Windows 10 and Windows 7 spooler service acts as a memory buffer for job printing, allowing you to send multiple documents to the printer without waiting. Older operating systems like DOS only allowed you to send one job at a time to the printer, rendering the computer unusable until the print job was finished. While the print queue generally does an excellent job of storing the jobs to be printed, it can occasionally crash and cause problems when multitasking in Windows. When this occurs, you must restart the spooler service in order to continue printing the documents.

Fix Printer Spooler Problems on Windows 7

  • Click the “Start” button. In the search field, type “services.msc”, then click the magnifying glass icon or press the “Enter” key. The “Services” window appears on the screen.
  • Scroll down the list of Windows services, and right-click the “print queue” option. Then select “Stop” from the popup menu. Windows will stop the spooler service on the computer. Click the “-” symbol in the upper right corner of the Services window to minimize it.
  • Right-click the “Start” button, and then select “Open Windows Explorer” from the pop-up menu. Double-click the “C: \” drive icon in the folder selection window. Scroll down and double-click on the “Windows” folder.
  • Enter the “System32 \ spool \ printers” sub-folder. Double-click the “Printers” sub-folder to open it.
  • Select all the files in the “Printers” window, and then press the “Delete” key.
  • Click the link in the “Services” window, which appears on the taskbar, to maximize it. Select the “Print Queue” option, and then right-click on it. Click the “Start” option from the pop-up menu, and then close the “Services” window. The spooler service will restart.

Fix Printer Spooler Problems on Windows 10

  • On Windows 10, it can be frustrating when trying to print, and the document stocks in the queue, and if you try to cancel the job, it’ll stay deleted forever.
  • Although there could be a lot of reasons why you can’t print, including connection problems or issues with the printer itself, typically, it’s a problem with the “print spooler” on Windows 10. This is a service that spools print jobs and handles interactions with the printer, and sometimes it’ll stop working, even after restarting your device and printer.
  • Open Start on Windows 10.
  • Search for services.msc and click the top result to open the Services console.
  • Right-click the Print Spooler service and select the Properties option.
  • Click the General tab.
  • Click the Stop button.
  • Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command.
  • Type the following path and press Enter:
  • C:\Windows\System32\spool\printers
  • Click the Continue button (if applicable)
  • Select everything in the printer’s folder (Ctrl + A keyboard shortcut) and hit the Delete button to remove all its content.
  • In the General tab, click the Start button to restart the spooler.
  • Click the OK button.
  • Once you complete the steps, you can try to print a document one more time, and the printer should work as expected.

How to Fix Print Spooler Using Command Prompt

Use these steps to quickly fix print spooler problems using Command Prompt

  • Open Start.
  • Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as Administrator option.
  • Type the following commands to stop the print spooler, delete the printers folder content, restart the printer spooler, and press Enter (on each line):
  • net stop spooler
  • del /Q /F /S “%systemroot%\System32\Spool\Printers.
  • net start spooler
  • After you complete the steps, you should be able to print a document one more time, and your printer should work now.
  • While this guide focuses on Windows 10, the ability to reset the “Print Spooler” has been around for a long time, which means that you can use the steps on Windows 8.1, Windows 7, and older versions.
  • If you’re still having issues printing, you can submit your questions in the comment sections.