HP Printer Error Code 38 — What It Means & How to Fix It

What Does This Error Mean?

Error 38 means the printer's memory is completely full. The printer cannot accept any more data from your computer until it clears out what is already in its buffer. This often happens mid-job when printing very large documents.

Affected Models

HP LaserJet 4250 Series
HP LaserJet 4350 Series
HP LaserJet 5200 Series
HP LaserJet Enterprise M601
HP LaserJet Pro M501

Common Causes

A very large print job filled the printer's memory buffer before it could finish printing and clearing it
Multiple print jobs were sent in rapid succession and have stacked up in the printer's memory
The printer's EconoMode or memory conservation settings are limiting how much memory is available for print data
High-resolution graphics pages take much longer to process, causing the buffer to fill up before pages are printed
A stalled or frozen print job is occupying memory and not releasing it, blocking everything else

How to Fix It

Turn the printer off using the power button and wait 30 seconds. Then turn it back on.

A full power cycle clears the memory buffer completely, including any frozen or stalled jobs.
While the printer is off, go to your computer and clear all pending print jobs from the print queue.

Go to Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners, click your printer, then Open Queue, and cancel all jobs. This prevents the same jobs from flooding the printer memory again when it restarts.
Once the printer has fully restarted, try printing just the first few pages of your document instead of the whole thing.

Print pages 1–5 first. Once those print, send the next batch. This keeps the buffer from filling up again.
Open the print dialog and reduce the print resolution to 600 DPI to reduce the data size of each page.

High-resolution pages take much more memory to store and process. Lowering resolution is a quick way to reduce memory usage.
In the printer's menu, check for any 'I/O Buffer' or 'Memory' settings and increase the I/O buffer size if available.

Some HP LaserJet models allow you to adjust how much memory is dedicated to the I/O buffer through the printer's configuration menu.

When to Call a Professional

Persistent error 38 on a printer that once handled the same documents fine may indicate the printer's memory modules are starting to fail. A technician can run diagnostics on the memory hardware and replace faulty modules if needed. If your printer is older, it may be more cost-effective to replace it than repair it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my HP printer suddenly show error 38 on a document it used to print fine?

This can happen if you recently updated your printer driver or changed print quality settings to a higher resolution. It can also happen if more print jobs are being sent at once than before. Check your current print resolution settings — they may have been reset to a higher value after a driver update.

Is there a way to automatically prevent error 38 from happening?

Yes. In your printer driver settings, enable 'Print as Image' for large documents. Also, avoid sending multiple large jobs at once. For the most permanent fix, a memory upgrade lets the printer handle larger jobs without filling up.

Can I lose my print job when error 38 appears?

Sometimes yes — if the job was partially received when the buffer filled, the incomplete portion may be lost. The safest approach is to power cycle the printer, clear the queue, and then resend the entire job from scratch in smaller batches.