SOLUTION: Follow the instructions for the appropriate operating system or port type.
| NOTE: | It may be necessary to close all applications (including anti-virus programs) or stop and restart the spooler before deleting a port. |
Windows XP
Click Start
, and then Printer and Faxes
.
Right-click the printer that has port to be deleted; then select Properties
.
Select the Ports
tab, and then put a check on a port other than the one to be deleted, such as File. Click OK
.
Right-click the printer again, then select Properties
.
Select the Ports
tab, then highlight the port to be deleted (but do not check it), and select Delete Port
.
| NOTE: | A port cannot be deleted if it is attached to a printer. A different port must first be selected in the printer's Properties before deleting. If multiple printers are attached to the port being deleted, each printer must first be attached to a different port. |
If the message appears "The requested resource is in use
." try the following:
Open Control Panel
and Administrative Tools
and then Services
. Select Print Spooler
, then select Restart
the spooler. Then go back to the Properties
of the printer and delete the port.
Check Properties
for all the printers listed. Change the destination of any printer that is connected to the port to be deleted.
If the previous steps to not work, contact Microsoft (R) for assistance.
Windows 2000
Click Start
, Settings
, and then Printers
.
Right-click the printer which has the port to be deleted; then choose Properties
.
Select the Ports
tab, and then put a check on a port other than the one to be deleted, such as File. Click OK
.
Right-click the printer again, then select Properties
.
Select the Ports
tab, then highlight the port to be deleted (but do not check it), and select Delete Port
.
If a new port needs to be created, it is helpful to reboot the PC after deleting the old port.
| NOTE: | A port cannot be deleted if it is attached to a printer. A different port must first be selected in the printer's Properties before deleting. If multiple printers are attached to the port being deleted, each printer must first be attached to a different port. |
If the message appears "Selected port cannot be deleted. The requested resource is in use
." try the following:
Click Start
, Settings
and Control Panel.
Click Administrative Tools
and Services
. Select Print Spooler
, and then on the General Tab
select Stop
. Then click Restart
to resume the spooler. Then go back to the Properties
of the printer and delete the port.
Check Properties
for all printers. Change the destination of any printer that is connected to the port to be deleted.
If the previous steps to not work, contact Microsoft for assistance.
Windows NT 4.0
Click Start
, Settings
, and then Printers
.
Right-click the printer which has the port to be deleted; then choose Properties
.
Select the Ports
tab, and then put a check on a port other than the one to be deleted, such as File. Click OK
.
Right-click the printer again, then select Properties
.
Select the Ports
tab, then highlight the port to be deleted (but do not check it), and select Delete Port
.
If a new port needs to be created, it is helpful to reboot the PC after deleting the old port.
| NOTE: | A port cannot be deleted if it is attached to a printer. A different port must first be selected in the printer's Properties before deleting. If multiple printers are attached to the port being deleted, each printer must first be attached to a different port. |
If the message appears "Selected port cannot be deleted. The requested resource is in use
." try the following:
Open Control Panel
and Services
. Select Spooler
, then select Stop
. Restart
the spooler, then go back to the Properties
of the printer and delete the port.
Check Properties
for all printers. Change the destination of any printer that is connected to the port to be deleted.
If the previous steps to not work, contact Microsoft for assistance.
Windows 95, 98, or Me
The following message may be displayed when a trying to delete an HP Jetdirect Port, an LPR port or any other non-system port: "The port is currently in use by a printer and cannot be removed. Make sure no printer is connected to this port
."
Restart Windows 95/98, and then check all the printers in the Printers folder to make sure they are not connected to the port that is being deleted. If no other printer is connected to that port, try the following:
Click Start
, Settings
and Printers
.
Right-click the printer that has the port to be deleted; then select Properties
.
Click the Details
tab.
Click the pull down menu on the Print to the Following Port line and select File
.
Click Apply
. Do not change the Print to the Following Port line; otherwise Windows 95/98 will think that the Port to be deleted is a port that is in use.
Click Delete Port
. This will bring up a list of ports.
Highlight the port to be deleted and click OK
.
If a new port needs to be created, it is helpful to reboot the PC after deleting the old port.
| NOTE: | A port cannot be deleted if it is attached to a printer. A different port must first be selected in the printer's "Properties" before deleting. If multiple printers are attached to the port being deleted, each printer must first be attached to a different port. |
If the message appears "Selected port cannot be deleted. The requested resource is in use
." try the following:
Check Properties
for all printers. Change the destination of any printer that is connected to the port to be deleted.
If any error persists, try the following:
Add a new printer to port LPT1
.
Open the Properties
of the new printer and attach it to the old port to be deleted and select OK
out of the Properties
window.
Open the Properties
of the old printer again and reassign it to LPT1 and select OK
out of the Properties
window.
Open the Properties
of the new printer and delete the old port.
Deleting an HP Internet Printer Connection Port
Use the same steps outlined in the section for Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000.The name of the port to be highlighted and deleted is HP Internet Printer Connection Port.
Removing a Jetdirect Port that was Named LPT1
If an older version of HP Jetadmin was used to create an LPT1 Jetdirect Port (or an HP Standard IPX/SPX or TCP/IP port was named LPT1) and LPT1 happens to be a physically defined parallel port in Windows, such a port cannot be deleted through the printer properties. It must be deleted through the registry. This must be done so that a valid HP Jetdirect Port may be configured.
(The last version of HP Jetadmin (obsolete) did not allow LPT1 to be used.)
Run the Jetadmin Uninstaller:
If using HP Jetadmin (obsolete) and HP Jetdirect Ports, download the Jetadmin Uninstaller from the following FTP URLs:
For Windows 95 and 98
ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/networking/software/remja_9x.exe
For Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000
ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/networking/software/remja_nt.exe
If there is an uninstaller in the HP Jetadmin program group, use it first. The downloaded Uninstaller should look for the uninstaller in the HP Jetadmin program group. If it finds one, it will ask for permission to run to it instead. Choose Yes. Otherwise, run the downloaded Uninstaller and go to Step 4.
Reboot the computer.
Run the downloaded Uninstaller again. The uninstaller asks which of the various components of HP Jetadmin (obsolete) are to be removed. Select those, which are best for the situation. See Figure 1.
Figure 1: Screen Shot of the Jetadmin Uninstaller
Reboot the computer.
Instructions to use if the uninstaller did not remove the Jetdirect Ports
The following steps are specifically for Windows 95 but should apply to Windows NT and Windows 2000 as well.
| CAUTION: | To avoid irreparable damage to your system, be extremely careful about altering the registry. Only experienced users should make changes to the registry, and, because it is not possible to undo any actions done using regedit, HP recommends backing up the registry before making changes. For information about how to do this, see the Help topics in Regedit.exe. |
Run Regedit and select Export Registry File
from the Registry drop-down menu.
Export a Registry backup file to a location for future reference. Import this file if something goes wrong with the Registry Edit process. This will be the backup copy of the registry.
While in Regedit, browse to: \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors
Click + next to the Port Monitor being used, such as HP Jetdirect Port
or HP Standard TCP/IP Port.
Click + next to: Ports to expand the list of the individual ports.
Right-click the key (folder) with the name of the port to be deleted.
Select Delete
.
When prompted "Are you sure you want to delete this key
," select Yes
and the port will be removed from the system.
Close all open applications and restart the computer.
