{"id":1639,"date":"2016-02-15T13:23:24","date_gmt":"2016-02-15T07:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=1639"},"modified":"2023-08-02T20:37:10","modified_gmt":"2023-08-02T15:07:10","slug":"remove-old-printers-add-printer-list-windows-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/remove-old-printers-add-printer-list-windows-10\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Completely Remove Old Printers in Windows 10 or 11"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When you try to add a new printer by clicking the Add a printer or scanner in the Printer &amp; Scanners page, old printers you added earlier but no longer use may be listed.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/w10\/w10-oldprinters.png\" width=\"409\" height=\"578\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This post tells you how to completely remove old, uninstalled, or obsolete printers from the <strong>Add a Printer<\/strong> and <strong>Printers &amp; Scanners<\/strong> pages. In addition, the leftover printer drivers, driver packages, and registry entries need to be removed.<!--more--><\/p>\n<div id=\"toc\">\n<p><strong>Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#print_server\">Delete old Printer drivers via Print Server Properties<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#print_mgmt\">Delete old Printers via Print Management<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#registry_printers\">Delete old Printers remnant entries in the Registry Editor<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#driver_store\">Delete old Printer driver packages from the driver store<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Related articles<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/driver-uninstall-completely-windows\/\">Completely Uninstall a Driver in Windows 11\/10<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/delete-old-drivers-windows-update-disk-cleanup\/\">Delete Older Versions of Device Drivers<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Remove Old Printers Completely<\/h2>\n<p>The old or supposedly uninstalled printers may still appear on the Printers &amp; Scanners page. In some cases, the entries may appear on the Add Printer list and not in the Printers &amp; Scanners or the Devices page. The following procedure helps you uninstall or remove your old printer and its drivers and drive store package.<\/p>\n<p>To remove the old printer entries from the <strong>Add a printer or scanner<\/strong> as well as <strong>Printers &amp; Scanners<\/strong> page, follow this procedure:<\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"print_server\"><\/a>Delete Old Printer Drivers via Print Server Properties<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Open the Printers and Scanners page in Settings.<\/li>\n<li>Scroll down and click the <strong>Print server properties<\/strong> link. <em><strong>Tip:<\/strong> Alternately, you can run <code>rundll32.exe printui.dll,PrintUIEntryDPIAware \/s<\/code> or <code>printui \/s \/t2<\/code> command elevated (as administrator) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/run-command-elevated-administrator-ctrl-shift-enter-windows-10\/\">from the run dialog<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/open-elevated-command-prompt-windows\/\">elevated Command Prompt<\/a>. The commands open the Print Server properties page directly.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Select the <strong>Drivers<\/strong> tab.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8762\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/printer-old-remove-driver-print-server.png\" alt=\"remove printer driver - print server\" width=\"463\" height=\"532\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Select the old printer entry from the list, and click Remove<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8760\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/printer-old-remove-driver-print-server-2.png\" alt=\"delete driver confirmation\" width=\"352\" height=\"197\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Select <strong>Remove driver and driver package<\/strong>, and click OK.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8765\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/printer-old-remove-driver-print-server-4.png\" alt=\"remove driver and driver package via print server properties\" width=\"308\" height=\"220\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Click Delete when you see the Remove Driver Package confirmation prompt.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8759\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/printer-old-remove-driver-print-server-3.png\" alt=\"remove driver package confirmation\" width=\"374\" height=\"357\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><a id=\"print_mgmt\"><\/a>Remove old printers via Print Management<\/h3>\n<p>The Print Server properties method should do the trick. Alternatively, you can use the Print Management console to remove old printers and their drivers. Print Management is a Microsoft console that lets you view and manage printers and print jobs on the computer.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Open Print Management via Start Search. Or run the command <code>printmanagement.msc<\/code> to launch Print Management.<\/li>\n<li>Select the <strong>All printers<\/strong> section.<\/li>\n<li>Right-click on the old printer if listed in the right pane, and choose Delete.<\/li>\n<li>Select <strong>All drivers<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Right-click on the old printer, and click on the option <strong>Remove driver package<\/strong> or click <strong>Delete<\/strong>.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8763\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/printer-old-remove-driver-package.png\" alt=\"remove driver package - print management\" width=\"700\" height=\"295\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8761\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/printer-old-delete-driver-printmgmt.png\" alt=\"delete driver - print management\" width=\"701\" height=\"295\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><a id=\"registry_printers\"><\/a>Delete old printers using the Registry Editor<\/h3>\n<p>Even after you uninstall and delete the printers using the above methods, the <strong>Add a printer<\/strong> page may still show your old printers. Therefore, you need to edit the registry to remove the remnant entries.