# Solved: Windows Photo Viewer won't print



## kirkmiller

I can print files / documents from all other applications (Word, Excel, WordPerfect, etc.), but not from Windows Photo Viewer. I use Windows Photo Viewer to open a JPG file, select *Print* from the menu bar, and click the *Print* button; a "getting ready to print" message is displayed for a split-second, but nothing is sent to my printer. Windows Photo Viewer never has worked since I got this computer a few months ago. It works fine on my old computer (Windows XP) with the same printer.
Windows 7, PowerSpec desktop PC (from Micro Center); Samsung ML-2955DW printer


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## texasbullet

Have you tried using Crtl+P


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## kirkmiller

Yes, CTRL+P brings up the same screen that *Print* brings up. In fact, the Print screen lists CTRL+P as the same as selecting *Print*.


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## plodr

Open Devices and Printers. Make sure the Samsung is set as the default and then click See What's Printing up near the menu.
Anything stuck in the printer queue?


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## kirkmiller

Yes, the Samsung printer is the default printer. No, nothing is in the print queue.


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## texasbullet

check with the samsung website. Maybe there may be some updates for your printer.


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## kirkmiller

I checked. Everything is up to date on my printer.


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## donetao

Hi You might try uninstalling and reinstalling your printer!!
You might give this a look!!
http://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/ML-2955DW/XAA


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## texasbullet

You may also want to download the drivers for your printer from samsung if not done so and use that installation download instead of using your disc.

Have you tried on changing the compatability mode for your printer program to XP.


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## kirkmiller

I re-installed the printer and downloaded everything from Samsung's website instead of using the CD that came with the printer. What puzzles me is that the printer works with all other applications -- Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, screen prints, Print To PDF (Firefox add-on), etc. It just doesn't work with Windows Photo Viewer. When I try to print something from Windows Photo Viewer, it doesn't put anything in the printer's print queue.


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## donetao

IMHO the problem is with Windows Photo Viewer! I suggest you Google your issue and see if there is a fix!
https://social.technet.microsoft.co...4d/windows-7-photo-viewer-wont-print-pictures


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## plodr

Do you get a dialog box like this after you select print?
If not, perhaps Windows Photoviewer is damaged.


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## texasbullet

Read this article to see if it may help you: https://social.technet.microsoft.co...viewer-wont-print-pictures?forum=w7itpromedia


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## plodr

Good thread find texasbullet. Amazing how this glitch has been around since 2010!
For some reason mine works. Of course, I tested it on a 32 bit version of Win 7. I'll have to see if my 64 bit version works or misbehaves.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No problem on my 64 bit Win 7 sent to a networked printer.

Normally I open pictures in IrfanView portable and print through there so that's why I was unaware that there was a problem with Windows Photo Viewer and printing.


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## kirkmiller

Thanks, everybody, for your suggestions. I've been out of town, so now I'll reply to the suggestions that you made while I was gone.

Donetao: I already did several Google searches before I posted the problem in this forum. I read and tried every suggestion that is pertinent to my problem, but without success.

Plodr: Yes, I get the dialog box similar to the one that you attached. I click the *Print* button and nothing happens. Nothing is put in the print queue.

Texasbullet: This is one of the items that I found in my earlier Google searches. The suggestions didn't solve my problem.

To recap the problem: I open a .JPG file in Windows 7 Photo Viewer, and the picture is displayed. I choose *Print* at the top of screen, and choose *Print* again form the drop-down menu. A new window opens. I click the *Print* button and nothing happens. _Nothing is put in the print queue_.

Any other suggestions? (besides re-installing Windows 7)


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## donetao

> Any other suggestions? (besides re-installing Windows 7)


I doubt if re-installing W 7 will solve your problem. The problem is with Windows Photo Viewer. Is that a windows 7 default program???? I don't see it on my W7 Home Premium !!


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## texasbullet

Have you tried setting your printer into XP compatability? (troubleshoot compatability)


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## kirkmiller

Donetao: I have Windows 7 Professional (64 bit), and Windows Photo Viewer came with it. On my old desktop PC, it worked just fine under Windows XP.


