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Connected printers not showing in 'Devices and Printers' - Windows 8 RRS feed

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    Ok, I'm probably not the first person to ask about this.

    Why on earth, can I not see any of my connected network printers under 'Devices and Printers' of Windows 8? The devices are without question, 100% connected and registered with the OS, as evidenced from their presence within the 'Print Queues' section of Device Manager, and various software packages, when accessing the 'Print' dialog. I can't even find any evidence of the printers within Print Management! What is going on?

    Thursday, February 7, 2013 12:19 PM
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    HI,

    I suggest to temporary disable firewall and antivirus program, and re-connect the network printer for test. Also update the printer driver to the latest version

    Or you can try to create another administrator account and login to see if the same issue occurs.

    Leo Huang
    TechNet Community Support

    Monday, February 11, 2013 2:36 AM
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    Hi Leo. Both of your options failed miserably, I'm afraid!
    Monday, February 11, 2013 1:59 PM
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    Hi!

    I'm having the exact same Problem here.

    It happens on all of our Win8 Enterprise machines: Printers not showing up in "Devices and Printers" but in all other Software (like Office Word). Users can print fine. All Printer Options are available. It's just not possible to set the Default Printer using the GUI.

    Key Setup of our environment:

    - created master Image of Win8 Enterprise sysprepped /generalize

    - captured Image and put into WDS

    - deployed master Image to Destination PC in Audit Mode, finalized all Drivers and finally sysprepped

    - After OOBE, PCs are automatically added to the domain

    Regardless of what platform the PC is, always having this issue. Can someone help please?

    Tuesday, June 11, 2013 8:47 PM
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    I have the same issue. Not to mention the  devices and printers windows takes a long time to open
    Thursday, August 1, 2013 2:47 PM
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    I have the same issue. If we perform the power shell command get-printer , the printer is listed. We can also choose the printer under applications as word or excel. For me was the question how to get this printer as default.

    1. start Power Shell as administrator and perform  the following command :

    (New-Object  -ComObject WScript.Network).SetDefaultPrinter(‘your network printer’)

    see Microsoft Document dd347648

    2.The second method is only a trick to get the Printer properties. Take the printer offline, try to print a document, double click in the taskbar on the printer icon you can get the printer properties and there you can define the printer as default.

    Tuesday, September 3, 2013 8:41 AM
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    I found this depends on how you setup the printer.

    If it's in the list when you want to add a printer and select it, it will show up. If you tell it, it's not in the list and set it up manually using \\server\printshare then it may or may not show up.

    When you choose to print in an app, it's listed. It's also listed under Device Manager as a print queue.

    However, to get it to show up, change the view to some other view. My view was details. I changed it to large icons and the printers showed up. I could then change it back to detail and they would still be listed. Restarting the print spooler, disabling/re-enabling Bluetooth Support, restarting Devices and Printers, right-clicking and clicking refresh, pressing F5 for a refresh, logging out and logging back in, restarting the computer ALL have no effect but changing the view, does. Ridiculous?

    The only one that is NOT listed is one setup as a TCP/IP printer and that is because SNMP was turned off, is my guess. You can still print to it from any app but you cannot select it as the default from Devices and Printers because it doesn't list. I'm going to turn SNMP back on, on the printer, to see if it will then show up and if so, see what happens when I remove it. The reason SNMP is turned off is because on TCP/IP enabled printers in Windows 8, the printer will show offline unless you delete and recreate it. At some point it loses communication and thinks it went offline.  Turn off SNMP and that problem is resolved.

    For \\server\printershare I have found if you remove spaces from the share name, that will resolve those printers from showing offline sometime later. You have to create the share manually because Microsoft will offer the description name with spaces.

    What it looks like is one development group at Microsoft isn't talking to another one. Microsoft, here's a clue. Go back to your old philosophy of:

    Microsoft, making it simple.
    Ease of use.

    Hope that helps some of you.

    Thursday, October 3, 2013 7:01 PM
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    Without warning, 8.1 is thrust upon us and with virtually no choice. We are forced to change, but that is a minor indignity to not being able to do your work, because your printer no longer has the software matching the operating system. Microsoft deserves a big "thumbs down" for insensitivity and disregard of its users. 
    Wednesday, November 6, 2013 4:22 PM
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    Same issue on Win8.1, my printers are added via GPO.

    restart services, fail

    restart PC, fail

    wait 60 minutes and they appear.

    word list them and so does command ;

    C:\Windows\System32\Printing_Admin_Scripts\en-US\> cscript prnmngr.vbs -l

    ..shows the printers...

