Printer Driver Blocked Error 0X00000BC6? Fix It Here

1. The driver is unsigned or outdated

I know this error is infuriating — you're just trying to print a document and Windows throws a fit. The most common reason for 0X00000BC6 is that your printer driver isn't properly signed. Windows 10 and 11 are strict about this. They'll block any driver that doesn't have a valid digital signature from Microsoft.

This usually happens when you install a driver from a CD that's 5 years old, or from a random download site. Also, printer manufacturers like HP and Canon sometimes push unsigned beta drivers that trigger this error.

Here's the fix: remove the bad driver and install the correct one.

1. Open Device Manager (right-click Start > Device Manager).
2. Find your printer under Print queues or Imaging devices.
3. Right-click it and select Uninstall device. Check the box that says Delete the driver software for this device.
4. Restart your PC.
5. Go to your printer manufacturer's support site. Don't use Windows Update or third-party driver updaters — they often give you the wrong version.
6. Download the latest driver for your exact printer model and your Windows version (10 or 11, 32 or 64-bit).
7. Run the installer. If it asks, choose Custom installation and uncheck any extra bloatware.

That takes care of about 70% of cases. If the error comes back, move to the next cause.

2. Driver signature enforcement is blocking it

Sometimes the driver itself is fine, but Windows' security feature called Driver Signature Enforcement blocks it. This is more common if you're using an older printer like a Brother HL-2270DW or a Canon MX490 — their official drivers might not have the latest signatures.

The real fix here is to temporarily disable driver signature enforcement.

For Windows 10 and 11 (works the same):

1. Open Settings > Update & Security > Recovery (Windows 10) or System > Recovery (Windows 11).
2. Under Advanced startup, click Restart now.
3. Your PC will reboot into a blue screen. Click Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.
4. After the restart, press 7 or F7 to select Disable driver signature enforcement.
5. Now Windows will let you install the driver without blocking it.

But there's a catch: this setting only lasts until the next reboot. So do the following right after step 4:

1. Open Control Panel > Devices and Printers.
2. Right-click an empty area and select Add a printer.
3. Choose Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings.
4. Select the port (usually USB001) and click Next.
5. Click Have Disk and browse to the driver file you downloaded.
6. Install it. This bypasses the signature check permanently for that driver.

I've used this trick dozens of times. It's safe — just don't install random drivers from sketchy sources.

3. Printer spooler service is corrupted

Third common cause: the print spooler service itself is broken. This can happen after a Windows update or a failed driver install. The error 0X00000BC6 might show up because the spooler can't properly load the driver.

You'll see this issue with printers that use network ports too — like a shared office printer on a workgroup.

Here's the fix:

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, hit Enter.
2. Find Print Spooler in the list. Right-click it and select Stop.
3. Open File Explorer and go to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS.
4. Delete everything inside that folder. Don't worry — these are just temp files for print jobs.
5. Go back to services.msc, right-click Print Spooler again, and select Start.
6. Restart your PC.

After this, reinstall the printer driver fresh. This clears out any corrupted driver leftovers that might trigger the block.

If the error still shows up after all three fixes, you might have malware hiding in your printer driver. Run a full scan with Windows Defender or Malwarebytes. Rare, but it happens.

Quick-reference summary