Texasbullet: No, I haven't tried setting my printer into XP compatibility. I don't know what it is or how to do it. Since Photo Viewer doesn't put anything in the print queue, would setting the printer in XP compatibility make a difference? My printer works just fine when printing from all other programs; it is only Photo Viewer that I have a problem with. If you think that XP compatibility would work, please tell me where I can find information about how to do it. Thanx.


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## donetao

I think this is what Texasbullet is referring to????


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## kirkmiller

I did the troubleshooting a while ago as suggested in one of my Google searches. It didn't help.


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## donetao

kirkmiller said:


> I did the troubleshooting a while ago as suggested in one of my Google searches. It didn't help.


No you click on Programs at the top ! Compatibility!!


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## kirkmiller

Okay, I see what you mean. I got to program compatibility, but Windows Photo Viewer wasn't listed. When I selected *Not Listed*, I was told to specify the program file's location. I specified C:\Program Files\Windows Photo Viewer\PhotoViewer.dll and was told "The specified path contains a program that cannot be changed by this troubleshooter. Please select another program." Any suggestions?


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## texasbullet

kirkmiller said:


> Texasbullet: No, I haven't tried setting my printer into XP compatibility. I don't know what it is or how to do it. Since Photo Viewer doesn't put anything in the print queue, would setting the printer in XP compatibility make a difference? My printer works just fine when printing from all other programs; it is only Photo Viewer that I have a problem with. If you think that XP compatibility would work, please tell me where I can find information about how to do it. Thanx.


On your main screen find the printer you are having problems with. Click once and then right click on it. Select "troubleshoot compatability" and follow the screen instructions. Once you get to an area where there are several OS available, select Windows XP, SP 3. and continue with the instructions. Once completed I cannot guarantee you if your printer might work or not but since you stated that your printer worked well with Windows XP it should work too.
Notice: Once you set this program (Printer) to XP you cannot go back to Windows 7. Your printer will only operate under Windows XP and does not affect your other programs in your computer.


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## donetao

Hi Here's what you're looking for!!


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## texasbullet

I forgot to mention:
Before you attempt to do what I explained to you or what donetao posted try first by right clicking on your printer program and select "Run as administrator" to see if you have luck. If none then proceed as mentioned by me or donetao.


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## kirkmiller

I don't want to set my printer to work only under Windows XP. My wife uses a laptop PC that does NOT use XP, and we share the printer -- a Samsung laser printer -- wirelessly. I have another printer, an Epson color ink jet, that is hooked up to my desktop PC with a cable. I rarely us the Epson printer. I'll try using the Epson to print something from Windows 7 Photo Viewer; I never have tried to print to the Epson via Photo Viewer. Perhaps that will indicate whether the problem is with the printer or with Photo Viewer -- correct?


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## donetao

Hey texasbullet! Nice working with you. "Run as Administrator" is a good suggestion! After reading the thread again!! You might want to go into default programs and check it out also.


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## kirkmiller

I could not figure out how to specify *Run As Administrator* for my Samsung printer. When I right click on the printer, *Run As Administrator* is not an option. It is my default printer.

I went to Set Default Programs, selected *Windows Photo Viewer*, and selected *Set this program as default*. Photo Viewer still doesn't print on my Samsung laser printer. Photo Viewer does, however, print on my Epson ink jet printer. Why does Photo Viewer not like my Samsung printer?


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## donetao

> Photo Viewer still doesn't print on my Samsung laser printer. Photo Viewer does, however, print on my Epson ink jet printer. Why does Photo Viewer not like my Samsung printer?


Well at least you're making progress!! I think I would contact Samsung and ask them that question.


