The Windows spooler is an operating system service that manages print job. It serves as an intermediary between fast file transferring and relatively slow printing processes. The print queue accepts and holds documents and the print manager lets users to manage this queue, remove files or change their printing order. It also let users manage multiple printers connected to the network.

When the print spooler fails, the operating system kills its process to protect itself and comes up with an error message. This message gives you some clue that help to find what the cause of problem might be. However, more often it just presents a statement about print spooler failure. At base, you need to determine the cause of error as close as possible, and then, use a right procedure to fix the problem. If you have no idea on the cause of error, then you need to use right sequence of possible fixes for an unknown cause.

Print spooler problems and fixes

The menu below lists different articles about print spooler errors and issues with fixes that can help you to get your printer back and running.

PRINT SPOOLER UNDETERMINED ERROR
• Use the right approach
• Find and fix it yourself
• Set your network printers

PRINT SPOOLER SPECIFIC ERRORS
• Windows 7 and Vista common problem
• Windows Vista print spooler issues
• Windows XP spooler fix step-by-step
• Print spooler service keeps stooping
• Print spooler error 1068
• Print Spooler error 7031

THE MOST RELIABLE AND PRODUCTIVE FIX
• Print Spooler Fix Wizard

Print Spooler Fix Wizard is an automated professional solution that will fix almost any possible problem related to print spooler. It require only few clicks on the user’s part. Then it inspects the printer spooler subsystem for all the possible inconsistencies and applies right fixes for complicated situations and environments. If this utility fails to resolve the problem due to unknown complication, then it provides live assistance and technical support offered by the development team along with the 100% money back guaranty policy.

The problems that you can easily solve yourself

The easiest of all possible problems occurs for the simple causes that aren’t destructive to the component base of the service and you can fix these problems without much of effort and trouble. Some of them are due to interruptions and power surges, some are a result of the system overload, and some are just improper settings for your printer spooler service. If your do not make some installation and updates recently, and your computer is scanned by the antivirus regularly, then the problem belongs to the group of occasional problems that might be easily fixed. Look at this video and the other videos that will the menu present to find necessary insight and the fixing instructions.

If this doesn’t help to solve your problem you need to think what it might cause. First, try to determine what of your or someone else’s steps might cause the problem. If it occurs after the system was updated or some new software or hardware was installed, the problem might be caused by the incorrect installation procedure that affects settings preserved on your operating system or install some files that are incompatible with others or delete some files that are needed by the print spooler service. If this is the case you might need to update or replace some files and drivers and maybe do some work on your system registry and service settings. The great help and the complete solution to hardest situations might be provided by the utility Print Spooler Fix Wizard. It is the best tool available that is designed to handle all sorts of print spooler problems.

Download Fix Wizard

Malware related problems

The problem caused by virus activities are quite similar to the one caused by incorrect or poorly tuned by the manufacturer installation process. However, here is the difference between managed destruction that some might run while it is running and the destruction caused as a result. The first one is a dynamic process and the virus has to be removed before anything else useful can be made. The second situation is more static and might be caused even by the antivirus program when it eliminates a virus. It might just remove all the infected files, and some of these files might belong to your print spooler service or to the operating system files that this service depends on.

The hardest of all problems

It is the one that comes from nowhere and persists despite of fixing solutions. This problem might be due to corrupted settings in your system registry, some incompatible software or the combination of many factors that is too complex for making easy decisions about needed solutions. This problem fix might eat a lot of time even if fixed by the spooler pro. One who is trying to fix it yourself might come up with the situation when the operating system is broken and needs to be completely reinstalled.

The easiest of all solutions

The easiest of the solutions for any print spooler problems is a running Print Spooler Fix Wizard that will quickly and proficiently solves all the possible print spooler problems in automated process. It is professionally designed to handle all the possible complicated situations when print spooler service not running error might occur. If this wizard fails to resolve the situation, then there is a life online assistance and support along with the 100% money back guaranty policy.

