How to Remove Printers From the Command Line

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Remove printers from the command line with a single command.

For most users, adding printers, removing printers, and changing printer properties using Windows' graphical interface is sufficient. However, some instances require the greater degree of control and flexibility provided by the command line. This is most notably the case in larger organizations, where a system administrator seeks to remove a printer from hundreds or thousands of machines, but it does not have the time or resources to do so manually on each computer. Running a single command can solve this problem.

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Step 1

Open a command prompt. Click the Windows Start button and select "Run." Enter "cmd" (without quotation marks) and click "OK."

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Step 2

Enter the following command in the command prompt:

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rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /dl /n "printer_name" /c\computer_name

Change the "printer name" variable to the exact name of the printer you want to remove (e.g. "HP Color LaserJet 2600n"). Also change the "computer_name" variable to the name of the computer or server from which the named printer should be removed.

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Step 3

Press the "Enter" key to run the command. The printer is generally removed from the target computer within seconds.

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