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Troubleshooting printer connection issues in VMware Fusion

Symptoms

  • No printer is detected in a virtual machine
  • Printer is not printing correctly
  • Printer is not printing at all
  • Printing from a virtual machine results in an error

Purpose

This article discusses various methods to troubleshoot and correct printer issues in a Windows virtual machine using VMware Fusion.

Resolution

For information on the correct methods of connecting a printer to a virtual machine, see Printing from within a virtual machine in VMware Fusion (1013997).

Note: All troubleshooting steps assume that the printer is functioning normally on the Mac. Attempt to print using a Mac application before proceeding. If the printing failure occurs only after upgrading to Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), please update to the latest version of VMware Fusion 2.x or 3.x. A complimentary 2.x upgrade is available to all registered Fusion users here.

Caution: Using more than one method to connect the same printer may cause conflicts, resulting in printer failure using either method.

This article provides troubleshooting steps for these methods of printing from a virtual machine:

 
To correct issues with printer passthrough:

  1. Ensure the virtual machine is powered on.
  2. From Fusion's menu bar, click Virtual Machine > Settings.
  3. Click USB Devices and ensure that the problematic printer is not selected in the Connect USB devices field.
  4. Click Show All, then click Printers.
  5. Deselect Enabled.
  6. Close the settings and shut down the virtual machine.
  7. From Fusion's menu bar, click Virtual Machine > Settings, click Printers, then reselect Enabled.
  8. Power on the virtual machine
  9. In the virtual machine, click Start > Control Panels > Printers & Faxes pane to see if your printer is in the list. If the Printer is in the list, but has an offline status:
    1. Right-click on the printer and deselect Use Offline.
    2. Try to print.
    3. If the printer is not in the list or does not print, proceed to step 10.
  10. Click Start > Run, type services.msc, and press Enter.
  11. Scroll down and click TP AutoConnect Service then click Start. If Start is not an option:
    1. Click Stop and then click Start again.
    2. Right-click TP AutoConnect Service and select Properties.
    3. Under the startup type select Automatic.
  12. Check for your printer in the Control Panel list by repeating step 9.
  13. Click Start > Control Panel and click Add/Remove Programs. Remove VMware Tools. Restart Windows when prompted by the uninstall wizard.
  14. After Windows has rebooted, click on the Virtual Machine menu at the top of the screen and select Install VMware Tools. Continue through the VMware Tools install wizard. Restart Windows when prompted by the uninstall wizard. If the VMware Tools install wizard does not open, see Uninstalling and manually installing VMware Tools in VMware Fusion (1014522).
  15. After Windows has rebooted, check for your printer in the Control Panel list by repeating step 9.
  16. Power off the virtual machine.
  17. Disable printer passthrough by deselecting Enabled in the Printers pane and then re-enable it by reselecting Enabled.
  18. Power on the virtual machine.
  19. If the issue persists, follow the instructions in http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1465.
    Note: The preceding link was correct as of October 27, 2009. If you find the link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.
  20. If this issue persists, manually uninstall and reinstall Fusion. For more information, see Troubleshooting startup issues by manually reinstalling Fusion (1003484).

  1. Ensure that the virtual machine is powered on.
  2. From Fusion's menu bar, click Virtual Machine > Settings.
  3. Click USB Devices and ensure that the problematic printer is selected in the Connect USB devices field.
  4. Click Show All, then click Printers.
  5. Deselect Enabled.
  6. Close the settings and shut down the virtual machine.
  7. Click Start, right-click on My Computer and select Manage.
  8. In the window that displays, click Devices Manager and expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers menu.
  9. Check for your printer or unknown devices in the Device Manager list.
    1. If you do not see your printer or any other unknown devices, manually reinstall VMware Tools. For more information, see Uninstalling and manually installing VMware Tools in VMware Fusion (1014522). When VMware Tools is reinstalled and the virtual machine has restarted, repeat steps 8 - 10.
    2. If your printer is in the device list, click Start > Control Panel.
    3. If the Printer is in the list, but has an offline status:
      1. Right-click on the printer and deselect Use Offline.
      2. Try to print.
      3. If your printer still does not work, reinstall your printer software and repeat step 9b. You may download the printer software from the manufacturer's website. If you need assistance installing your software, see Working with printers, disks, and other devices in VMware Fusion (1014523) .
    4. If an unknown device is in the device list, reinstall your printer drivers and software. You may download the printer software from the manufacturer's website, If you need assistance installing your software using an install disk, see Working with printers, disks, and other devices in VMware Fusion (1014523).
  10. If the issue persists, manually uninstall and reinstall VMware Fusion. For more information, see For more information, see Troubleshooting startup issues by manually reinstalling Fusion (1003484) .


Printing using Bonjour is not affected by Fusion except for the networking aspect.
 
If printing using this method does not work, follow these troubleshooting steps:

  1. Ensure that the virtual machine is powered on
  2. From Fusion's menu bar, click Virtual Machine > Settings.
  3. Click USB Devices and ensure that the problematic printer is not selected in the Connect USB devices field.
  4. Click Show All, then click Printers.
  5. In the Network Pane, select Connected and select Connect directly to the physical network (Bridged) from the This network adapter is configured to is set to dropdown.
  6. Close the settings and power off the virtual machine, restart the Mac, and power on the virtual machine.
  7. When the virtual machine boots, check to see if you have a connection to the Internet by opening a browser.
  8. If you can connect to the Internet, try installing the printer again through Bonjour. For more information, see Sharing a printer with a Windows virtual machine using Apple Bonjour (1003814).
  9. If you are still unable to print, follow the instructions in http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1465 .
  10. If you still cannot print, see these articles from the Apple articles for Bonjour troubleshooting:

Network printers are not affected by Fusion except for the networking aspect.
 
If printing using this method does not work, follow these troubleshooting steps:
  1. Ensure that the virtual machine is powered on
  2. From Fusion's menu bar, click Virtual Machine > Settings.
  3. Click USB Devices and ensure that the problematic printer is not selected in the Connect USB devices field.
  4. Click Show All, then click Printers.
  5. In the Network Pane, select Connected and select Connect directly to the physical network (Bridged) from the This network adapter is configured to is set to dropdown.
  6. Close the settings and power off the virtual machine, restart the Mac, and power on the virtual machine.
  7. When the virtual machine boot, check to see if you have a connection to the Internet by opening a browser.
  8. If you can connect to the Internet, try installing the printer again. You may download the printer software from the manufacturer's website. If you need assistance installing your software, see Working with printers, disks, and other devices in VMware Fusion (1014523) .
  9. If you still cannot print, contact your printer's manufacturer for further troubleshooting.

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Actions
  • KB Article: 1014535
  • Updated: Mar 1, 2010
  • Tags
    Troubleshooting
  • Products:
    VMware Fusion
  • Product Versions:
    VMware Fusion 1.x
    VMware Fusion 2.x
    VMware Fusion 3.x