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## dvk01

donetao said:


> IMHO the problem is with Windows Photo Viewer! I suggest you Google your issue and see if there is a fix!
> https://social.technet.microsoft.co...4d/windows-7-photo-viewer-wont-print-pictures


You have had enough warnings about telling users to use google. They come here for help, not to be told to use Google. 
There is nothing wrong with posting a link to TechNet or other Microsoft forums that might have the remedy, but you must not tell a user to google it or infer that they can find the result by using a search engine
Perhaps this infraction which results in a temporary ban will remind you


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## texasbullet

kirkmiller said:


> I could not figure out how to specify *Run As Administrator* for my Samsung printer. When I right click on the printer, *Run As Administrator* is not an option. It is my default printer.


I think that you are doing the step wrong. On your main screen where you have all your programs on display, select (highlight) your printer and right click on it and select "Run as administrator". Sometimes some programs will not properly work unless you select this option.

No need to go to your devices and printers.


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## texasbullet

kirkmiller said:


> I don't want to set my printer to work only under Windows XP. My wife uses a laptop PC that does NOT use XP, and we share the printer -- a Samsung laser printer -- wirelessly. I have another printer, an Epson color ink jet, that is hooked up to my desktop PC with a cable. I rarely us the Epson printer. I'll try using the Epson to print something from Windows 7 Photo Viewer; I never have tried to print to the Epson via Photo Viewer. Perhaps that will indicate whether the problem is with the printer or with Photo Viewer -- correct?


When you make the compatability mode for Windows XP it is only for your laptop and your wifes computer won't be affected at all. This step is only an optional thing for you to do and you are not under any obligation to do it if you don't want to.


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## dvk01

before doing any major work on this 
check if the correct printer appears in the drop down box when you select print using windows photo viewer
On my computer I almost never use photoviewer and use the Microsoft office photo program instead (Microsoft office picture manager) 

When I use photoviewer a different printer appears by default and I have to use the drop down box to select the correct printer

check that in your case


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## kirkmiller

*DVK01:* Yes, the correct Samsung printer appears in the drop-down box, but Photo Viewer doesn't print on the Samsung printer. When I select my Epson printer from the drop-down box, it prints. By the way, when I try printing on the Samsung printer, I don't get an error message or anything at all.

*Texasbullet:* On my main screen (desktop), icons are displayed for various programs -- Word, Firefox, Skype, Scanner, etc. My printer is not displayed. When I go to *Devices and Printers*, the Samsung printer's icon is displayed. When I right-click on the printer's icon, I get a list of options that does not include *Run As Administrator*.

I contacted Samsung and was told that there is no .exe file for the printer and that an icon for the printer will not appear on my computer's desktop. Their technician said that everything on my computer is being run as administrator because I am the only user on the computer and have administrator authority. Samsung acknowledged that many other people have this problem; their technician found out by looking on the Internet; he wasn't aware of the problem before I talked with him. He accessed my computer remotely and saw the problem, but didn't have a solution


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## plodr

> Samsung acknowledged that *many other people have this problem*; their technician found out by looking on the Internet; he wasn't aware of the problem before I talked with him. He accessed my computer remotely and saw the problem, but *didn't have a solution*.


 Tell people to avoid Samsung printers if their "techs" have to find out from the internet that many people have this problem and can't figure out a solution for it.


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## donetao

Well now you know!! I agree with Liz! I'm happy that you got it sorted out!!


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## dvk01

This isn't a Samsung issue or a problem with Samsung printers
The problem is with wireless printing from photo viewer. From what I can find out WPV ( windows photo viewer) uses a different method of printing to other programs on a computer. It will check which printer it "thinks" is default printer and try to send to that one. If it finds the printer offline or cannot discover it, then it just keels over and fails to do anything
Wireless printing is treated by windows as the same as using a network printer and WPV has always had problems with network printing 
My best solution for an easy life without lots of hassle is to use a wired connection ( usb lead) for the wireless printer from your computer and leave it wireless for your wife. Many features of wireless printers are only available from a wired connection and not from the wireless one. I have found over the years that wireless works for word, notepad, wordpad etc and printing direct from windows explorer. Wireless Printing from WPV or many other imaging programs just doesn't work properly and the simplest solution is to use the USB connection from that computer.

