Microsoft provides workaround for Windows 10 patchday printer issue (BSOD)

[German]Microsoft confirmed last Friday (US time) the BSOD issues triggered with the March 2021 patchday in Windows that systems with certain printers crash via BlueScreen, with more details, and a workaround was suggested.

Printer crash via BlueScreen

With the March 9, 2021 security updates, yes there are printer issues in Windows (specifically Windows 10, but also Windows Server and Terminal Server). Depending on the Windows variant and environment, this ranges from no longer being able to print, to BlueScreens when printing or calling applications from LibeOffice or Microsoft Office.

I had summarized this in the blog post Windows 10 Updates KB5000802/KB5000808 causes BSOD when printing in win32kfull.sys – pulled? More findings can be read in the blog post News about the printer issues (BSOD) after March 2021 update.

Microsoft provides details about printer BSOD issue

Microsoft had already admitted the printing problem with resulting Blue Sceens (BSOD) on the Windows 10 status page a few days ago. Here is the notice for Windows 10 20H2.

After installing KB5000802, you might receive an APC_INDEX_MISMATCH error with a blue screen when attempting to print to certain printers in some apps.

Affected platforms:

• Client: Windows 10, version 20H2; Windows 10, version 2004; Windows 10, version 1909; Windows 10, version 1809; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019; Windows 10, version 1803
• Server: Windows Server, version 20H2; Windows Server, version 2004; Windows Server, version 1909; Windows Server, version 1809; Windows Server 2019; Windows Server, version 1803

Now details have been provided: This problem affects a subset of Type 3 printer drivers (mostly Kyocery) and does not affect Type 4 printer drivers. After all, in my blog posts linked above, there are numerous comments from readers who have had success with Type 4 printer drivers.

Microsoft has described how to find out the type of printer driver on the status page.

A workaround

On the Windows 10 status page, Microsoft now also mentions a workaround, which consists in disabling the printer queue by the following two commands, executed in an administrative command prompt:

• rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /Xg /n "KX driver for Universal printing"
• rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /Xs /n "KX driver for Universal printing" attributes +direct

Microsoft has also published this video on the subject, explaining the complex open printer heart operation. Christoph Janssen pointed out this solution here on the blog in this German comment (thanks for that):

Two things need to be pointed out at this point. The above commands work for 32-bit apps on a 64-bit Windows. For a 64-bit variant of the app, the procedure described in the video starting at 1:25 must be used. From Martin E. came the hint by mail: The procedure described by Microsoft in the video might be too complex for administrators in corporate environments to quickly execute it on multiple computers.

Microsoft is working on a solution and expects a solution to be available next week. So, if possible, company administrators should wait for this fix instead of disabling the printer spooler.