The printer error 0x000001b (often written as 0x0000011b) usually occurs when you try to connect to or print from a network-shared printer. It is typically caused by Windows security updates designed to protect against PrintNightmare vulnerabilities, which enforce stricter RPC (Remote Procedure Call) authentication levels across the network.
The most effective and recommended way to fix this on your Windows 7 computer (or the Windows 10/11 machine sharing the printer) is to modify the registry to bypass the strict RPC authentication.
Method 1: Modify the Registry (Recommended)
You must apply this fix to the computer that is directly hosting/sharing the printer.
On your keyboard, press Win + R to open the Run dialog.Type regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.Navigate to the following path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\PrintLook in the right-hand pane for a key named RpcAuthnLevelPrivacyEnabled.If it doesn’t exist: Right-click an empty space in the right pane, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it RpcAuthnLevelPrivacyEnabled.Double-click the key and change its Value data to 0. (Make sure Base is set to Hexadecimal).Click OK.Press Win + R again, type services.msc, and hit Enter. Scroll down, find the Print Spooler service, right-click it, and select Restart.Method 2: Re-add the Printer Using its IP AddressIf modifying the registry doesn’t work, you can bypass the Windows network-sharing protocols entirely by treating the printer as a direct local device.Find the IP address of the main computer hosting the printer.Go to Control Panel > Devices and Printers on your Windows 7 PC.Click Add a printer at the top.Select Add a local printer.Choose Create a new port and select Standard TCP/IP Port from the drop-down.Type in the host computer’s IP address and complete the setup.