You* might *find it will work properly if you unplug your Epson printer & uninstall the Epson from your system and ONLY have the Samsung set as default printer

Some antiviruses/security suites routinely block the ports that WMV uses to print wirelessly, but finding the correct port and unblocking it is a nightmare


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## dvk01

plodr said:


> Tell people to avoid Samsung printers if their "techs" have to find out from the internet that many people have this problem and can't figure out a solution for it.


When you search for this problem, you soon see that it isn't a Samsung specific problem. It affects ALL wireless printers. There are more complaints and problems with HP, Epson, Canon and Konicera than Samsung

Suggesting that ANY tech companies techs are useless because they have to search the internet isn't a realistic conclusion. The majority of people don't print many pictures and when they do WPV is not a frequently used program compared to other imaging programs


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## texasbullet

I have also read somewhere that there are issues with drivers for the 64 bit OS and not with the 32 bit OS. I don't know if this might be true or not.


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## dvk01

The other solution if you want to keep both printers configured on the computer and use the Samsung wirelessly_* might be *_ to use an alternative imaging program as the default for viewing pictures and printing them 
Try irfanview or the inbuilt alternative windows photo editor program that comes with Microsoft office 2010 or earlier. Go to start/all programs/Microsoft office/ office tools and select Microsoft office picture manager 
if it isn't installed then go to add/remove programs and select Office, select change or add components and add office tools

Once you have it, then right click any jpg , select open with and select Microsoft office picture manager and see if that works for you. If it does, then set that as default picture program and away you go


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## Rich-M

I couldn't agree more this is not a printer issue at all and could happen with any brand of printer.
If making the Samsung the default printer does not fix this problem, nothing will and a better choice of graphics viewer as suggested like Irfanview makes even more sense anyway.


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## kirkmiller

DVK01:

I took your suggestion (thank you!), but so far haven't been able to make Photo Viewer print to my Samsung printer. I'll explain what I did and see if you can advise me of something else that I need to do.

I hooked up my Samsung printer (which is the default printer) to my desktop computer with a cable and turned it on. My other wired printer (Epson) is turned off. I tried printing a .jpg file (a scanned document) via Photo Viewer; no luck, same as before.

I unplugged my Internet connection to the computer and restarted the PC so that the computer could not connect to the printer wirelessly. My other wired printer remained turned off. I printed a page on the Samsung printer using Microsoft Word, no problem. I tried printing a .jpg file via Photo Viewer, but it didn't work, same as before.

What adjustments do I need to make in order to get Photo Viewer to print to my Samsung printer?


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## Rich-M

Sounds like you have doe everything possible and it won't go. Why not try Irfanview is is a much better piece of software in my mind that gives you so many more options anyway:
www.irfanview.com


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## plodr

I have an HP printer that operates wirelessly because 6 of the 8 printers in the house can print to it. 7 of the 8 computers in the house were printing to this printer but I removed two computers from the network so they can no longer go online. (I have an old print server box attached so one of the offline printers can print to an old 722; the other can print to the 722 or an AIO 1055).

I can print from Windows Photo Viewer on 32 bit Win 7 and 64 bit Win 7.

Note: I don't choose to print from Windows Photo Viewer, I use Irfan most of the time but I did test it a week or two ago when someone was having problems to see if I had the same problems. I did not.

So clearly some people have problems with printing from Windows Photo Viewer but no one seems to be able to figure out why.
Bittedness doesn't seem to be a problem for my setup and neither does the fact that it is wireless.


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## kirkmiller

I solved the problem. I deleted the Samsung printer from my system; rebooted the computer; downloaded the current driver from Samsung's website; re-installed the printer -- wired only -- using a USB cable; successfully printed a sample page. Then I added wireless capability to the printer; successfully printed a sample page; then successfully printed .JPG files wirelessly using Windows Photo Viewer. THANK YOU EVERYBODY who offered help.


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## Rich-M

Great glad you got it solved.


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