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Under Printers and Scanners, I see the following devices:

  • Fax
  • HP PSC 750
  • Microsoft Print to PDF
  • Microsoft XPX Document Writer
  • OneNote

No matter which one I click on, I am presented with the same two buttons: Open queue and Manage. No matter which button I press, nothing happens. If I double-click the device itself, nothing happens.

On the other hand, under Bluetooth & other devices, there is a Devices and printers which mysteriously can't be found if I type in either printers or devices. If I click on that, I get a Devices and Printers panel showing the same devices as above. I can actually double-click HP PSC 750 and scan something.

Why are there two different panels showing the same devices?

In Windows 10, is one more authoritative than the other?

Is the Printers and Scanners window supposed to be unresponsive?

BACKGROUND

I am on Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. In case the following might be relevant, I spent the last week trying to get the HP PSC 750 recognized on this new Windows 10 laptop. I went to their Universal Print Driver for Windows and installed the USB Driver, which enabled printing but not scanning. Finally, I enabled Receive updates for other Microsoft products... under Advanced options for Windows updates and initiated an update. That enabled printing and scanning after unplugging and replugging the USB cable. I'm not sure if any of these steps might have caused the Printers and Scanners panel to be unresponsive.

user2153235
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    @vssher: Thanks! Accessing `Printers and scanners` as Administrator did the trick. Each device has options `Open queue`, `Manage`, and `Remove`. `Remove` was not available when accessing `Printers and scanners` as non-Administrator. I didn't try `Remove`, but both `Open queue` and `Manage` were responsive. Neither are for actually using the device, e.g., to initiate a scan. – user2153235 Feb 08 '20 at 16:43
  • @vssher: I also tried `gpedit.msc` as Administrator, but I don't see the hierarchical path that you provided. I found `Accounts: Administrator account status` under `Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options`. After reading about it online, and considering my last comment above, I decided not to mess with it. – user2153235 Feb 08 '20 at 16:43
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    @vssher: Your second solution also worked: Under `Printers and scanners`, select the printer, then tab to the `Open queue` or `Manage` buttons and press `Return`. Would you be so kind as to post your two "solution" as an answer? – user2153235 Feb 08 '20 at 16:51
  • If you can post your two solutions, I can mark it as the answer. If you don't feel it worth the time, I'll post it. Thanks. – user2153235 Feb 09 '20 at 02:00
  • Thank's for the update, I have posted all my comments into an Answer box. – vssher Feb 09 '20 at 02:07

1 Answers1

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On this computer, Windows 10 Professional, I have Local Computer Policy and also
Group Policy Editor.

If you switch to log on using administrator account is the option working? Open Local Secrutiy Policy > Local Policies > Security Options > Accounts:

Administrator account status + Enable +Disable.

A lot of people are having this same issue, even with the lastest Windows release. There is however a proposed workaround from Bibs Rielley Wednesday, September 18, 2019 [1].

vssher
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    Thanks, vssher. I found that Bibs Rielley's suggestion to tab to the `Open queue` and `Manage` buttons to be most convenient. Neither of them seem present the same functional options as accessing a device from the `Devices and scanners` panel, e.g. in the case of a PSC 750, to scan. – user2153235 Feb 09 '20 at 02:52
  • 2020-04-27: I tried for an hour to search for `Devices and scanners` without luck. I was finally able to find myself to a familiar looking panel using [this recipe](https://superuser.com/questions/1546350/how-to-get-to-devices-and-scanners-rather-than-printers-scanners/1546353). Not sure if `Devices and scanners` was a typo or whether the name of the panel changed. – user2153235 Apr 27 '20 at 22:25