When the print job fails, you receive the following instance of the error message;
Most users that are encountering this printing error, report that the error is not occurring if they try to print conventionally – the error only appears whenever they try to print from within an Office application. Bear in mind that there are various instances of this error message with different error codes. However, the underlying causes is the same – consequently, the same fix should work on all the instances of this error. You might encounter the error message due to one or more (but not limited to) of the following known causes;
The correct printer is not set as the default.Outdated printer driver.Corrupt printer subkeys.System file corruption – System file corruption is a less likely but a possible culprit for this problem. Typically, it appears after a security scan ended up quarantining some items used by the printing service.
Fix Function address caused a protection fault
If you’re faced with this Function address caused a protection fault printing error, you can try our recommended solutions below in no particular order and see if that helps to resolve the issue. Let’s take a look at the description of the process involved in relation to each of the listed solutions.
Fix Protection fault Printer Properties error
1] Run Printer Troubleshooter
Running the Windows 10 in-built Troubleshooter will restart your printer and drivers and check for any errors. Your printer must be connected during this procedure. To run the Printer Troubleshooter, do the following:
Click Start and select Settings.Go to Update and Security.Click the Troubleshooter tab.Scroll down and click on Printers.Click the Run the troubleshooter button.Follow on-screen instructions and apply any recommended fixes.
Afterward, try printing and see if the Function address caused a protection fault printing error is resolved. If not, continue with the next solution.
2] Run SFC/DISM scan
The SFC/DISM is a utility in Windows that allows users to scan for corruptions in Windows system files and restore corrupted files. For the purposes of ease and convenience, you can run the scan using the procedure below.
Press Windows key + R.In the Run dialog box, type notepad and hit Enter to open Notepad.Copy and paste the command below into the text editor.
Save the file with a name and append the .bat file extension – eg; SFC_DISM_scan.bat.Repeatedly run the batch file with admin privilege (right-click the saved file and select Run as Administrator from the context menu) until it reports no errors.Restart your PC.
Try the print job again and see if the issue is resolved. If not proceed with the next solution.
3] Change the default printer
The Function address caused a protection fault printing error can also occur in a situation where the printer that you want to use is not set up as the default inside Windows settings. Do the following to change the default printer:
Press Windows key + R.In the Run dialog box, copy and paste ms-settings:printers and hit Enter to open up the Printers & scanners window of the Settings app.Once you’re inside the Printers & scanners tab, scroll down on the right pane and uncheck the Allow Windows to manage my default printer setting.Now, click the printer that you want to use and click on Set as default.
After you establish the correct printer as the default, restart your computer and see if the printing error is resolved. If not continue with the next solution. Read: How to reset Printer to default factory settings.
4] Update printer driver
This solution requires you to make sure you have installed the latest print drivers for your printer. You can download the latest version of the printer driver from the manufacturer’s website. Alternatively, you can update the printer driver via Device Manager. Here’s how:
Press Windows key + X to open the Power User Menu, then press M key to open Device Manager.Once you’re inside Device Manager, scroll down through the list of installed devices and expand/collapse the Print queues section.Next, right-click on the printer that you’re having issues with and choose Update driver from the context menu.At the next screen, click on Search automatically for updated driver software.Wait until the scan is complete. If a new driver version is found, follow the on-screen instructions to download & install it on your computer.Restart your device.
Try sending a print job and see if the Function address caused a protection fault printing error is resolved. If not, continue with the next solution.
5] Uninstall printer driver, rename printing subkeys and restart Print Spooler service
In this solution, there’s a sequence of tasks (which involves uninstalling printer driver, renaming printing subkeys and restarting Print Spooler service) that you need to complete to see if the Function address caused a protection fault printing error can be resolved. Do the following:
Log in to the affected computer.Press Windows key + X to open the Power User Menu, then press M key to open Device Manager.Once you’re inside Device Manager, navigate through the list of installed devices and expand the Print queues drop-down menu.Next, right-click on the printer driver that you want to remove and choose Uninstall Device.Click Uninstall once again to confirm the process.
Once the uninstall process completes, you can exit the Device Manager.
Next, press Windows key + R to invoke the Run dialog box.In the Run dialog box, type printui.exe /s /t2 and hit Enter to open up the Printer Server Properties UI.Once you’re inside the Print Server Properties screen, go to the Drivers tab and select the driver that is causing the issue. With the driver selected, click the Remove button.You’ll then be prompted by the Remove Driver And Package dialog.Select the radio button for Remove driver only.Click OK.
Once the process is complete, you can exit the Print Server Properties screen.
Now press Windows key + R to open up another Run dialog box.Type regedit inside the text box and press Enter to open up Registry Editor.
Important: Back up the registry before you continue with this procedure so that you can be able to restore the registry in the event something goes wrong.
Navigate or jump to the registry key path below:
At the location, proceed to rename any subkeys or keys under Print Processors with the .old extension. This will force Windows to disregard those keys and create new folders and values instead.
Note: In this case, there’s just one subkey (winprint), so we renamed it to winprint.old. Once this step is complete, you can safely close Registry Editor.
Again, invoke the Run dialog box and type services.msc inside the text box and press Enter to open up the Services window.In the Services window, locate the Print Spooler service.Right-click on Print Spooler and select Properties.In the Properties window, click Stop.
This will stop the print queue process. Keep the Print Spooler Properties window open.
Now, open File Explorer and navigate to the following location:
Delete all the files in the Printers folder.
If you don’t see any files, click the View tab and check the Hidden Items box.
Close the File Explorer window.In the Print Spooler Properties window, click the Start button to restart the service.
Restart your computer once again and reinstall the necessary printer drivers at the next computer startup. Try the print job once more and see if the issue is resolved.
6] Change LegacyDefaultPrinterMode registry key Value data
In this solution, to resolve the Function address caused a protection fault printing error, you’ll need to change LegacyDefaultPrinterMode registry key Value data in Registry Editor.
Here’s how: Remember to back up the registry.
Navigate or jump to the registry key path below:
On the right pane double-click LegacyDefaultPrinterMode to edit it’s properties.Set the Value data to 1.
This will return to the old default printer behavior under Windows 10.
Click OK to save changes.Restart PC.
Check to see if the issue is resolved. Else continue with the next solution.
7] Perform System Restore
If you noticed that the Function address caused a protection fault printing error started to occur recently, it’s entirely possible that the issue was facilitated by a change that your system has gone through recently. If you have no idea what changed that might have ended up breaking the printing functionality of your Office applications, you can use System Restore (any changes like application installs, user preferences and anything else made during that time will be lost) to revert to a date where you’re certain that the printing was working properly. To perform System Restore, do the following:
Press Windows key + R.In the Run dialog box, type rstrui and hit Enter to open up the System Restore Wizard.Once you arrive at the initial screen of System Restore, click Next to advance to the next window.At the next screen, check the box associated with Show more restore points.After you’ve done this, select a point that has an older date than the one in which you first started to notice the error.Click Next to advance to the next menu.Click Finish and confirm at the final prompt.
At the next system startup, your older computer state will be enforced. Hopefully, any of these solutions will fix the issue for you!
