What does Windows error code 1906 (ERROR_INVALID_PRINTER_STATE) mean?

 
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ERROR_PRINTER_DELETED ERROR_PASSWORD_MUST_CHANGE

ERROR_INVALID_PRINTER_STATE

Printer state and print-job state are separate layers. SetPrinter controls printer-level actions such as pause, resume, and purge, while SetJob controls an individual job and documents that some job commands are only valid in particular job states.

For this code, a snapshot of the printer and queue immediately after the failure is much more useful than a generic connectivity test. The device can be reachable while the logical printer object is paused, pending a transition, being deleted, or otherwise unable to accept the requested control operation.

State-aware diagnostics

  • Log the operation and command that failed, then retrieve printer status and attributes with GetPrinter.
  • Enumerate jobs and record whether the application accidentally applied a printer operation to a job workflow or vice versa.
  • Use change notifications to capture the state transition that preceded the error when the failure is intermittent.
  • Avoid forcing arbitrary status bits with SetPrinter; Microsoft documents that not every PRINTER_STATUS value is valid to set.

Microsoft SetPrinter state controls · SetJob state-sensitive controls · Printer change notifications


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