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Windows: Solve “Unable to install printer. Another printer or printer with this name already exists”

By Mitch Bartlett 14 Comments

When attempting to install a printer in Microsoft Windows, I was greeted with an error that said:

“Unable to install printer. Another printer or printers share with this name already exists. please use another name for the printer.”

I received this error despite the fact that there was no other printer using the name I specified.

For me, this message appeared because somewhere in the Windows Registry was a reference to that printer name. I had to remove the registry entry using these steps.

You may want to make a backup of the Registry first before performing these steps.

  1. Hold the Windows Key and press “R“.
  2. Type “regedit“, then press “Enter“.
  3. Navigate to the following location:
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
    • SYSTEM
    • CurrentControlSet
    • Control
    • Print
    • Printers
  4. Look for the registry key that has any keys or values related to the printer name you were trying to use. Right-click the key, then delete it.
  5. Close the “Registry Editor“.
  6. Select “Start“, type “services.msc“, then press “Enter“.
  7. Stop and restart the “Print Spooler“.

Now attempt to add the printer again. You should be able to use the name you desired without the error message appearing.

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Filed Under: Windows Tagged With: win7, Windows 10, Windows 8

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Pezza says

    November 22, 2021 at 9:39 am

    Spot on, worked in Windows 10 Pro, thank you.

  2. Mark says

    July 28, 2021 at 5:58 am

    Super helpful!

  3. Superleaw says

    December 27, 2020 at 12:41 am

    I appreciate your help, Mr. Bartlett.

  4. Helen Chong says

    October 19, 2020 at 2:01 pm

    thank you, it works

  5. Mike says

    September 12, 2020 at 9:02 am

    It worked. But, when I created a new printer with the name that was formerly in the registry, it didn’t show up as one of the available printers.

  6. Abdul Azeez says

    August 9, 2020 at 12:30 pm

    Great ,It works in Windows Server 2016.

  7. Kevin says

    June 14, 2020 at 9:07 pm

    Thank you!

  8. Aaron Stout says

    April 7, 2020 at 12:30 pm

    Thank you

  9. Liezl says

    December 28, 2019 at 1:36 am

    Awesome – thank you!

  10. ER says

    December 6, 2019 at 2:37 pm

    Worked perfect after angrily deleting a printer and trying to re-install later. Thanks, Win10

  11. Bob says

    October 22, 2019 at 10:28 am

    Still an issue in Windows 10.

  12. William Nightingale says

    October 5, 2019 at 7:31 pm

    worked great!!

  13. Another windows user says

    September 25, 2019 at 2:43 pm

    Thank you.

  14. A windows user says

    July 11, 2019 at 12:48 pm

    Thanks!

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