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no printers available

Periodically, MacOS (here Mojave) 'forgets' that there are any printers installed - so far can't determine a root cause.

Multiple restarts are sometimes needed to get my printers back... and then sometimes they just mysteriously reappear.

This also hangs up or crashes applications like WORD and ADOBE DC, even if only printing to a PDF (PDF printer also doesn't exist in this case).

NOTE: preferably don't want to reset printers and erase them all and re-add them for the two dozen or so printers I have installed (office and family sites).

There seems to be something else going on here.. and it happens, of course, at the moment of direst need..

Thoughts appreciated..

Image below shows printers

MacBook Pro

Posted on Feb 4, 2021 2:20 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Muddleman Author

Level 1

15 points

Feb 9, 2021 7:05 AM in response to Muddleman

Further update: Support time with Apple --> suspected that OS (Mojave) was corrupted. Reinstalled OS. No printers were existing after reinstall, which did not necessarily confirm an OS problem, but made the loss of all installed printers irrevocable.

Bit the bullet and reset the printing system (which manually flushes all printers). Sequence is:

System preferences --> Printers and Scanners --> Right Click in the Space --> Select "Reset Printing System"

Losing all my printer installs was exactly what I was trying to avoid with this post.. but at the end went this route because most applications needed daily (Preview, WORD, others) are unstable without any printers installed. Reinstalled the nearby ones and got back to work...

Hope this is helpful to anyone else with this problem.

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Answer 2

a brody

Level 10

84,011 points

Feb 4, 2021 4:18 PM in response to Muddleman

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250002463 explains how to use Etrecheck to isolate issues.

Make sure you are logged in the same user that installed the drivers.

Make sure the drivers you have installed are compatible with the OS, and only get them from the printer manufacturer's website.

Be sure the printer is on the same WiFi network as your computer, and it is a secure WiFi with WPA2 encryption.

If the printer can print from a cell phone on the same network, it should be able to print from the computer.

If the printer can't be seen by the cell phone, then it is possible it dropped off the WiFi. Some printers require a USB cable to configure their WiFi printing connection from the computer.

Try using the Option key, when adding printer drivers. That will override it and allow it to try to use open source drivers.

Some open source drivers do not support double sided printing, but do at least provide you functionality for most printing.

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Answer 3

Muddleman Author

Level 1

15 points

Feb 8, 2021 9:28 AM in response to Muddleman

So... Etrecheck ran once - while the problem was not manifest... attempting to run Etrecheck again only refers to the past report (it won't run it again).. so Etrecheck appears to be sell ware that requires a purchase for any actual functionality.

So I'm not certain that I can fulfill the user community suggestion to run Etrecheck at a relevant time.

Can anyone confirm that Etrecheck only runs once? That seems to be the case for me - even if deleting and reloading it, Etrecheck just points to last week's report, which does not reflect a scan time when the printer problem manifested (like now when no printers again and on my third system restart).

If the only forward with community support is Etrecheck (via paywall to get a second scan) or FULL STOP then kindly confirm that feedback as well.

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Answer 4

Muddleman Author

Level 1

15 points

Feb 8, 2021 9:29 AM in response to a brody

So... Etrecheck ran once - while the problem was not manifest... attempting to run Etrecheck again only refers to the past report (it won't run it again).. so Etrecheck appears to be sell ware that requires a purchase for any actual functionality.

So I'm not certain that I can fulfill the user community suggestion to run Etrecheck at a relevant time.

Can anyone confirm that Etrecheck only runs once? That seems to be the case for me - even if deleting and reloading it, Etrecheck just points to last week's report, which does not reflect a scan time when the printer problem manifested (like now when no printers again and on my third system restart).

If the only forward with community support is Etrecheck (via paywall to get a second scan) or FULL STOP then kindly confirm that feedback as well.

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Answer 5

Muddleman Author

Level 1

15 points

Feb 4, 2021 7:05 PM in response to a brody

Thanks! I'm running an Etrecheck now, however may be a delay to post until I duplicate the printer 'forgetting' problem... it's intermittent.

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