There are various problems that you can encounter with a printer. One of them is your Windows 10 PC saying your printer has an error but not explaining further. When this happens, you cannot send any print jobs to your printer, as it simply won't print anything.
If this prevents you from printing your important documents, it's time to learn how to fix your faulty Hp printer in Error State, in Windows 10.
1. Make sure the printer is properly connected to your PC
The first thing to check is the connection of your printer with your PC.
If you are using a wired printer, make sure the cable is properly connected to both your computer and your printer. Make sure there is no damage to the cable.
If you are using a wireless printer, you must connect the printer to a working Wi-Fi network. You must also have an assigned IP address.
To confirm that your PC is correctly recognizing your printer, do the following:
Enter Control Panel in the Start menu search bar and select Best match.
In Control Panel, under Hardware and Sound options, click View devices and printers.
Now you can see the devices installed on your PC. Find your printer here and select it.
On the bottom bar, the Status field for your printer should say Done. This means that your PC recognizes the printer and can communicate with it.
2. Reboot the printer
Rebooting a device helps fix many temporary issues, and this goes for printers as well. When your PC says that your printer is in an error state, it's worth turning the printer off, then turning it back on.
On most printers, you can do this by pressing the Power button on the printer itself. Then wait for about half a minute and press the Power button again.
Your PC should no longer display the error message.
3. Check the ink levels of the paper and cartridge
One possible reason your PC says your printer has a problem is that your printer doesn't have enough ink levels and/or there isn't enough paper in the paper tray.
Technically, that's a problem with your printer and not your PC.
First, load the printer's paper tray with some print paper. Then turn on the printer and check the ink cartridge levels. If these levels are on the low end, replace the cartridges.
4. Reinstall the printer drivers
Your printer drivers define how it connects to your computer. If these drivers are out of date or faulty, reinstall them and see if that fixes your problem.
Installing, removing, and reinstalling drivers in Windows 10 is pretty easy, and here's how you do it:
Disconnect the printer from your PC.
Launch Control Panel on your computer.
Select the View devices and printers option under Hardware and sound.
Find your printer in the list of devices.
Right click on your printer and select Remove device.
A message appears asking if you really want to delete the selected printer. Select Yes on the prompt to continue.
Connect the printer to your PC and your PC should automatically install the drivers.