Windows 8.1 suddenly getting "printer offline"

I feel like the answer is simple, but I can't seem to fix this problem.  Suddenly about 2 weeks ago, the status of my printer on this 8.1 windows PC shows "offline"

I regularly use a different laptop and print without problems. 

I've done the printer troubleshooter on this PC, I've checked cords, removed power from the printer, router, etc., restarted everything ...

Nothing is working ... can someone please help with ideas?  Thanks very much

This is the only idea I have. May or may not work.

Open Control Panel. Under Hardware and Sound select Devices and Printers. Click on your Printer. In the menu bar click "See What's Printing"

In the box that opens select Printer in the menu. In the drop down menu make sure Use Printer Offline is not checked. If checked click to uncheck.

Printers can be finicky and all kinds of things come into play.  What I might suspect without knowing more is a slightly corrupted OS, especially since this is a Windows 8 machine.  Try again by turning off the printer and computer.  Turn the Printer on and let it fully load till you at least see the Wifi led solid blue.  Then turn the computer back on.  Go into Devices and Printers > right click on the printer icon and select Set as Default Printer.  Basically just tinkering with it may help, but if the OS is corrupt this will continue to be an issue.

Also, if you were running this computer on Wifi and you changed it to Ethernet, the printer will stop working until you unplug the Ethernet.  Unless you set it up as Ethernet. 

This is the only idea I have. May or may not work.

 

Open Control Panel. Under Hardware and Sound select Devices and Printers. Click on your Printer. In the menu bar click "See What's Printing"

 

In the box that opens select Printer in the menu. In the drop down menu make sure Use Printer Offline is not checked. If checked click to uncheck.

The box is definitely unchecked and was yesterday when I did this step before posting my question ...

Printers can be finicky and all kinds of things come into play.  What I might suspect without knowing more is a slightly corrupted OS, especially since this is a Windows 8 machine.  Try again by turning off the printer and computer.  Turn the Printer on and let it fully load till you at least see the Wifi led solid blue.  Then turn the computer back on.  Go into Devices and Printers > right click on the printer icon and select Set as Default Printer.  Basically just tinkering with it may help, but if the OS is corrupt this will continue to be an issue.

 

Also, if you were running this computer on Wifi and you changed it to Ethernet, the printer will stop working until you unplug the Ethernet.  Unless you set it up as Ethernet. 

Yes, it's already set as default.  Did the power of/on stuff, unplugged the router, never fooled with the ethernet.  I'm pulling my hair out LOL

What is the result of running these commands?

DISM and SFC Tutorial

Before running any Diagnostics it is best to Image your Drive or at least Back-up all your important files if possible.  These tools are pretty safe so I will let you decide.  Make sure to be connected to the Internet first.

Run the DISM Tool as Administrator to Repair the Image.  Click on Start Menu and type cmd or Command, when the Command Prompt comes up right click on it and choose More > Run as administrator

Copy Paste the below command and press Enter

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Then run the System File Checker the same way: Run as administrator

sfc /scannow

It may take an hour or so to run so be prepared.  Do not stop it till it finishes.

If sfc /scannow finds errors run it two more times to make sure they are repaired.  Reboot the computer between each run.

If SFC comes up with errors or fails then run this command to try and fix it.

dism /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup

Then run System File Checker again

How long should the "restorehealth" command take?

Maybe 20min  Could be longer on a damaged system

Edited by pcpunk, 30 August 2022 - 08:38 AM.

I really don't know what the heck I'm doing   Anyway, this is what came up after 30 minutes (I haven't moved on to the other part yet)  How does this look so far?

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.3.9600]

I'm not well versed with DISM but you can try THESE FIXES at your own risk.  Sometimes it is very difficult to fix these things.

Are you connected to the internet?

Yes, I'm connected to the internet

Try running sfc /scannow first then the DISM again.

Click on the start menu or search menu and copy paste this:  %windir%\Logs\CBS

Copy the CBS.log log to your desktop and then Attach it to your next post, do this before running sfc if you have not already done that.

Edited by pcpunk, 30 August 2022 - 10:47 AM.

This is what I have from scannow

Run the DISM again and then post the logs!