Hello, My Name is Johnny Cache
Or, how to clear the queue.

But I Know I Had It Comin', I Know I Can't Be Free,
But Those People Keep A-Movin',
And That's What Tortures Me.
Pure Poetry, Folsom Prison Blues, Johnny Cash

It has been said that this author of this blog displays a certain cachet concerning issues in contemporary computing.  I could go on, but I won't.

The vast majority of time, when your printer decides to abruptly stop printing, the cause is a botched print job stuck in the print queue.  Or, because the botched print is stuck in memory, it is all stuck in the cache.  Take your pick.  I'm just used to saying cache.

The Windows Settings control is where you access how to tame our present picky peripheral.  What follows is for Windows 11 and my crummy WalMart special Canon printer.  What you see will vary in layout depending on your printer software, but the overall principles and functions will be the same.

Get to our gear icon to click to the Settings window.  And then click:

1. Bluetooth & Devices.

2. Printers & Scanners.

3. Click the right triangle at the far of Printers & Scanners control.

When the Printers & scanners screen opens, first look for your printer.  If you do not see your printer, then it is not properly installed.  You will  want to visit the manufacturer's website to obtain the most current software.  If you are unfamiliar with what I just wrote, then contact a qualified technician to help you.

If the printer says OFFLINE, like you see below, then check that the printer is connected to the computer; the printer has power; and is turned on.  If you are unfamiliar with what I just wrote, then contact a qualified technician to help you.

Before you click the control next to your ONLINE printer, scroll down and insure "Let Windows manage my default printer" is turned off. This sounds good, but my experience is it simply causes more problems that it solves.

When the screen for our printer opens, there are several controls.  To control to open the printer cac--err, printer queue, is the first control you will see.  Click the right pointing arrow at the right of the control.  The print queue window will open.

There are two drop down menus that are concern deleting stuck print jobs.  From the Document dropdown box you select and delete one document at a time.

From the Printer Drop down menu, you can Cancel All Documents in the queue.

The most common reason a print job gets stuck is the document itself is outside the print area.  This situation often occurs when trying to print a document from the web.  When printing from the web look for an element on the page that says one way or another, "Click here to print this page."

Using the Windows functions to clear the cache works most of the time, but not always.   My best suggestion to clear the printer cache is to:
Follow the steps below in order.

1. Turn off the printer.
2. Turn off the computer.
3. After both are powered off, unplug the power connector from the back of the printer.
4. Turn the computer back on.  After powered on, try to clear the queue. Wait a bit. Power printer back up.
5. It sometimes takes a couple of tries at the above to finally clear the queue.  Your mileage will vary.

Well, If They Freed Me From This Prison,
If That Railroad Train Was Mine,
I Bet I'd Move On Over A Little Farther Down The Line,
Far From Folsom Prison, That's Where I Want To Stay,
And I'd Let That Lonesome Whistle
Blow My Blues Away.

Gerald Reiff