[Solved] printer error “”A policy is in effect on your computer which prevents you from connecting to this printer queue. Please contact your system administrator.””

Problem

When trying to connect to a printer from Windows 10 or Windows 11, you get an error message.

“A policy is in effect on your computer which prevents you from connecting to this printer queue. Please contact your system administrator.”

Diagnostics

The problem you’re experiencing is a result of a recent Microsoft update known as “Print Nightmare,” which has limited driver installation access to Administrators only. To learn more about this issue, you can refer to the following Microsoft article:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5005652-manage-new-point-and-print-default-driver-installation-behavior-cve-2021-34481-873642bf-2634-49c5-a23b-6d8e9a302872

While there could be various causes for the error message, the most prevalent reason is typically the one mentioned above.

Solution