How to Reinstall a Printer Driver Cleanly
Windows 11, macOS, iOS, and Android; printer menus described generically · Last checked · Suggest an edit
https://instructions.wiki/printers/reinstall-a-printer-driver-without-leaving-a-ghost-printer
The printer list shows the same printer twice, one marked Offline or named "Copy 1," and jobs keep going to the dead one. Removing a printer in Settings leaves the driver package and the maker's software behind, and the next install stacks a new copy on top of the old files. Clearing all three layers before installing again leaves one clean printer.
Remove the printer (Windows)
Go to Settings, Bluetooth & devices, Printers & scanners. Click the printer and click Remove. Do the same for every duplicate, offline, or "Copy 1" entry.
Remove the driver package
Scroll down in Printers & scanners and click Print server properties (or search for it from the Start menu). Open the Drivers tab, select the printer's driver, click Remove, choose Remove driver and driver package, and click OK. If Windows says the driver is in use, restart the PC and try again.
Uninstall the maker's app and restart
Go to Settings, Apps, Installed apps, find the printer maker's software, and uninstall it. Restart the PC. The restart clears the spooler and any driver files that were locked.
Install fresh
Download the current driver from the maker's site and run it, or go back to Printers & scanners and click Add device for a network printer. When the printer appears, click it and choose Set as default so jobs stop going to whatever Windows picked in the meantime.
Do the same on a Mac
Go to System Settings, Printers & Scanners, click the printer, and click Remove Printer. Then right-click (or Control-click) an empty area of the printer list and choose Reset printing system, which removes every printer, driver, and queued job at once. Drag any printer maker's utility from Applications to the Trash, restart, and add the printer again with Add Printer, Scanner, or Fax.
If a ghost printer will not go away. Search for Print Management from the Start menu, open All Printers, right-click the leftover entry, and choose Delete. That view lists printers Settings sometimes hides.
If jobs are stuck. Go to Settings, System, Troubleshoot, Other troubleshooters, and run Printer. It restarts the spooler and clears jammed jobs.