W10 update knocks out epson printer

ALANGR · 19 May 2018

I have just installed the latest W10 update (version 1803) and can no longer print. I have an Epson EPL-6100 laser which is now 15 years old or so but this morning it was still working OK; now it is not.

The Bonjour wizard does not help and Windows does not even detect it. What searches I have done have mostly found buggy sites and from Epson all I can see is that they have nothing for W10!

Any ideas on how to get going again (short of a new printer!).

Thanks.

Barman58 · 19 May 2018

AFAIK Bonjour is an Apple product that is included with windows installs for working in Mixed networks (PC & Mac), so should not be an issue.

It is sometimes the case that a major upgrade like 1803 will Disable/Remove some drivers, the usual way to solve this issue is simply to reinstall the driver. If you have the driver installer that was working with the last version of Windows 10, try that first, if this gives problems or you do not have access to it, the Epson Drivers are available at the link below ...

Support & Downloads - Epson EPL-6100 - Epson

This link has multiple options and should allow you to obtain a working system :)

ALANGR · 19 May 2018

Thanks for that. I have already been through the page you mention but it reported that no W10 drivers were available for the EPL-6100.

The last driver update in the early days of W10, was a generic bodge of some kind on which I do not have any information.

Annoying, though....

Barman58 · 19 May 2018

That's not good, only thing I would suggest is to switch off the printer and then remove the existing driver, use the Device manager and select the remove all option, if offered, (if you do not have a specific entry in the add/remove programs),

Once this is done make sure the printer is disconnected and reboot the system, once up and running normally connect the printer and switch it on - hopefully this will trigger the inbuilt driver installer and find the best available driver (which may be only a compatible device but at least will give you some usage), when this is complete if you have a "working" printer then wait a week or so and try to update the driver, if not your only option is probably to contact Epson (microsoft only supply drivers made by the manufacturers), and they sometimes lag behind changes in the OS.

The problem is most companies have a support cut off date and large corporation are not really going to set this beyond around ten years as used by Microsoft and most business clients

ALANGR · 19 May 2018

As you say, not good. I did what you suggested but there was no (on screen) recognition of any new device when I plugged in the printer. Searching to 'add printer' came to nothing as the printer was not recognised at all. So end of the line?

Thanks for your comments/help.

Barman58 · 19 May 2018

I would give it a week or two just in case there is an Epson Driver released, 1803 was only officially fully available to the public on 8th May so it's still early in it's life cycle or try getting a reply from Epson to a specific query about support

TV2 · 19 May 2018

Try this:

(assuming you've done everything Barman suggested)
With the printer Off and disconnected from PC, go to Control Panel > Devices & Printers > click on any printer shown (like MS Print to PDF) > on the top look for and click on Print Server Properties > click on the Driver Tab > look to see if you see the problem printer listed. If so, delete the driver > close Devices and Printers.
Restart the PC and then try connecting the printer again. See if Windows finds it now.

If not, try using the Add A Printer option in either Devices & Printers or in Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners.
Be sure you have your original Printer CD loaded or copied to Desktop to point the installer to.

Or, try using the original printer driver CD or download to install the printer according to their instructions. But when you execute the installation file, run it in Compatibility Mode for Windows 7 or even XP.

Hope that helps

ALANGR · 19 May 2018

Thanks for your suggestion. I did everything you suggested but I could not delete the driver for my old printer as it was 'currently in use'. This may be a file that did not print when I tried to do so after updating.

Is there some way I can clear this logjam?

Ben Myers · 19 May 2018

You may have to click "View", "Show hidden devices" in Device Manager to see the "Printers" entry. Also, don't let Device manager search for drivers. Instead, click "Browse my computer for driver software", then "Let me pick from a list of drivers on my computer".

Ben

mrgeek · 19 May 2018

"I could not delete the driver for my old printer as it was 'currently in use'. "

Do a Clean Boot (see Part 1 of this tutorial, pay attention to Step 5, picture is opposite of what you want) -
Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 10 to Troubleshoot Software Conflicts

After you restart with everything non-MS disabled, you should be able to delete print driver. Then re-install your Epson software but follow 'TV2's suggestion to run the setup.exe in Compatibility mode (r-click the setup to open dialog window) choosing the oldest OS, likely XP, and test install. If working, restart and re-enable the System Config items and choose the startup items that you REALLY need, in order to speed up start. Good Luck