print

Select the M281 and print

Update Printer Firmware (Update the firmware on an HP printer | HP® Support)

• Go to the HP Customer Support - Software and Driver Downloads page. Enter your printer model number and search for the latest firmware update. Follow the instructions to download and install the firmware update.

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. 

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! 😊

Regards,

[hostalibrary]

Thanks for answering. I didn't have any luck with that. Any other ideas?

HP Print and Scan Doctor doesn't print through the computer, but it can run an internal test sheet if that helps. The computer communicates with the printer. Any idea whether the problem is in the printer or in a file in the computer. After SFC the Windows files should be fine, but I guess there could be an inf file or something telling the computer the printer is restricted or something along those lines. Because the job sometimes says "deleting" it seems something is keeping it from going AND telling it to delete as opposed to just sitting in queue or putting up an error message.   

[hostalibrary]

One other clue as to what's happening - If i turn the printer off and send a job it sits in queue, and when I turn the printer on it disappears without the printer doing anything. The printer seems to activly reject jobs but doesn't put up any error message like it's some kind or permission issue. Is there any setting that can make a printer do that?

[Garp_senchau]

Hey @hostalibrary, thank you for your response

Let's try these:

1. Clear Print Queue and Check Permissions:

Cancel Stuck Jobs: Go to Devices and Printers > right-click your printer > See what's printing > cancel any jobs.

Check Printer Permissions: Right-click your printer > Printer properties > Security tab > make sure your user account has full permissions.

 

2. Reinstall Printer Drivers

• Go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features. Find and uninstall any HP printer software.
• Go to the HP Customer Support - Software and Driver Downloads page. Enter your printer model number and download the latest drivers. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the drivers.

3. Reset Print Spooler:

Delete files from C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS (this clears old jobs).

Restart Print Spooler: Go to Services (search for services.msc), right-click Print Spooler, and click Restart.

4. Try Another Computer:

If possible, connect the printer to another computer to see if the issue is with the printer or your computer.

5. Check USB Connection:

Try a different USB port and use a new USB cable to rule out a connection issue.

6. Printer Reset:

Turn off the printer, unplug it for 1-2 minutes, hold the power button for 30 seconds, then plug it back in and turn it on.

As a last resort, you can factory default the printer and set it up from scratch: Restore factory defaults on your HP printer | HP® Support

Take care and have a good day. 

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! 😊

Regards,

[hostalibrary]

That didn't work either. I'm afraid. Looking through the HP software I found that it logged two error codes at the same time. They are 49.0764 and 50.3000. That seems to imply a hardware problem, but it prints normally from a flash drive so it can't be a mechanical issue. There's still a possibility of an electronic issue. What do you know about those error codes? Can the answer lie with them?

Bill