What this error means
You're seeing MEM_E_INVALID_LINK (0X80080010) when trying to print or install a printer driver. The culprit here is almost always a corrupted printer driver or a messed-up print spooler. I've fixed this dozens of times on Windows 10 and Windows 11. It's not a hardware problem unless your printer's been fried by a power surge.
30-second fix: Restart the Print Spooler
This clears temporary crap from the spooler. It works in maybe 20% of cases.
- Press Win + R, type
services.msc, hit Enter. - Find Print Spooler in the list. Right-click it, select Stop.
- Open File Explorer, go to
C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS. Delete everything in that folder. You might need admin rights — accept the prompt. - Back in Services, right-click Print Spooler and select Start.
- Try printing again.
No luck? Move to the next step.
5-minute fix: Remove and reinstall the printer driver
This is the real fix for most people. The error happens when a driver update got interrupted or a new driver conflicts with an old one.
- Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.
- Click on your printer, then Remove device. Confirm if asked.
- Now we need to nuke the driver files completely. Open Device Manager (right-click Start > Device Manager).
- Expand Print queues. Right-click your printer and select Delete device. Check the box Delete the driver software for this device.
- Restart your PC.
- Go back to Printers & scanners, click Add device. Windows will find your printer. Let it install the driver fresh.
If Windows can't find the right driver, download the latest one from your printer manufacturer's site — HP, Canon, Brother, whatever. Don't use generic drivers.
15-minute fix: Clean the registry and spooler manually
Skip this unless the above didn't work. This is for stubborn cases where old driver entries are stuck in the registry.
- Open Services again, stop Print Spooler.
- Press Win + R, type
regedit, hit Enter. Back up your registry first: File > Export, save a copy. - Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows x64\Drivers\Version-3 - Find any entries related to your printer model. Right-click and delete them. Don't delete everything — just your printer's name.
- Also check
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers— delete your printer's subkey here too. - Close regedit. Restart the Print Spooler service.
- Now delete the driver files again from
C:\Windows\System32\spool\DRIVERS\x64\3. Remove any files with your printer's name or .dll files from old drivers. - Restart your PC and add the printer fresh.
When this error happens
Common scenarios: You just updated Windows 11 to version 22H2 and your HP LaserJet stopped working. Or you installed a Canon driver from a CD that's ten years old. Or you tried to use a network printer that keeps timing out.
What doesn't work
Don't bother with running sfc /scannow or DISM — those fix system files, not driver corruption. Don't waste time changing USB cables or reseating RAM. This is a software error, not hardware.
Still stuck?
If you've done all three steps and the error persists, try a System Restore to a point before the problem started. Run rstrui.exe from the Start menu. Pick a restore point from when printing worked. That's saved my ass a few times.
One last thing: if you're using a cheap USB hub, plug the printer directly into the PC. Hubs can cause weird communication errors that mimic driver issues. But 95% of the time, it's the driver.