    Thursday, December 12, 2013 2:30 AM
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    OK I had the same issue. I used Powershell to get rid of it.  from powershell as an admin I did a "Get-Printer | Select name" then I found the name of the printer I wanted. With the name I entered "Remove-Printer %myprintername%"   after that I just re-added and it all looked good.

    Tuesday, January 14, 2014 8:42 PM
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    this worked for me! Thanks. 
    Wednesday, February 12, 2014 1:59 PM
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    Didn't work for me.
    Thursday, May 15, 2014 10:46 AM
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    Once this policy is in place, go to Regedit and create this following Entry:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\
    Create a New Key {2227a280-3aea-1069-a2de-08002b30309d}

    And Reset PC

    This will create a folder on the Desktop as Printers which when opened gives only the Printer listing.

    Sunday, June 8, 2014 7:00 AM
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    Don't nobody screw with a working Firewall to try debugging this issue.  If you can print, let it go.  MS OS is a time waster. 
    Monday, October 27, 2014 11:35 PM
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    Worked like a charm (making a connected printer visible in "Devices and Printers" in Win 8.1) - but a totally ridiculous "bug".  Thanks very much - you made my day!!
    Thursday, February 12, 2015 1:27 AM
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    Preventing Windows from downloading the device Icon worked for me.

    GPO -> set "Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\System\Device Installation\Prevent metadata retrieval" to enabled


    Monday, February 23, 2015 2:46 PM
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    Hi,

    Restart print spooler service, the printer should appear.

    Friday, March 13, 2015 11:17 AM
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    OK I had the same issue. I used Powershell to get rid of it.  from powershell as an admin I did a "Get-Printer | Select name" then I found the name of the printer I wanted. With the name I entered "Remove-Printer %myprintername%"   after that I just re-added and it all looked good.

    This didn't work for me either.
    Friday, March 13, 2015 11:29 AM
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    Hi,

    Restart print spooler service, the printer should appear.

    This didn't work either! I can't believe this is still an issue.
    • Edited by MR JH Friday, March 13, 2015 11:31 AM
    Friday, March 13, 2015 11:29 AM
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    I just did a DVI deployment using Windows 8.1 Enterprise. All printers get deployed using GPO. They show up in applications (like MS Office), but they don't show up on Devices and Printer, neither with the Get-Printer cmdlet.

    Monday, July 13, 2015 4:39 PM
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    Did you manage to fix this issue?

    I found if i restarted the affected computer the printers would then appear by running the below command:

    shutdown /r /t /0

    Cheers

    Shane

    Thursday, October 1, 2015 9:24 AM
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    Win 8.1 SL

    it's worked for me. Thanks

    Tuesday, November 24, 2015 6:43 PM
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    It works up till get printer, but when I put the printer name in, it doesn't work, could this be because of spaces? I say this because get and printer have a dash between them so do all the other commands. REALLY struggling here...
    Monday, May 9, 2016 6:44 PM
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    You can try to delete the printer from "device manager" under print queues, then re-add the printer. Hopefully it works out for you.   
    • Edited by Mr.Robot7 Tuesday, September 13, 2016 3:37 PM
    Tuesday, September 13, 2016 3:37 PM
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    Still having this issue with 2012 R2, running:

    C:\Windows\explorer.exe ::{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}

    Shows all printers.

    Monday, September 26, 2016 2:50 PM
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    OK I had the same issue. I used Powershell to get rid of it.  from powershell as an admin I did a "Get-Printer | Select name" then I found the name of the printer I wanted. With the name I entered "Remove-Printer %myprintername%"   after that I just re-added and it all looked good.

    This is a very good solution!!!
    Tuesday, November 8, 2016 9:05 AM
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    How is a Powerhell command a good solution? You add a printer it's actually there you just can't see it, users deserve that. Look for the bug not a solution.
    Tuesday, November 8, 2016 7:11 PM
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    OK I had the same issue. I used Powershell to get rid of it.  from powershell as an admin I did a "Get-Printer | Select name" then I found the name of the printer I wanted. With the name I entered "Remove-Printer %myprintername%"   after that I just re-added and it all looked good.

    This is a very good solution!!!

