Printer connection cannot be removed. Operation could not be completed
Sometimes things that seem so obvious aren’t. Earlier this week, I was trying to be cool and add a new network printer to a number of computers using a basic script. After a number of attempts at a test work station, I finally found a solution that I thought worked well. However, when attempting to remove some of my earlier failed attempts at adding the printer I encountered the following error ‘Printer connection cannot be removed. Operation could not be completed.’
What do you mean printer connection cannot be removed? I am the Administrator and therefore though shalt be removed.
Well apparently, the easiest way to resolve this problem is to:
- Disable your active network adapter or unplug the network cable
- Delete the printer that you were having trouble deleting
- Enable your active network adapter or reconnect the network cable
Sometimes you wonder, are we all webmasters living lives as webslaves?
10 Comments
Leo on April 16th, 2007
Just to elaborate on this a bit further, the reason you can’t remove the connection is normally because it was added using the /ga switch. So to remove it, you also have to use the delete per machine printer connections option. An example of this would be:
rundll32 printui.dll, PrintUIEntry /gd \\server\printername
Charles Patey on March 2nd, 2008
Worked for me as well – great.
Lars on March 29th, 2008
Goodness!!! Thank you! What an “F” simple solution! This was driving me crazy!!! Now that icon is gone… never going to use that Wizard again. I’ll just manually connect to the networked printer.
peter g on April 5th, 2008
Wow. works! Microsoft vista knowlwge base is yet again useless. Thanks
Printer Connection cannot be removed on July 13th, 2009
[...] message sources, like here suggest breaking network connection with the printer in question may be needed before windows [...]
Charriet on July 23rd, 2009
You are a genius – it worked – 4 duff network printers removed!
Charles
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odsantos on September 2nd, 2009
i disabled the wireless card and tried to remove the printer then got error 0×0…6be
i executed the run command with rundll32 printui.dll, PrintUIEntry /gd http://192.168.1.1:1631\samsung and got error 0×0…709
the samsung clp-300 was installed through a us robotic usr9108 print server and now that is disconnect i cannot remove the entry
it is only possible to do reconfiguring the router and attaching the usb printer
thanks
Jon on October 21st, 2009
You are all idiots, none of this worked. Please someone find a real solution instead of this pile of crap.
blockcipher on October 27th, 2009
This worked fantastic. Thanks!
jonathan donnelly on April 16th, 2007
hello their had the same problem for ages
could not find a solution from microsoft or technet
drove me crazy.
and now you have sorted the problem for me
thankyou very much
jd
have a nice life
god bless