No Drivers and Printers

[MFL]

My two month old Dell desktop shows an empty Drivers and Printers screen after a delay of several minutes in trying to open it. None of our other desktops has this problem. Is there a fix for this problem?

 

[Trouble]

I assume you mean the Devices and Printers applet Window in the control panel.
Have you tried creating a new test user account as a member of the local administrators group to check and see if the problem is associated with a particular (yours) profile?
Might be worth taking the time and making the effort to further the diagnostic process.

 

[MFL]

Yes, it is the Control Panel Devices and Printers. I added another user first without and then with administrator's privileges, but Devices & Printers showed 0 items for both. The problem could relate somehow to my antivirus. When I uninstalled one free trial antivirus which Dell had installed, D&P opened fully populated, but just once. The same thing happened when I uninstalled Avira, which I regularly use, but also just once. However, quite separately, after my computer blue screened and crashed, D&P opened properly but just once after I rebooted.

 

[Trouble]

I suggest trying the native System File Checker and see if that finds anything.
Right click the Start Button and choose Command Prompt (Admin) from the context menu and in the Command Prompt window type
sfc /scannow
hit enter
let it run and see what results it produces

 

[MFL]

I have run sfc and it found no problems.

 

[Trouble]

OK, try this troubleshooter from Microsoft
http://aka.ms/diag_devicec

 

[MFL]

The troubleshooter didn't find any problems.

 

[Trouble]

Right click the Start Button and choose Run from the context menu and in the Run dialog box type
services.msc
hit enter or Click OK
Scroll down to Bluetooth Support Service
Double click it and set the startup type to automatic
Click OK
Reboot the computer
See if that makes any difference.
Don't ask me why but evidently it does, at least for some people on some computers and interestingly enough, with or without actual Blue Tooth Devices installed / attached.

 

[MFL]

I had tried that without restarting, and it did not change anything. I just tried it with a restart, as you suggested. Same result - 0 items in the D&P folder.

 

[Trouble]

IF you go to Settings -> Devices
Are your Printers & scanners listed?
AND
Under Connect devices
Are your other connected devices listed there?

 

[MFL]

Yes - all the printers, scanners and devices show there. The one practical effect of losing the folder seems to be the inability to manually update printer drivers.

Incidentally, when I use sfc as administrator, I have to go through Task Manager because there appears to be no command prompt in any Windows menu.

 

[MFL]

I just stumbled on Command Prompt buried deep in a programs menu.

 

[Trouble]

The one practical effect of losing the folder seems to be the inability to manually update printer drivers.

You can always use the Settings -> Devices to "Manage" the printer and from that, open Printer properties and use the Advanced tab to add a "New Driver"

there appears to be no command prompt in any Windows menu.

I assume you are talking about the right click context menu?
It's possible that the two Command Prompt options may have been taken over by the similar but different two PowerShell options?
IF that is the case you can change which ones appear in the context menu by Right clicking the taskbar and choosing properties and then moving the "Replace Command Prompt with Windows PowerShell in the menu when you right-click the start button or press Windows key + X" to "Off".

 

[MFL]

Command Prompt is in the Windows System folder in the programs menu, I discovered.

Thank you for your many suggestions. I will be talking with Dell's hardware warranty support people again tomorrow to discuss the blue screen issue which may have involved the hardware. Since they actually go a bit beyond pure hardware help, they may be able to suggest something that will revive D&P.

 

[Trouble]

You can always just strike the Windows logo key on your keyboard and just start typing
cmd
It should appear at the top of the list where you can right click it and choose "Run as Administrator"
I find that easier than digging for it.
Please post back and let us know what Dell might have found as a possible solution to your problem.
I for one would be very interested.
Did you happen to try starting both are all Blue Tooth related services and setting them to Automatic just to see if that might shake something loose

 

[MFL]

Problem finally solved. Not only did Devices and Printers rarely appear, but the network folder often opened empty. After reinstalling Windows and all my programs (again after having done so when I bought he computer), the computer generally ran much better. So far, the blue screens and slowdowns I was having have not reappeared.

However, Devices and Printers and the network folder were just as troublesome as before. D&P took 3-4 minutes to load, but it ultimately would do so. I ended up suspecting that Classic Shell was the culprit, and it was. When I uninstalled it, using its utility, not the Windows Programs & Features uninstall, my balky folders opened up quickly. Since I practically never need D&P and the network folder mostly works, I reinstalled Classic Shell, which is fast and simple to do. It is so much easier and quicker to use than the Windows 10 start menu. If I need the D&P folder, I can uninstall/reinstall Classic Shell.

 

[Trouble]

However, Devices and Printers and the network folder were just as troublesome as before. D&P took 3-4 minutes to load, but it ultimately would do so. I ended up suspecting that Classic Shell was the culprit, and it was. When I uninstalled it, using its utility, not the Windows Programs & Features uninstall, my balky folders opened up quickly.

Thank you very much for the follow-up information.
Much appreciated.
Now all I have to do is remember that, for the next time someone has a similar problem.

 

[MFL]

To complicate matters a bit, our other, older computers all have Windows 10 and Classic Shell -- and absolutely no problem opening D&P and the network folder.

 

[MFL]

My reaction was premature. I now have the same problems after fully uninstalling Classic Shell and the same other problem I had with an occasional blue screen when I try to type in the name of a new folder in File Explorer. So Classic Shell is off the hook and this problem is unsolved. D&P takes 10 minutes to load. Network always opens empty if I click on it while D&P is trying to load. It may be the result of a peculiar interaction between my new Dell XPS8910 and Windows 10.

 

[Ashley_247]

Yes I also facing this problem, anybody can help me