If print spooler service is not working, it might fail for different reasons with the one end – your printer just stops, and the OS presents a pop-up message about the printer spooler error. Sometimes, this error message might help to determine the cause of the error. Then, you can look to the menu on right side of this post to find a specific article related to your problem. More often, the error message is more general, and you need to think on the cause and perform some steps that hopefully will solve the problem.

If you are short on time and the printing is very vital thing for you, then the best solution you can find is the use of a utility tool specially designed to be a universal fixer for all of the print spooler related problems. This utility is called Print Spooler Fix Wizard, and you can download it from the link below.

Download Fix Wizard

If you like and can fix computer problems yourself, then you can go on with the reading and find out where the possible print spooler problems usually came from  and what the fixes you can try to make on your own. Good side about reading this stuff is the possibility of getting more ideas on possible causes of the print spooler problems and the ability to fix the problem easily when your, or someone else’s, print spooler service is not working. Then, you might be a hero to someone less advanced.

Possible print spooler problems and solutions

The failure of print spooler might have a relatively simple cause such as work overload, improper system shut down, improperly uninstalled programs or hardware. It also might be caused by the malicious program activity that might cause corruption of the print spooler files and drivers and making some mess in the system registry. Here, the causes are presented in the order that is rational for the possible problem solution unless you know exactly what the problem might be and go right to the needed procedure.

Look for problems caused by single file:

The problem might be caused by some documents with graphics that the particular printer or its driver cannot handle. When you try to print MS Office document and the printer spooler comes up with an error message, then this document might contain embedded graphics with the image that are bigger then printable page area. Check the graphics placed in the Office graphics container. It might have huge transparent area that is beyond of printable page area boundaries. You need to crop this image before placing it in the container; otherwise, this particular printer might stop responding when you send this document for print. Good thing is that this problem is not universal and you never met this one with your printer.

Try to restart your print spooler service:

Just restart your computer! It might be an instant problem solution. If for you can’t stop your computer, then try to restart print spooler service by other means.

Note: For this you need to be logged on as an administrator.

• Press Start button.
• Open Control Panel and start Administrative Tools.
• Double-click Services.
• Scroll down to Print Spooler service.
• Right-click on it and select Restart.

Memorize this procedure because you might need to start or to stoop your print spooler service while performing other fixing procedures.

Try to clear corrupted print manager files

The problem might be cause by corrupted print spooler manager and print queue files. To fix this problem, open folder C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\PRINTERS, and delete all files there. Try to restart your print spooler again.

Try to reinstall your printer:

If the previous steps don’t help to solve the problem, then there might be corrupted or outdated driver. You can try to remove drivers and reinstall your printer. For this: Stop the printer spooler service if it is running. Open folder C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers and remove all files from this folder. Unplug your printer cable from you computer and wait for 5 seconds. Then, plug it back and let it be recognized by the system. Then you can start print spooler.

These steps should resolve most common print spooler problems. You might also want to look at the page related to network print spooler issues , or to the page related to the conflict of the print spooler service with the security system for Windows 7 and Vista when print spooler service keeps stooping

Use the last resort weapon:

If nothing of above helps, then the problem might be far more complex, and I am not the one who will advise you on messing with the system registry. Unless you are an IT professional, you might just waste your time while trying to fix the problem. Moreover, any error you make in the process might cause more serious problem that might require expensive system repair or the full system reinstall.  There is no reason to take such a risk on your head. Better use the right tool that will help to resolve in 99% of print spooler problems, and will provide technical assistance for all the rest.

Download Fix Wizard

If this intro give you some idea on what and why might happen with your print spooler, then look for the solution in the section below related to possible problem, or try all of the steps in this sequence if you have no an idea about the problem cause.

Note: Unfortunately, the problem might be also related to the virus activities on your PC, and the solution might be far more complex than offered. It might need you to run full scan of your system with the antivirus and remove all malware from your PC before you started to solve the print spooler problem. It is needed because either virus might remove or block your print spooler files, or antivirus might remove printer spooler or system files that are infected.