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Create a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/create-restore-protection-point-rollback-windows\/\">System Restore point<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Right-click Start, and click Run.<\/li>\n<li>Type <code><b>regedit.exe<\/b><\/code> and press <kbd>ENTER<\/kbd>. This opens\u00a0the Registry Editor.<\/li>\n<li>Go to the following registry key:\n<pre>HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\SOFTWARE\\Classes\\Local Settings\\Printers\\Roamed<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>In the right pane, right-click the printer you want to remove, and choose <code>Delete<\/code>.<\/li>\n<li>Do this for every other printer you want to remove.<\/li>\n<li>Also, check the printer entries under the following key and delete the unwanted item(s):\n<pre>HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Printers\\Connections<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Go to the following key:\n<pre>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\Print\\Printers<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Expand the key and select the old printer listed under the key.<\/li>\n<li>Right-click on the old printer and choose Delete.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8764\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/printer-old-delete-registry.png\" alt=\"delete old printer registry\" width=\"641\" height=\"319\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Additionally, one of the following subkeys may contain references to your old printers. You may want to clear that as well:\n<pre>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\Print\\Environments\\Windows NT x86\\Drivers\\Version-3\r\nHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\Print\\Environments\\Windows x64\\Drivers\\Version-3\r\nHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\Print\\Environments\\Windows x64\\Drivers\\Version-4<\/pre>\n<p><em>The registry had references to my old inkjet printer HP F4488 (F4400 series). I recently deleted them and the driver store using earlier methods, as I&#8217;ve replaced the HP with a Canon G2012 series printer.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Exit the Registry Editor.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><a id=\"driver_store\"><\/a>Delete driver packages from the driver store<\/h3>\n<p>Even after removing the driver packages using the methods above, some remnant drivers may exist in the driver store. The driver store is a trusted location for the inbox and third-party driver packages. Before a driver can be installed, it must first be stored in the driver store folder located under <code>C:\\Windows\\System32\\DriverStore\\FileRepository<\/code><\/p>\n<p>Each subfolder stores a driver package along with the respective .inf file. The driver store folders have cryptic names; you need to look at the relevant INF files to find the driver package you want to delete.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8767\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/driver-store-filerepository.png\" alt=\"FileRepository driver store\" width=\"699\" height=\"402\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, we have the excellent <strong>DriverStore Explorer<\/strong> tool that does the job for you.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/lostindark\/DriverStoreExplorer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DriverStore Explorer [RAPR]<\/a> is a third-party program that makes it easier to deal with the Windows driver store. It supports operations including enumeration, adding a driver package (stage), adding &amp; installing, deletion, and force deletion from the driver store.<\/p>\n<p>Looking at this image, you can see that HP printer driver files (~<code>9 MB)<\/code> are left over. This happened <strong>even after<\/strong> I removed the driver packages via Print Server Properties; those two methods weren&#8217;t enough.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8766\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/printer-driver-store-explorer-delete-package.png\" alt=\"driverstore explorer - remove old printer driver packages\" width=\"694\" height=\"384\" \/><\/p>\n<p>All I had to do was select the old HP printer driver from the list and click Remove. Click <strong>OK<\/strong> when you see the following warning:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"err\">\r\n<strong>Warning<\/strong>\r\n\r\nAbout to delete prnhpcl1.inf (oem32.inf) from driver store.\r\n\r\nAre you sure?<\/pre>\n<p>This removed the old HP printer&#8217;s driver package. I hope the above methods helped you remove old printer entries, drivers, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/delete-old-drivers-windows-update-disk-cleanup\/\">packages<\/a> from your Windows computer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you try to add a new printer by clicking the Add a printer or scanner in the Printer &amp; Scanners page, old printers you added earlier but no longer use may be listed. This post tells you how to completely remove old, uninstalled, or obsolete printers from the Add a Printer and Printers &amp; &#8230; <a title=\"How to Completely Remove Old Printers in Windows 10 or 11\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/remove-old-printers-add-printer-list-windows-10\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about How to Completely Remove Old Printers in Windows 10 or 11\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6,8,869],"tags":[441],"class_list":["post-1639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-utilities","category-windows-10","category-windows-11","tag-registry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23714,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/printer-prints-documents-in-inverted-color-black-background\/","url_meta":{"origin":1639,"position":0},"title":"[Fix] Printer Prints Documents in Inverted Colors","author":"Ramesh","date":"April 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"When you try to print a document or image using your printer, it may print the contents in an inverted color scheme (black background with white text). The result is the same when you print a test page via the printer properties, or print from Word, Open Office, Libre Office,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"printer inverted colors printing - laser type 1 class driver","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/brother-firmware-inverted-printing.