It seems the problem is found across all Windows 10 versions from version 1903 and newer. In a support document disclosing the issue, Microsoft says USB printers are causing issues when Windows 10 is shutting down: “if you connect a USB printer to Windows 10 version 1903 or later, then shut down Windows and disconnect or shut off the printer, when you start Windows again the USB printer port will not be available in the list of printer ports.” Microsoft points to two causes of the problem. The first is when a USB printer driver could not call the OpenPortEx callback function in Language Monitors. This means the users is unable to complete tasks based on the operation of the Language Monitors. Secondly, Microsoft says the problem can be caused by a missing USB printer port in Windows 10: “In the “Devices and Printers” control panel, when selecting [Print Server Properties] > [Port] tab, the port for the USB printer (such as “USB001”) would not appear in the list of printer ports. As a result, the user cannot fulfill operations dependent on the existence of the port.”
Workaround and Fix
Microsoft says the problem is not widespread because the circumstances that trigger it are not easily replicated. To help affected users, the company has offered an easy workaround for the issue. Specifically, users can avoid problems by connecting the powered-on USB printer before they start their Windows 10 PC. Microsoft confirmed it is working on a fix and will roll out the solutions soon.
