Can I Repair My Printer?

Start with your physical connection. The data plugs have changed over time. It used to be a parallel cable. Although it worked the demand for speed was increasing. Manufactures came up with USB (universal Service Bus) connections. This also gave the user the ability to connect over one hundred device to the same port. The speed was faster also. In any case be sure which one you have and that they are securely fastened. If you have a spare try a different one. Cable can go bad but not very often.

Here are steps to take if you made sure you plugs are all good and that they are plugged in securely.
1. Be sure it is turned on 2. Be sure it has not run out of paper or that it isn’t jammed. 3. Most newer printers will give you an error message either on the computer and/or on the printer itself. 4. Be sure your power strip is plugged in and that it is on if you have it plugged into one. 5. Reinstall your driver. There is a small chance that the program for the printer became corrupt or disabled.
If the above steps do not repair the problem find a different computer to put the printer on. There could be something wrong in your operating system. As an example: a Virus can disable devices or make a program not run.


If the printer goes through its motions (physically moves and seems like it is trying to print) you could just be out of ink. They don’t last forever. Some printers will not run at all if the ink is to low. This is the one thing people try to get away with. I have seen many times that I just put a new ink cartridge in and it worked. If you have a laser jet, remove the cartridge and shake it a couple of times. You can print a large number of copies after that but you will eventually have to replace it. New laser jet printers come with an introductory cartridge that contains less ink than the replacement cartridges.

If you find that your printer is really bad just replace it. They are very cheap these days. They are extremely costly to fix. If your local area has a recycling program or a way to dispose of them do it. If you send it in to be fixed expect to pay more than a new one would cost.

If you upgraded from XP or a later version of Windows you may need to get the latest drive (program) for the printer. Vista is picky about using old driver and mostly they don’t work. Go to the Manufacturer’s web site. The drivers are there plus other information that may help you.

If the information I gave you isn’t adequate try using a search engine. There is a lot of information out there. I have no way to cover every possible problem on every possible printer problem in this article.

By: Dennis Levenhagen