Printer error 0x00000771, explained and fixed
0x00000771 translates directly: it is Windows error 1905, "The specified printer has been deleted." Something on the PC still refers to a printer that is no longer there: a shared printer whose host removed or renamed it, a queue left behind after a driver removal, or a default printer entry pointing at a deleted device. The printer itself is not broken; the registration Windows is following is a ghost.
The fix, in order
- Identify the ghost. Note which printer the error names or which printer was being used. If it is a shared printer, check on the host PC whether that printer still exists and is still shared under the same name; a host-side rename or removal is the most common origin.
- Remove the stale printer entry. In Settings, Bluetooth and devices, Printers and scanners, remove the affected printer from the client. If it refuses to remove because it is the default, set another printer as default first.
- Restart the Print Spooler. Restarting clears the spooler's cached connections to the deleted printer so the removal actually takes.
- Clear a stale default entry if the error appears when printing from apps. If an application still aims at the deleted printer, set a real printer as the default in Settings, and turn off Let Windows manage my default printer so the choice stays put.
- Reconnect the printer as it exists now. For a shared printer, browse to the host with \\HOSTNAME and double-click the printer under its current name. For a local or network printer, remove and re-add it, installing the current driver from the manufacturer's site if prompted.
- Check for leftover driver packages if ghosts keep returning. In Print Server Properties, Drivers tab, remove the driver package of the deleted printer. Leftover packages can cause Windows to recreate broken entries, especially after the flurry of printing updates in recent years.
If it still happens
This error appeared frequently during the period when Windows printing updates were changing quickly, because updates and rollbacks removed and recreated printer registrations at a rate that left references behind. A client that still throws 0x00000771 after a clean removal and reconnect usually has the stale reference inside one application (which keeps its own last-used printer), cured by choosing the printer explicitly in that app's print dialog once.
Common questions
I did not delete any printer, so why does Windows say it has been deleted? Deletion includes changes made elsewhere: the host PC removing or renaming a shared printer, a driver uninstall, or an update replacing the printer's registration. From the client's perspective, the printer it knew is gone either way.
What is error 1905 in relation to 0x00000771? They are the same error in two notations: 1905 is the decimal Windows system error code, 0x771 is its hexadecimal form, and the printing dialogs show the hex version.
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