Due to complications caused by the virus infections and the resulted destruction brought to your system, the solution might be more complex than stated below. Then you might need a special tool like Print Spooler Fix Wizard that addresses all the multitude of the print spooler problems and also provides technical assistance and support with licensed version. This tool requires only few clicks from the user, and then it finds and automatically resolves all the problems related to print spooler.

Download Fix Wizard

Manual solutions for possible print spooler problems

Note: To change or restart the Print Spooler service you must be logged on as an administrator.

Internet Explorer 9 related problem

Some people note the problem after they installed IE9.

To solve IE9 related issues start your Internet Explorer open Tools menu and click on Internet options. In the open window open Advanced tab and in the section “Reset Internet Explorer settings” press Reset button.

Print spooler is not set properly for automatic service

• Click Start button and open Control Panel.
• Find System Maintenance and click on Administrative Tools.
• Double-click Services. Type the password or provide confirmation if prompted for an administrator access rights.
• Right-click the Print Spooler service, and click Properties

• On the General tab, located next to the Startup type, select Automatic option
• If the service is not running, click Start under Service status
• Click Start, and then click OK. If prompted for administrator password or confirmation, type the password or confirm the action.

If you need instructions on the installation or removing the printer, you can find them at link:
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/4097d784-4b1e-423d-b6be-737f81f7b1dc1033.mspx

Print spooler stops due to the access violation in the security model set

• Click Start type services.msc and press Enter for search or click on the found program name at the top in Windows 7.
• Start print spooler. If after you turned it on, it turns off automatically, then try next step, and if it doesn’t  starts skip this step and move to the next one.
• Click Start and type C:\Windows\System32\spoolsv.exe in the file search box.
• Right click Properties and click on Security Tab, then click Advanced and Owner.
• Take ownership of spoolsv.exe and give it full permission rights.
• Close opened windows and try to start print spooler service again.
• You also need to clean print spooler temp files by opening folder stated below or by the running command.:
• For running command click Start > and type cmd (with Admin rights)
• Type del /Q C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\PRINTERS\*.* in the command box and press Enter.
• Try to start print spooler with Services utility (use steps from the previous instruction set if you don’t know how to open it).

Printer spooler stops due to corrupted drivers and files

• Save files that you tried to print and stop printer spooler.
• Open C:\Windows\system32\spooler\printers folder and delete all files
• Open C:\Windows\system32\spooler\drivers folder and delete all the files
• Unplug your printer cable from your computer and wait for 10 seconds.
• Plug the cable back and restart print spooler.

These operations will remove all problems that might related to corrupted files and reinstall your printer drivers.

If nothing of these helps and you print spooler service keeps stopping while printing is very important for you, then protect your print spooler subsystem with good antivirus and use professional utility that helps to keep your print spooler safe and tuned up.

Download Fix Wizard

The utility program that can fix print spooler problem quickly and professionally is called Print Spooler Fix Wizard. With this utility tool in most cases the problem solution is just a few clicks away, and the development team offers technical assistance and support in the most complicated customer situations when the automated process can’t help. Though, this wizard in seconds resolves the print spooler failures that might require a day of human labor for the professional who is not familiar with this topic, or might end badly if the efforts are performed by one who is not computer technician or system administrator.

These are pretty general considerations, and things are not always as bad as they look. Sometimes, just a system reboot might keep you away from the problem solution, and you can do this fix easily. Another easy task is scanning system with your antivirus. I hope you keep it up-to-date and running because viruses might hurt your system, Trojans can steal your privacy and money and all of them are defending themselves. So, needed for the print spooler system file might be deleted by virus or just infected and deleted by your antivirus for being guilty. These things happen quite often with the systems that are not protected, but this is not the only possible cause for print spooler problems. There are a lot more of issues that might cause print spooler errors and even more different issues are involved in the print spooler fixing process. You can look at other pages here to learn more about possible problems and different steps needed to solve the basic print spooler problems.

Although it is possible, the manual fixing process is not desirable because the time that one can waste for manual solution just doesn’t worth it if the problem is not solved or the solution eats a lot of time. It is obvious that anyone in the world who greatly depends on printers would prefer the low-cost reliable way.

