USB Printers Not Detected When You Start Windows

ID: Q246354

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When you delete a USB printer from the Printers folder in Windows, the printer may not be redetected when you restart the computer.

CAUSE

This issue can occur if there are entries in the registry that indicate the printer is still installed.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).
To resolve this issue, use the Add/Remove Hardware tool to remove printers or use Registry Editor to delete the registry entries for the specific printer in the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USBPRINT

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

Additional query words: plug and play

Keywords : kbenv kbprint
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb