Printer says printing and never prints. HP Color LaserJet Pro M252dw.

[Hagatha]

File sent to printer.  Printer says printing with spinning circle and never prints.   The same with printing a test page.  Intermittently it will print, sometimes long after I have requested it.  Sometimes it will print 50 pages of the same document which was requested twice or 3 times.  When you cancel, printer says canceling with spinning circle and never stops.  

Power cycling didn't work.  Clearing queue on my laptop didn't work. FIrmware up to date.

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @Hagatha,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.
 

Thank you for posting your query. I will be glad to help you.

Your HP Color LaserJet Pro M252dw is showing “Printing…” with a spinning circle but never actually printing (or printing after a long delay, sometimes duplicating jobs), usually points to spooler or communication issues, not hardware failure. Here’s how to fix it:

Step 1: Restart Print Spooler Service

1. Press Windows + R, type services.msc, and hit Enter.
2. Find Print Spooler, right-click → Restart.
3. Clear any stuck jobs in C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS (delete files inside).

Step 2: Switch to Direct Printing

• Go to Control Panel → Devices and Printers → Right-click your printer → Printer Properties → Advanced tab.
• Uncheck “Enable advanced printing features”.
• Check “Print directly to printer”.
• This bypasses the spooler and often fixes endless “Printing…” loops.

Step 3: Update or Reinstall Drivers

• Download the latest HP Full Feature Software for your printer: 👉 HP Color LaserJet Pro M252dw | HP® Support

Step 4: Check Connection

• If using Wi-Fi, ensure a strong signal and no IP conflicts.
• For USB, try a different port and cable.

Step 5: Firmware & Settings

• You mentioned firmware is up to date, good.
• Also check: 
  • Disable Bidirectional Support in printer properties.
  • Set Spooling: Start printing after the last page is spooled.

Step 6: Use HP App

• Download HP’s diagnostic tool: 👉 HP App – For HP Printers, Laptops, and Tech Accessories | HP® Official Site
• It will detect and fix stuck jobs or communication errors.

If the printer still hangs on “Cancelling…”, it’s usually a driver-spooler conflict. A clean reinstall of the HP software suite often resolves this.

👉 Official HP troubleshooting guide: HP printers - Slow printing (Windows, macOS) | HP® Support

I hope this helps.

Take care and have an amazing day!
 

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Regards,

VikramTheGreat

[Hagatha]

Hi VTG, 

I tried to implement your fix today.  I cannot get beyond Step 2 as "Enable Advanced Printing Features" is greyed out.  How do I manage this?

Thank you,

Hagatha

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @Hagatha,

Thank you for getting back and letting me know that the features are greyed out and you are unable to use it.

To get you further assistance, we need to take this conversation to a private chat. We're inviting you to a private message to protect your privacy and ensure that any sensitive information remains confidential. 

To access your private message, just click the little blue envelope icon on the upper right corner of your HP Community profile, next to your profile name.  

We're looking forward to helping you resolve this issue! 

Stay tuned, and thanks for your patience! 

VikramTheGreat

HP Support