Download Fix Wizard

If you aren’t that dependent on printers and the time is not the issue, then try to check this page for possible common problems and the simple solutions to this problem. The problem might be very complex and it cannot be solved without testing the system first and finding all the necessary corrections and restores. The Print Spooler Fix Wizard is designed to find and fix any possible problem in seconds.

The print spooler service is a subsystem of your OS designed to manage print jobs as an intermediary between fast file transfer operations and relatively slow printing device. It has a special manager that puts documents into print queue that might be adjusted by the user on the matter of the printing order. Then documents are sent to the printer or printers connected to the hosting PC or sent to other hosts or servers over the network.

The print spooler service combines the spooler services provided by the operating system with drivers for particular printers, and this system is far from being perfect. As an example, printers might get old as their drivers, and the operating system might be updated or changed, and there is no 100% guaranty that the components of this system are always compatible.

Hence, if you make a major system update or you printers are getting old, check for new updated drivers for the hardware and install them. This will save you from incompatibility issues.

Many problems related to print spooler service might be caused by malware and its activity on your PC. Viruses might corrupt some files that this service depends on, and then it will get out of order at the moment when it is the most needed thing in the world.

Keep your antivirus up-to-date and run system scans by some schedule or any time when virus activity in your system is detected. You need to do this before you try to make something with the faulty spooler system, because infected files might be deleted by the antivirus, or the virus will fight back and delete some needed files from your system – you never know what these bad guys might do. They might just screw up all the fixing you made. First try to kick them out of your system and the fix print spooler.

Some print spooler errors might relate to simple system overload, and you need think about that when planning on your network. Suppose there is a printer accessible over network that prints mostly the document coming from a single computer and prints very often. Then your network will be overloaded by file transfers, and the chance of error will be high. To resolve this issue just hook this printer as a local one to the PC that supplies it with a bunch of documents and make this printer visible to the network only if it is needed.

Very often errors are caused by the printer installed as a network printer over IP address on the TCP/IP por but not properly configured with the network. Often this happens when a new printer is installed but aren’t able to print. Try to configure TCP/IP port.

•  To do this, click Start and open Control Panel
• Click Printers and Faxes and right-click on the icon of your printer.
• Select Properties in the menu and open Ports tab.
• Click on Configure Port button, turn off SNMP Status Enabled.
• Click OK and reboot your PC.
• Start print spooler service from Services.

Fast checks and fixes

If you run in real problems with print spooler service, try to perform steps for possible fixes in this sequence, or use a special utility that solves far more complicated problems with the print spooler:

Download Fix Wizard

Look for problems caused by single files:

Some document, in particular, MS Office document, sometimes hold graphics that not every driver can handle. This happen because graphics is assumed to fit printing area for the page while the graphics that might fit in container is not limited and might greatly exceed the size acceptable to the driver. Remember that the file placed in the container might have huge transparent areas and look like a normal one, but these areas make the document unprintable.

Try to restart spooler after it was stopped by the operating system

Restart your computer. Sometimes it solves the problem caused by interruption You can also start only the print spooler. For this you need to log on as an administrator.

• Press Start button.
• Open Control Panel and start Administrative Tools.
• Double-click Services. Scroll down to Print Spooler service.
• Right-click on it and select Restart.
• Try to clear corrupted print manager files

Sometimes the problem might be cause by corrupted print manager of the spooler service. To fix this problem, open folder C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\PRINTERS. Delete all files and folders in this folder. Try to restart your print spooler again.

Try to reinstall your printer:

The problem might be caused by corruption or by an absence of some system file that was accidentally deleted.  Try to remove drivers and reinstall your printer.

• Stop the printer spooler service if it is running.
• Open folder C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers and remove all files from this folder.
• Unplug your printer cable from you PC and wait for 20 seconds.
• Plug it again and let it be recognized by the system.
• Start print spooler again.

Use Print Spooler Fix Wizard:

There is a few clicks solution that runs automated professional tests and makes fixes for any kind of problem that end in a print spooler error. It is backed by technical support and online assistance for most difficult problems.

