How to Troubleshoot Printer Spooler Errors in Windows 10: Isn’t it infuriating when you give your printer instructions to print some critical documents and it becomes stuck? Yes, this is an issue. If your printer refuses to print something, it is almost certainly a printer spooler error. When a printer refuses to print on Windows 10, it is frequently due to a print spooler service error. Many of us may not be familiar with this term. Therefore, let us begin by defining what a printer spooler is.
A print spooler is a Windows service that monitors and manages all printer interactions. The issue with this service is that it will disable your device’s printing capabilities. If you have attempted to restart your device and printer but the issue persists, do not despair; we have solutions to resolve printer spooler errors on Windows 10.
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Create a restore point in case anything goes wrong.
(Method 1)-Restart the Print Pooler service
Let’s begin by restarting the printer spooler service to resolve this issue.
1. Press Windows + R and type “services.” Then press Enter or OK.
2. Once the services window is open, locate and restart the Print Spooler. To restart the Print Spooler service, right-click on it and select Restart from the context menu.
Now, send a print command to your printer and verify that you can resolve printer spooler errors on Windows 10. Your printer will revert to normal operation. If the issue persists, proceed to the next method.
Method 2—Ensure that the Print Spooler service is configured to start automatically.
If the print spooler service is not set to start automatically when Windows starts, it will not start. This means that your printer will be inoperable. This could be one of the causes of your device’s printer spooler error. If it is not already set to automatic, you must manually set it.
1. Press the Windows Key + R key combination, then type services. Enter MSc and press Enter.
- Services: Windows + R to open the Run dialogue box and type services.
- and then press Enter.
2. Identify the Print Spooler service and right-click on it to open its properties.
Locate the printer spooler and right-click to open the properties window. Resolve Printer Spooler Errors in Windows 10
3. Select Automatic from the Start-up type drop-down menu and then click Apply followed by OK.
- Change to automatic mode and save your settings.
- Now check to see if your printer is powered on or not. If not, proceed to the next method.
Method 3: Modify the Print Spooler’s recovery options
Any incorrect configuration of the print spooler service’s recovery settings may also contribute to the issue with your device. As a result, you must ensure that the recovery settings are correct or the printer spooler will fail to start automatically.
1. Ctrl + R and type in “services”.
- and then press Enter.
- Services: Windows + R to open the Run dialogue box and type services.
- and then press Enter.
2. Locate the Print Spooler and right-click on it to open the Properties dialogue box.
3. Switch to the Recovery tab and ensure that the Restart the Service option is selected for all three failure tabs.
4. Click Apply and then OK to save the settings.
Now check to see if you can resolve Printer Spooler Errors on Windows 10.
Method 4-Delete Print Spooler Files
If your printer has several pending printing jobs, this may cause it to have difficulty running the printing command. As a result, deleting the print spooler files may resolve the issue.
1. Ctrl + R and type in “services”. msc, followed by Enter
2. Right-click and select Properties on the Print Spooler service.
3. Click on Stop to bring the Print Spooler service to a halt, and then minimize this window.
4. To open Windows File Explorer, press Windows + E.
Use the address bar to navigate to the following location:
PRINTERS: C: WindowsSystem32spool
5. If Windows asks for permission, click Continue.
6. All files in the PRINTER folder must be deleted. Following that, determine whether or not this folder is completely empty.
7. Now, on your device, open the Control Panel. Windows + R, type “Control,” and then press Enter.
Activate the Control Panel
8. Protect the location of the display devices and printers.
9. Right-click the printer icon and select the Remove Printer option to uninstall it from your device.
10. Now, from the taskbar, reopen the Services window.
11. Right-click the Print Spooler service and select Start from the context menu.
Select Start | Fix Printer Spooler Errors on Windows 10 by right-clicking on the Print Spooler service.
12. Return to the Control Panel’s Device and Printer section.
13. Right-click on the empty area beneath the previous window and select Add a Printer.
14. Now, carefully follow the on-screen instructions for adding a printer to your device.
Now you can check to see if your printer has resumed normal operation. This should hopefully resolve printer spooler errors on Windows 10.
Method 5: Download and install the most recent printer driver.
One of the most common and easily overlooked causes of this error is an out-of-date or older printer driver. Most people overlook the need to update the printer driver. To accomplish this, you must first open your device’s device manager.
- To open the device manager window, press Windows + R and type in devmgmt.MSC.
- devmgmt.MSC is the device manager.
2. Now, locate the printer section and right-click to select the Update Driver option.
To update the driver, right-click on it and select Update Driver.
Hopefully, the methods listed above will resolve Printer Spooler Errors on Windows 10. If you continue to have problems with this guide, feel free to ask any questions in the comment section or take help from hp printer services.
