Yesterday your printer was in the list; today Printers & scanners doesn't show it, or shows nothing at all, and programs no longer offer it when you print. Printers usually vanish for one of a few reasons: the Print Spooler service stopped, an update replaced the driver, the printer belongs to a different user account, or it was removed by mistake. This guide checks each, including a quick way to list every printer Windows knows about, before you reinstall.
What you might be seeing
- Printers & scanners shows no printers, or only virtual ones
- The printer is missing from every program's print dialog
- Adding a printer fails or the list stays blank
- Another user on the same computer can still see the printer
Common causes
- Print Spooler stopped
- Without the spooler service, Windows can't list or add printers, so the list looks empty.
- Driver replaced by an update
- An update can swap a printer's driver and leave its entry broken or hidden.
- Per-user connection
- Printers connected through another computer's share belong to the account that added them.
- Ghost entry
- The printer still exists in Windows but in a broken state that Settings won't display.
- Accidental removal
- Someone removed the printer, or a cleanup utility deleted it.
How to fix it, step by step
Work through these in order and test a print after each one. Most people are done within the first few steps.
Don't use registry cleaners or third-party driver removal tools to tidy up printers. They can delete shared components that other devices depend on.
Restart the computer and power-cycle the printer
Switch the printer off for 30 seconds and back on, and restart the computer, which relaunches every printing service and reconnects network and shared printers. If the printer reappears, it was a temporary glitch. If only items like Microsoft Print to PDF remain, the entry or driver is missing. If nothing at all is listed, the spooler is the likely cause.
Make sure the Print Spooler is running
Open the Run box with Windows + R and enter
services.msc. If Print Spooler isn't Running, right-click it and choose Start, then open it, set Startup type to Automatic and select Apply. If the service stops again within a minute, a damaged driver or job file is crashing it, and clearing the queue or removing the newest printer driver usually ends that.List every printer with PowerShell
Right-click Start and open Terminal or Windows PowerShell. Enter
Get-Printer | Format-Table Name, PortName, DriverNameto list every printer Windows knows about, including ones Settings fails to show. If yours appears, it exists with a broken driver or port, and removing and re-adding it will fix it. If it's absent here too, it has been removed and needs adding again.Check the user account and shared connections
A printer connected from another computer's share belongs to the account that set it up. Sign in with that account to check, or connect to the share again under your own. Printers attached by USB or added by IP address are normally available to every account. In a small office, ask whoever manages the computers whether printers are assigned per user.
Look for hidden devices in Device Manager
Open Device Manager, select View › Show hidden devices and expand Print queues. Faded icons are devices Windows remembers but can't currently use. Right-click a faded entry for your printer and choose Uninstall device so it can't conflict with a fresh setup, leaving virtual printers alone. Restart the computer before adding the printer again.
Check whether an update changed the driver
Look through the update history for a printer driver installed around the time the printer vanished. It's under Settings › Windows Update › Update history in Windows 11 and Settings › Update & Security › Windows Update › View update history in Windows 10, in the driver updates section. If you find one, plan to install the current driver for your model when you add the printer back.
Add the printer again
Back in Printers & scanners, start a new search; the button reads Add device on Windows 11 and Add a printer or scanner on Windows 10. Add the printer when it shows up. For a network printer that doesn't, use Add manually with its IP address; for a USB printer, reconnect the cable. Print a test page, then set it as the default if needed.
How to keep it from happening again
- Keep the Print Spooler set to start automatically
- Add network printers by IP address with a reserved address
- Review optional driver updates after major Windows updates
- Avoid cleanup utilities that remove devices
Common questions
Why is the printer list completely empty?
An empty list, without even the built-in PDF printer, almost always means the Print Spooler has stopped, because Windows needs that service to list printers. Start it in services.msc and set it to Automatic. If it keeps stopping, remove the most recently installed printer driver from Print server properties.
Can a Windows update delete my printer?
Updates rarely remove printers, but they can replace a driver, and occasionally that leaves the old entry broken or hidden. Adding the printer again with the current driver, supplied by Windows Update or downloaded from the manufacturer's official website, fixes it. Your update history shows whether an update was involved.
My printer disappeared from my Mac. Is the fix the same?
The causes are similar, and the fix is usually quicker. Open System Settings › Printers & Scanners and use Add Printer, Scanner, or Fax to add the printer again, choosing AirPrint under Use when offered. If the printer keeps vanishing, Control-click the printer list, choose Reset printing system, then add it.
This guide is general information written for common home and office printers. Menus and button names vary between models, so check your printer’s manual where a step differs. Printer Problems Solved is independent and not affiliated with any printer manufacturer. See our disclaimer.