Printer cannot be deleted

ObsoleteMan · 01-03-2020, 08:14 PM

Hi everybody,

I have a Canon MG300 series printer that keeps reappearing after deletion. I want to get rid of it so I can reinstall the drivers.

The system is:

Debian 9.11 Stretch
HP EliteBook 8730w
Canon MG 3022 connected wirelessly

Ideas?, Thanks in advance
Mike

uteck · 01-03-2020, 08:30 PM

How are you deleting it, from the Cups webpage, or a desktop setting?
If a desktop app, try the webpage at http://localhost:631

If that does not work, you could delete the ppd file for it in /etc/cups/ppd.

frankbell · 01-03-2020, 09:44 PM

It's a long shot, but is there some kind of automatic printer discovery going on here?

I would not expect something like that on Debian, but you could test by powering down the printer, deleting it from CUPS, and waiting to see whether it shows up again.

If it doesn't show up after a decent interval (couple of hours maybe?), power the printer back up and check what happens.

As I say, a long shot . . . .

ObsoleteMan · 01-05-2020, 12:58 PM

I followed both your advises to no avail. The printer was gone for a few hours only to come back this morning (1/5/20) upon reboot. Here are some additional facts: The printer has been off for over 24 hours and still has not been turned on. With difficulty, I deleted the printer using the CUPS website and it is gone. I went to etc/cups/ppd to delete but the permissions are all greyed out.

yancek · 01-06-2020, 06:24 AM

Quote:

I went to etc/cups/ppd to delete but the permissions are all greyed out.

That is generally the case on system files if you are not root and the owner of that file is definitely root. So access the file with root and delete it and see if that resolves your problem.

gregors · 01-06-2020, 10:15 AM

I strongly suggest not to delete this file but to rename it or move it to some other place. If you delete this file you can't get it back (if you don't backup your files).

Gregor

ObsoleteMan · 01-07-2020, 03:09 PM

I don't know how I did it but I did it!!! I believe the issue was with the CUPS website. Maybe it resets and updates all the changes every 24 or so hours which would account for the printer reappearing instantly only to disappear after a day or so. I was not able to rename or delete the ppd file because of permission issues however when I deleted the printer from the cups site it went away.

Thank you all for your time and advise frankbell,yancek and gregor

Mike