Download Fix Wizard

If the print spooler doesn’t want to start after the system reboot, then the next common issue that you need to try out is a print manager files corruption.

• For this you need to find and open C:\Windows\System32\spool\Printers folder.
• Clean this folder of the temporary spooler files (with .SHD and .SPL extensions).
• Restart your computer and try to print again.

Other simple reasons for the print spooler error you can find on this page , or try to watch the video below with some solutions offered by Microsoft.

The quick and simple automated solution

If nothing of these helps, the easiest, fast and the most professional and reliable ways to fix print spooler is a Print Spooler Fix Wizard . This tool will help to resolve all possible print spooler problems, and if there is a situation when the automated solution fails, then the technical assistance is provided until the issue is resolved or your money are returned.

Download Fix Wizard

This utility is a very easy-to-use wizard that requires only some clicks and checkmarks from the user. All the other complicated tests and fixing tasks are performed automatically.

It is the most simple and fast solution for the multitude of problems in the environment where any human made error might hurt the system and bring it to the state when it can’t be operated until fixed or completely reinstalled. This wizard just eliminates this kind of “big trouble from fixing efforts”, as well as your time from wastes and your pocket from a PC service man that you need call to fix the system.

All the other solutions compared to the listed above aren’t that easy, and if you like doing things manually, look on the right side for the page in the menu that is related to some particular situation. It might help you with the information that can help you to fix print spooler problem in any situation.

This print spooler Vista problem might be caused by incorrect settings, outdated drivers, or by one of the typical causes for print spooler error that do not depend on some particular operating system version. The first might happen when the OS system is updated to Vista, and the old printer is installed with the original installation CD. The second (with the same error messages) might be caused by corrupted for some reason files and drivers that belong to print spooler subsystem. Sometimes the print spooler Vista service keeps stopping without visible reason, and the system presents a pop up messages.

Other common errors that might stop print spooler service and printing are:

The instruction at “0x7c91347e” referenced memory at 0x00e45426″. The memory could not be “read”

The instruction at “0x77f834a1″ referred memory at “0x012972de”. The memory could not be “read”

The instruction at “0×00978853″ referenced memory at “0×00978853″. The memory could not be “written” 

These errors are common not only to Vista and propagated by different causes with the same consequence of print spooler getting out of order:

Possible Solutions:

The Vista operating system is just installed, and no printing had ben made:

If you print spooler service is not running after the printer was correctly installed, then there might be some missing or corrupted files on the system that cause this error. Try to install your printer on another machine running Vista, test the installation, and if it work, try to use this computer as a donor of needed for your system files. For this find %SYSTEMROOT%\system32\spool\prtprocs\w32x86 folder on the computer where you install the printer and copy contents of this folder. Then find the same folder on the computer with faulty print spooler and replace its contents with the copy you made. Then restart your computer.

If the print spooler service settings on your PC are correct, then it might solve the problem, and if they don’t try to start or reset print spooler service.

To restart Print Spooler service with services.msc system utility:

• Press Win + R keys.
• Type services.msc  in the prompt box and then click OK.
• Right-click the Print Spooler service, and then click Stop.
• Right-click the Print Spooler service, and then click Start.

Note: If it is more convenient to you, instead of starting service.msc, you can accomplish this task with the commands at the prompt:

For this, type these commands in the prompt box and press Enter after each one:

• net stop spooler
• net start spooler
• exit

If the print spooler wouldn’t start to work after you start it, then the problem might be caused by incorrect system registry settings. This kind of problem requires the solution that might be dangerous to your system unless you are a professional system administrator. There might be many possible issues in the registry related to print spooler service, and transferring this complicated task to the reliable automated solution is the best way. This utility solves all known print spooler problems and compared to human never do typos in registry that will require your Vista to be completely reinstalled.

Download Fix Wizard

If the print spooler error occurred after some printing was made on Vista system.

