Windows 10 Security Update May Cause Printer Issues

Many would argue (with some success) that while the Windows 10 operating system is largely more than decent, there does always seem to be problems when updates are released for it. If you are one of those people, and particularly those of you with some very important printing to be done, however, then you may want to pay attention!

In a report via Engadget, the latest Windows 10 security update (KB4560960 and KB4557957) has created a rather unusual problem that may stop your printer from working correctly. If, indeed, at all!

Windows 10 Security Update

Following initial posts from social media and particularly Reddit, users noted that after making the update, they were no longer able to print anything. While thought to generally be an issue for all types of files/documents, PDF printing was one of the most common issues noted.

Well, in confirming the problem, Microsoft has acknowledged that the security update has indeed created a problem. Specifically, an issue that may cause the ‘spool’ tool to incorrectly close (or crash) that, by proxy, means that information isn’t successfully sent to your device.

What Can You Do?

Well, for starters, if you have a lot of really important printing to do, you’re going to want to avoid these updates for as long as possible. While Microsoft has confirmed that a ‘fix’ is underway, if you are experiencing this issue, you basically only have two options. You can either uninstall these updates (something not overly ideal as they are security-based), or you can try to re-install your printer driver (some users report this working, others don’t).

This does, however, perhaps sum up why so many people have issues with Windows 10 updates. No matter how benign, they always seem to create some problems for some users!

What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!