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Step 1
Keep in mind that if you buy a new printer it may not be compatible with Windows 98. Make sure there is a Windows 98 driver available for your printer by visiting the manufacturer's website.
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Step 2
Also make sure your printer is not experiencing hardware problems. If no lights on the printer are lit, it means the printer is unplugged, turned off, or broken. If lights are lit but some are yellow, your printer may be out of paper, ink or toner, or it may have something seriously wrong with it. Unplug the printer, wait 30 seconds, then plug it back in. If the yellow lights remain, make sure it has paper and ink or toner.
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Step 3
If your printer is Windows 98 compatible and the printer itself appears to be functioning properly, shut down your computer. Unplug the printer from the power outlet and wait 30 seconds. Plug the print back in and reboot your computer. Most printer problems can be easily resolved by following this simple remedy.
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Step 4
If the problem persists, click "Start, hover over "Settings," and click "Printers." Double-click the printer that is giving you problems. The printer queue will appear. It might be empty, but it might have documents listed in it. If it does, click "Printer" (on the menu bar), then click "Purge Print Documents." Reboot the computer.
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Step 5
If you still can't print, you should remove the printer driver and reinstall it.
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Step 6
Obtain a copy of the printer driver, preferably the most recent version. If you have a disk that came with the printer, that should work fine. If you don't have a disk or you want to use the most up-to-date driver, visit the manufacturer's website, browse to your printer's driver downloads, and download the Windows 98 driver. If you have difficulty finding the appropriate download through the manufacturer, try searching through a major search engine.
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Step 7
Once you have a copy of the driver, remove the old printer driver. Click "Start," hover over Settings, and click "Printers." Right-click the printer and click "Delete." Follow any on-screen prompts to remove the printer. Reboot the computer.
After reboot, click "Start," hover over "Settings," then click "Printers." Double-click "Add Printer." Follow the on-screen prompts to reinstall the printer using the driver you downloaded or the driver on the manufacturer's disk. Reboot the computer.
