PC users are experiencing serious problems while printing after downloading the most recent Windows 10 March 2021 cumulative update. Some have even been hit with the feared Blue Screen of Death, an error that requires a full system shutdown.
Fortunately, Microsoft has heard the complaints and released a temporary workaround for the problem. Not every software bug in Windows 10, or any other OS, is swiftly addressed, however, Microsoft didn't waste any time after BleepingComputer reported these printer errors earlier this week.
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The software giant released a new support document describing the error in detail and providing a workaround for how to avoid the Blue Screen of Death. Microsoft marked the printer error as "resolved" so you shouldn't have any problems going forward.
As for what was causing the problem, it seems to be an issue with Type 3 printer drivers and it impacts a wide range of Windows 10 versions, including 20H2, 2002, 1909, 1809, Enterprise LTSC 219 and 1803.
“After installing KB5000802, you might receive an APC_INDEX_MISMATCH error with a blue screen when attempting to print to certain printers in some apps. This issue affects a subset of Type 3 printer drivers and does not affect printer drivers that are Type 4," Microsoft notes.
If you aren't sure which driver your PC uses, press the Windows + r key to bring up the "Run a command" dialogue box. From here, type printmanagement.msc and press enter. If Print Management pops up, expand Print Servers and your computer's name, then select Printers. If it doesn't, and you get an error, select "Start" and type manage optional features. From there, choose "Add a feature" and type "print." Lastly, select the check box next to Print Management Console and install it, then rerun these steps.
Windows 10 printer error fix
Microsoft detailed a workaround that evades the Blue Screen of Death error, however, a permanent solution was released in the out-of-band KB5001567 update. This is a cumulative update, so you don't need to install any previous updates beforehand.
You do, however, need to manually update your system. We have instructions on how to update Windows 10. Doing so should fix any errors you're getting when attempting to print.
If that isn't working, or you can't see the update for whatever reason, Microsoft also provided a workaround although it requires a bit of technical know-how. You can follow this video the company posted for 32-bit or 64-bit systems. It walks you through opening a command prompt and using rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /Xg /n PRINTERNAME to see if Direct Printing is enabled. If not, you need to run another command rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /Xs /n PRINTERNAME attributes +direct.
To print from 64-bit apps running a 64-bit version of Windows or using 32-bit apps on a 32-bit version of Windows, download and install the Application Compatibility Toolkit.
