Windows
Shared printer stuck on "connecting to printer" because the print server was unavailable
A shared printer would not connect and stayed at "connecting to printer." The printer was removed and reinstalled under an admin account, then printing was confirmed.
Killed once by someone from XL.net, on 2025-10-28.
What you see
- Print jobs hang at "connecting to printer".
- The shared printer does not finish connecting.
Why it happens
Likely The installed printer was shared from a server that was shut down, so the share could not be reached.
When it shows up
A shared printer is installed, but the share lives on a server that is offline or shut down.
You are in this case if:
- The printer is a shared printer rather than a direct/local printer.
- The printer stays on "connecting to printer" instead of becoming ready.
- The share target is unavailable because the server is shut down.
1 fix below
The steps that killed it
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Someone from XL.net killed this on a Windows computer on 2025-10-28. It is written up from that one repair, so it cites no outside page.