    It's the most dumb solution ever, it's a workaround but it's to lame to even call it that.
    Tuesday, November 8, 2016 7:30 PM
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    I had the same problem with a new build and If you're like me you don't like the new Windows 8 start menu with all those icons anyway.    I installed classic shell and still had the problem so I did this. 

    1) Click on Classic Shell from All Programs. Go to the Customize Start Menu tab and Right click on
    the Printers Item on the left.  Click Edit.
    2) Delete the command that says "printers" and press Tab 

    3) The Link property should get enabled. Enter this text there,  ::{26EE0668
    -A00A-44D7-9371-BEB064C98683}\0\::{A8A91A66-3A7D-4424-8D24-04E180695C7A}
    4) Delete the label and icon - you will get the correct ones automatically
    from the Link
    5) Change the tip to reflect the new functionality (enter any text you feel
    like).  Presto.  It worked for me and I like Windows 8.1 a lot better now.

    Sunday, November 27, 2016 3:31 PM
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    I thought I would post my (tested) solution to this old problem, as the basic "bug" in the OS has never been fixed.

    For some reason, a default install of Windows 8 (Pro) has the service "Device Setup Manager" set to disabled.

    So, go into "Services", and select the service "Device Setup Manager", and change its start-up type to "Automatic", then start the service.

    Having done this, all the missing printers then appeared in the "Devices & Printers" section of the control panel.

    PS: Anyone who suggests disabling your firewall or turning off your anti-virus, as a fix for your IT problem, clearly doesn't understand your IT problem. ;-)

    Tuesday, December 13, 2016 1:00 PM
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    I think this is solved now anyway, I've installed a fully patched Windows 2012 R2 server and I can't reproduce the issue any longer. So apparently Microsoft fixed this with an update?

    Device Setup Manager service is set to 'triggered' and when I launch Devices & Printers I can see it start.

    Thursday, December 15, 2016 11:41 AM
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    This solution actually worked like a charm. Thanks Martijn
    Wednesday, January 11, 2017 12:11 PM
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    Bless your soul! I installed a new Brother printer on my i7-Win10 Home desktop yesterday and it would not show up in Devices and Printers. Then today, by accident I changed the port on my networked HP LaserJet and it too disappeared. Have spent 6 hours fumbling through the registry, deleting references to my old Canon printer, deleting ports, drivers, etc., to no avail. All the printers were available in a print dialog screen. Just not viewable in Devices and Printers. Activating Device Setup Manager brought all my printers into view. Including things like Quicken PDF printer. Thank you x 1000.
    Sunday, January 22, 2017 11:25 PM
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    Same to me! I have searched a lot and this works:

    So, go into "Services", and select the service "Device Setup Manager", and change its start-up type to "Automatic", then start the service.

    Took me 10 secs to perform this action and it recognizes my printer (brother)

    Thx!

    Wednesday, February 8, 2017 6:56 PM
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    bestia46

    That worked, thanks.

    Bob

    • Edited by Bob Millard Sunday, February 12, 2017 5:13 PM
    Sunday, February 12, 2017 5:12 PM
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    Lee Technology

    That works.

    Bob

    Sunday, February 12, 2017 5:14 PM
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    I had the same problem with a new build and If you're like me you don't like the new Windows 8 start menu with all those icons anyway.    I installed classic shell and still had the problem so I did this. 

    1) ....  .

    None of the above worked for me, new installed printers still missing in the devices and printers window.

    BUT this was a work around: on the classic shell menu, add an extra item: Martijn Kools' printers folder that shows all the printers.

    - Open Classic Start menu settings (from start),

    - tick show all settings

    -on the 'customize start menu' tab, DUPLICATE the 'devices and printers' item

    -right click the duplicated item, click 'edit'

    --select "printer" from the drop down list

    --paste Martijn Kools' address in the link box: C:\Windows\explorer.exe ::{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D


    • Edited by Piecevcake Wednesday, March 1, 2017 3:09 PM
    Wednesday, March 1, 2017 1:39 PM
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    Same to me! I have searched a lot and this works:

    So, go into "Services", and select the service "Device Setup Manager", and change its start-up type to "Automatic", then start the service.

    Took me 10 secs to perform this action and it recognizes my printer (brother)

    Thx!

    This worked for me as well.  The "Device Setup Manager" service was disabled on my machine (Windows Server 2012r2) for some reason.  As soon as I started the service, my printers immediately showed up in the Devices and Printers window.  I was also able to print from various programs (Notepad, Word, etc.) before starting the service, but the printers were not shown in the Devices and Printers window, only in the Print dialog when I tried to print.

