Fix OSS_MEM_MGR_DLL_NOT_LINKED (0x80093026) Printer Error

Quick Answer

Uninstall the printer driver, reboot, then reinstall the latest driver from the manufacturer's site. If that doesn't work, manually register the ossrsasn1.dll file or do a system file check (SFC).

What This Error Means

The error OSS_MEM_MGR_DLL_NOT_LINKED (0x80093026) shows up when Windows tries to print a document that uses ASN.1 (Abstract Syntax Notation One) encoding. This encoding is tied to digital certificates and secure printing—think smart card logins, signed PDFs, or encrypted print jobs. The error says the DLL that handles ASN.1 isn't loaded into memory. It's not a hardware problem. Your printer is fine. The issue is a missing or corrupted system file: ossrsasn1.dll.

I've seen this most often on Windows 10 (version 21H2 and later) and Windows 11 after a cumulative update borks the DLL registration. Also happens if you uninstall a printer and reinstall a different model without fully cleaning the old driver. The DLL gets orphaned or unregistered.

Fix Steps – Main Method

1. Open Printers & Scanners. Press Windows + I to open Settings. Go to Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.
2. Remove the problem printer. Click on your printer's name. Click Remove device. Confirm the pop-up. After this, the printer should vanish from the list.
3. Delete leftover driver files. Open a Command Prompt as administrator (right-click Start, choose Windows Terminal (Admin)). Type:

   printui /s /t2

   Press Enter. This opens the Print Server Properties window. Under the Drivers tab, find your printer driver, select it, and click Remove. Choose Remove driver and driver package. Click OK.
4. Reboot your computer. This clears any stuck registry entries and unloads the bad DLL from memory. After restart, you should see no printer errors.
5. Download a fresh driver. Go to your printer manufacturer's support site—HP, Brother, Canon, Epson, whatever. Get the latest driver for your exact model and Windows version (10 or 11, 64-bit or 32-bit). Don't use Windows Update's driver—it's often stripped down.
6. Install the driver. Run the installer. If it asks, choose Add a printer using an IP address or hostname (if network) or USB. Complete the wizard. After installation, print a test page to confirm the error is gone.

Alternative Fixes (If Main One Fails)

Re-register the DLL Manually

Sometimes the DLL is there but not linked. Open Command Prompt as admin. Run these commands one at a time:

regsvr32 /u ossrsasn1.dll
regsvr32 ossrsasn1.dll

You should see a pop-up saying DllRegisterServer succeeded for each. If you get a module not found error, the file is missing. That's your cue to repair Windows.

System File Checker (SFC)

Corrupt system files can also cause this. In the same admin Command Prompt, run:

sfc /scannow

Let it finish—takes 10-20 minutes. If it finds corrupt files and fixes them, reboot and try printing again. If SFC says it can't fix everything, run DISM:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Then run SFC again.

Roll Back the Latest Windows Update

If this error started after a recent update, undo it. Go to Settings > Windows Update > Update history > Uninstall updates. Pick the most recent one (usually a cumulative update like KB5023706 or similar) and uninstall. Reboot. Then hide that update using the Microsoft Show or Hide Updates troubleshooter so it doesn't reinstall.

Prevention Tips

Never use a generic driver from Windows Update for a printer that does secure printing or certificate-based authentication. Always get the driver from the manufacturer's site. Also, before a major Windows update, unplug the printer, wait for the update to finish, then plug it back in. That avoids driver conflicts during the update. And if you switch printers, always use the printui /s /t2 tool to fully remove the old driver before installing the new one. That one step saves you hours of frustration.