[Fixed] Another Computer Is Using The Printer

Sometimes, while trying to print on your Canon printer, you may get the error message “Another computer is using the printer.” This message generally pops up if you try to execute the print command when the printer is already printing.

Most of the time, this occurs on a network printer, but you will also face this error on a local printer.

It is difficult to pinpoint an exact cause for this error message but causes like a clogged print queue, unresponsive print spooler service, or driver issues may cause this error. In such cases, you can apply some easy fixes to get rid of this issue.

Clear the Queue

This issue is generally related to the print queue and most of the time clearing the print queue solves the problem.

So, if you have shared the printer, you can view the print queue to see what other computers are printing and delete unwanted and failed print jobs from the queue.

However, if you are using a network printer, you will have to wait until the print jobs get completed.

1. Open Control Panel > View devices and printers.
   
2. Right-click the printer and choose See what’s printing.
   
3. Click Printer > Cancel All Documents.
   

If you have problems clearing the queue, you may refer to this guide on how to clear stuck print jobs in a queue.

Restart Print Spooler

Print spooler is a service that looks after everything related to printers and print jobs on a computer.

Restarting the print spooler service is always an immediate fix when you encounter any issues with your printer.

Most of the time, it also fixes the “Another computer is using the printer” error.

1. Type Command Prompt in the Windows search box and then launch it as administrator.
   
2. Copy-paste these commands and hit Enter after each of them.

• net stop spooler
• net start spooler
• exit

3. Try printing a document then. You should not face an issue.

Troubleshoot Printer

The built-in printer troubleshooter on your Windows computer help to diagnose problems with the printer and fix issues like clearing the stuck print jobs and setting the printer to default.

1. Open the Control Panel and click View devices and printers.
   
2. Right-click the problematic printer and select Troubleshoot.
3. Wait for a while till the troubleshooter diagnoses the problem.
4. The troubleshooter has now fixed the issue.

Note: Restart your printer, computer and router if you still face error after restarting the print spooler and running the troubleshooter.

Sign Out of Other User Accounts

If there are multiple user accounts on your computer, you may face the error message when another user account is accessing the printer. As such, you have to sign out of other user accounts and try using the printer again from your main account.

1. Hit the Ctrl + Shift + Esc shortcut keys on your keyboard to open Task Manager.
2. Go to the Users tab.
   
3. Right-click the user account other than your main account and click Sign off.
   

Reinstall Printer Driver

You should always install an official driver package provided by your printer manufacturer to avoid any kind of printing errors. However, if you are facing issues despite having official drivers installed, I recommend you reinstall the drivers to get rid of the error.

1. Open Settings.
   
2. Go to Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.
   
3. Click Add device > Add manually.
   
4. Choose the last option. Then click Next.
   
5. Choose the port of your printer. It is USB for wired printers and WSD for wireless printers. If you are using any other ports, choose accordingly.
   
6. Click Next.
7. Select the printer driver and click Next.
   
8. Check Replace the current driver option and click Next. It will reinstall the driver.
   

Configure WSD Timeout

Whenever multiple devices on the network send print requests, the latter requests go to the print queue and stay there till the former print request gets executed.

WSD timeout is the maximum time a device will wait for a response from the printer before giving up on the request. So if the printer does not respond within that time-out period, your print job will not execute and you will get the “Another computer is using the printer” error.

So, if there are a large number of devices on the network that need to print, increasing the WSD timeout period will help avoid this error message. However, please note that increasing the WSD time-out may invite other issues, so it is necessary to set a proper time-out duration.

Let’s see how to configure the WSD timeout period on the Canon MX922 printer.

1. Tap the Menu button on your printer.
2. Select Setup.
   
3. Go to Device settings.
4. Navigate to the right to open LAN settings.
   
5. Open Other settings > WSD settings.
   
6. Select the Timeout settings and specify a time higher than the earlier value.