    Hope this helps.

    Thursday, March 2, 2017 10:44 PM
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    You are not, and were not, forced to change, and I am still with Windows 7.
    Monday, March 27, 2017 11:17 PM
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    Lee Technology Ltd, you save my day. This is the problem.

    After i change the type of "Device Setup Manager" on automatic and start the service, all printers show normally.

    THANKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

    Monday, May 8, 2017 9:57 AM
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    Thanks this worked for me. Restarted the printer spooler shortly after starting the  "Device Setup Manager" service and printers all appeared  under "Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Devices and Printers".

    Previously some printers were not listed.

    Monday, June 26, 2017 10:44 AM
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    Thank you. I had the same problem in Windows 10 Pro (14393) and this fixed the problem.
    Friday, June 30, 2017 6:34 AM
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    Same to me! I have searched a lot and this works:

    So, go into "Services", and select the service "Device Setup Manager", and change its start-up type to "Automatic", then start the service.

    Took me 10 secs to perform this action and it recognizes my printer (brother)

    Thx!

    This worked for me as well.  The "Device Setup Manager" service was disabled on my machine (Windows Server 2012r2) for some reason.  As soon as I started the service, my printers immediately showed up in the Devices and Printers window.  I was also able to print from various programs (Notepad, Word, etc.) before starting the service, but the printers were not shown in the Devices and Printers window, only in the Print dialog when I tried to print.

    Hope this helps.

    Starting service helped me!
    Wednesday, July 19, 2017 8:15 AM
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    Thank you(!) Roland Hall:

    Here it is three and a half years later - and that 'missing printers' problem just surfaced on this Win 8.1 64-bit desktop PC.  Your fix by merely changing views in the 'Devices and Printers' did the trick for me.  Much appreciate you sharing this info!

    Thursday, August 10, 2017 2:15 AM
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    It worked for me.Thank You...

    Wednesday, August 16, 2017 8:17 AM
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    Thank you Lee Technology Ltd, works like charm!

    an2nathan

    Tuesday, November 28, 2017 2:13 AM
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    Wow, I took me a while to find your solution Lee Technology, but it worked like a charm on Windows 10. Thank you so much for sharing!

    Thursday, January 4, 2018 11:23 PM
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    Worked for me on Windows 10. Thanks for the solution
    Sunday, January 21, 2018 6:31 PM
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    Preventing Windows from downloading the device Icon worked for me.

    GPO -> set "Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\System\Device Installation\Prevent metadata retrieval" to enabled


    The issue occurred for me on Windows 2012 R2 when "windows can display enhanced device icons and information from the internet" was enabled. Setting the above GPO prevents the prompt for happening. If you have already clicked that icon, you can check for the setting to turn this off by clicking Start > Change Device Installation Settings. The option: "Automatically get the device app and info provided by your device manufacturer was greyed out so I could not remove the setting. 

    Changing the following registry item disabled this option and any new installed printer was showing correctly in the devices and Printers... 

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Device Metadata
    PreventDeviceMetadataFromNetwork DWORD
    0 = Off
    1 = On

    I use this option (Thanks Martijn Kools) to publish the printers on this terminal server which works reliably. 

    C:\Windows\explorer.exe ::{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}

    I had to post this because i spent too long trying to the printers to display properly in Devices and Printers. 

    Friday, March 9, 2018 6:50 PM
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    Done, working fine now ..... restart Device Setup Manager
    Monday, August 13, 2018 8:22 AM
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     go on this link https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/details/printers/support-inkjet-printer/ip-series/pixma-ip1800?subtab=downloads-software ....and then download my printer ver 3.3.0 (windows). install it and then open it. then press the first option when its opened.
    Monday, September 3, 2018 8:19 PM
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    yes, work for me!
    Monday, June 17, 2019 10:49 PM
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    This was the solution for me too.

    Thursday, November 7, 2019 12:58 PM
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    Absolutely ridiculous that this is still an issue in Windows 10 2019 LTSC.

    This issue is widespread across the entire network and it's not printer specific.  It's simply random.  None of the provided solutions here have worked.  Besides, deleting and reinstalling printers on hundreds of machines isn't an option.

    @Microsoft - Seriously?  Come on!
    Thursday, November 7, 2019 5:41 PM
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