Then the problem might be caused by corruption of print spooler files. To solve this problem, find and open C:\Windows\System32\spool\Printers folder. Delete all the temp files (they have extensions .SHD and .SPL), and then restart your printer spooler or just restart your PC.

If this doesn’t help to solve the problem, than there might be corrupted driver, and you can revert your system to some most close previously stored working condition with the System Restore utility that you can find in Accessories->System tools.

If the restore doesn’t help with the print spooler Vista errors either, check this page for other possible problems and their simple solutions, or try to install Print Spooler Fix Wizard.

RPC is responsible for inter process communication on a shared network between different programs involved in process, and when it fails to perform in relation to print spooler, then the system throws an error message: “Services Could not start the Print Spooler service on Local computer. Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start.”

There are several different ways that might solve this problem and they are listed below with the instructions for manual solutions. However, there is no guaranty that one or another will help to solve the problem. Some problems related to this error are far more complex, and they require more complex algorithms and involve some difficult to perform tasks. If you find that none of the listed below steps helps, then the best solution for the problem is a running of special utility program that automatically fixes a wide range of problems related to the Windows printer spooler failures, and provide remote technical assistance for the most complicated cases when the automated solution doesn’t help.

Download Fix Wizard

The manual steps for restoring RPCSS

With the command line utility

• Click Start and Run
• Type CMD /K SC CONFIG SPOOLER DEPEND= RPCSS in the command line box
• Press Enter, and wait until console program stop execution
• Close program and reboot your computer

With the system registry editor

• Click Start, Run and type “regedit” (without quotes).
• Press Enter to open Registry editor.
• Navigate to the following branch
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ Spooler
• On the right side look for DependOnService and double click on it.
• Remove anything you see on value side, and then type “RPCSS” (without quotes)
• Close the program and reboot computer.

With the help of Services.msc

• Click Start, Run and type “services.msc” (without quotes)
• Press “Enter” and double click “Print Spooler” service.
• Choose “Dependencies” tab and memorize the services name.
• In the service list window find the Dependency services and try to start them.
• Try to start the “Print Spooler” service again.

That are all the possible methods one can imagine to fix the problem caused by simple issues. All other possible problems are difficult to list and list all the possible solutions for each of them. I better will do few mouse clicks in Printer Spooler Fix Wizard and let it find and solve the problem.

Download Fix Wizard

The least difficult solution that might bring the service back to line after some interruption and closure is restarting your computer. It will resolve problems with aborted service and errors related to memory stack corruptions. If this doesn’t solve the problem, you will need to perform some other manual procedures that are explained in depth on other pages. This page is concerned with the situation when you printer spooler or drivers became corrupted by the viruses or some other causes and need to be reinstalled.

The following instructions with manual problem solution are quite basic and they can’t resolve all the multitude of problems related to Windows print spooler. The instant reliable fix for this problem offers only a special utility program Print Spooler Fix Wizard from Security Stronghold that makes the task very simple to the human and resolves any problem that might get in the way automatically.

Download Fix Wizard

The steps for manual Windows print spooler system reinstallation   

1. Disconnect your printer from the PC

2. Open Control Panel and chose Add/Remove Programs. Highlight any Printer Software in the list and select Remove.

3. Go back to the Control Panel and click on Printers & Faxes. Right click you current printer and Delete it.

4. On the toolbar select File, and pick Server Properties. In the Drivers tab highlight the printers’ drivers listed and Remove each one from the list.

5. Reboot your PC without plugging your printer back.

6. Find the website of your printer manufacturer, and look for new drivers for your operating system and the printer model. Download needed drivers on your computer. If there are none OS drivers for your printer, try to look ones for previous OS version.

7. Run the setup for the drivers downloaded.

8. Connect your printer back as said in the installation manual.

9. Test your installation by printing a test page.

Also these steps are quite simple to follow to reinstall Windows print spooler, there is no guarantee. Some problems are caused by different related files or incorrect registry settings, and you might be not able to reinstall print spooler that easy. If you are not concerning about time costs, try to find solution on different pages, forums and sites. If your time is expensive, try instant automated professional solutions.

Download Fix Wizard