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/brother-firmware-inverted-printing.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/brother-firmware-inverted-printing.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/brother-firmware-inverted-printing.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1564,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/reinstall-microsoft-print-to-pdf-delete-accidentally\/","url_meta":{"origin":1639,"position":1},"title":"How to Reinstall Microsoft Print to PDF After Deleting it Accidentally","author":"Ramesh","date":"February 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows 10 and 11, as you know, includes the Microsoft Print to PDF virtual printer built-in that can print (convert) documents to PDF format from any application. Microsoft Print to PDF is a handy tool in Windows 10\/11. In the previous Windows Operating Systems, users needed to use a third-party\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"microsoft print to pdf printer missing add printer list","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/ms-print-pdf-driver-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1484,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/stop-windows-10-change-default-printer-automatically\/","url_meta":{"origin":1639,"position":2},"title":"Stop Windows from Changing the Default Printer Automatically","author":"Ramesh","date":"January 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"On Windows 10 and 11, if you have multiple printers (including virtual printers, such as Microsoft Print to PDF and Foxit PDF) and set your preferred one as the default, the default printer changes automatically the next time you print to a non-default printer. Stop Windows from Changing the Default\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"sync settings - windows backup - windows 10","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/sync-settings-windows-10.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/sync-settings-windows-10.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/sync-settings-windows-10.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/sync-settings-windows-10.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28995,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/printer-error-0x00000bc4-0x00000709-windows-11-22h2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1639,"position":3},"title":"Fix: Printer Error 0x00000bc4 or 0x00000709 in Windows 11 22H2","author":"Ramesh","date":"October 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"After updating Windows 11 to version 22H2, your network printers may stop working. Also, the error code 0x00000bc4 (Desc: ERROR_PRINTER_NOT_FOUND) or 0x00000709 (Desc: ERROR_INVALID_PRINTER_NAME) appears when adding a new network printer. Operation could not be completed (error 0x00000bc4). No Printers Were Found. The printer name is invalid. Cause Windows 11\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 11&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 11","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-11\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"0x00000bc4 22h2 - printer gpo rpc connection","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/rpc-printer-gpo-w11.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/rpc-printer-gpo-w11.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/rpc-printer-gpo-w11.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/rpc-printer-gpo-w11.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23700,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/restore-missing-print-management-console-windows-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":1639,"position":4},"title":"How to Restore Missing &#8220;Print Management&#8221; Console","author":"Ramesh","date":"April 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"After installing a Windows 10 Feature update (v2004 or higher) or Windows 11, you may observe that the Print Management MMC console is missing from the system. Print Management is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that lets you install, view, and manage all printers on your local computer or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"print management console missing","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/printmgmt-console-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/printmgmt-console-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/printmgmt-console-3.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1260,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/print-spooler-service-error-2-error-3-windows-7\/","url_meta":{"origin":1639,"position":5},"title":"Fix Print Spooler Service Error 2 and Error 3 in Windows","author":"Ramesh","date":"October 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"When you open Devices and Printers applet, none of your printers may be listed. Running the Printer Troubleshooter may show that the Print Spooler service isn't running, and attempts to start the Print Spooler service manually via Services MMC or using the Microsoft Printer Troubleshooter Fix-It may turn out to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived2\/spooler-err3-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1639\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}