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HP 79 Service Error

What it means

The HP "79 Service Error" on LaserJet printers is a firmware fault, most often caused by a corrupt print job stuck in the queue or by a faulty network/memory module. The printer typically halts and will not print until the job is cleared and the printer is reset.

A HP printer

How to fix it

Try these in order — most HP 79 cases clear within the first couple of steps.

  1. Step 1 of 2

    Clear the print queue and power-cycle

    Delete pending jobs and restart the printer.

    1. Turn the printer off for 30 seconds, then on, to clear the halted state.
    2. Delete every job from the computer’s print queue.
    3. Restart the Print Spooler service to remove any job that won’t delete.
  2. Step 2 of 2

    Isolate a faulty add-on

    Disconnect network and memory modules to test.

    If the error returns even with an empty queue, power down and, if your model has them, remove any add-on memory (DIMM) or the network card, then restart. If the error clears, the removed module was at fault.

Still stuck after these steps? The HP help hub covers more issues, or browse all error codes.

Where to go next

HP help hubCommon HP LaserJet issues.Read guide →Printer not printingHow to clear stuck jobs and reset the spooler.Read guide →