No Local Ports Are Available for Printers (255507)

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256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS

There may be no local ports available when you are configuring printers. Any printers that are connected to a local port may stop working with the following error message:

Failed to open, retrying

Also, you may not be able to print to devices connected to LPT or COM ports.

CAUSE

The driver for the local port monitor (Localspl.dll) may have been replaced by a third-party local port monitor. This print monitor may have been designed for previous versions of Windows and installed as part of a printer driver for your device.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

To resolve this issue:

Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
Locate the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\Local Port
Modify the Driver string value by double-clicking it, or by clicking it and then clicking String on the Edit menu. Change the string value to localspl.dll.
Click OK, and then quit Registry Editor.
Stop and restart the Spooler service.

MORE INFORMATION

When you are using the standard local port monitor (Localspl.dll), the available ports are LPT1 through LPT4, COM1 through COM4, and FILE.