What this means
Your print spooler service keeps crashing. This service manages your print jobs and handles communication between your computer and your printer. When it stops, your documents get stuck and nothing prints.
You might think your printer hardware is broken. It is almost certainly fine. The problem is in your computer software. Faulty printer drivers, outdated Windows updates, or old third-party print processors cause these crashes.
Corrupted files hiding inside your system folders also force the service to stop repeatedly. Restarting the service temporarily restores your printing, but it fails to fix the underlying software conflict.
Common causes
- Corrupted print jobs stuck in the system folder
- Incompatible or outdated printer drivers
- Faulty third-party print processor
- Corrupted system files related to printing
- Conflict with security software or antivirus
- Printer driver running in user mode instead of kernel mode
What to check first
- 1Check if the print spooler service is currently running in Windows services
- 2Check for any pending documents stuck in the print queue
Step-by-step fix
- 1
Restart the Print Spooler Service
Open the Run dialog by pressing Windows key plus R, type services.msc, and press Enter. Scroll down to find Print Spooler. Right-click it and select Restart. If it was stopped, select Start.
- 2
Clear Stuck Print Jobs
Stop the Print Spooler service in services.msc. Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS. Delete all files inside this folder. Go back to services.msc and start the Print Spooler service.
Do not delete the PRINTERS folder itself, only the files inside it.
- 3
Run the Windows Printer Troubleshooter
Open Windows Settings, go to Update and Security, then Troubleshoot, or Additional troubleshooters. Select Printer and run the troubleshooter. Follow any prompts to let Windows fix spooler issues automatically.
- 4
Check Spooler Dependencies
Open services.msc and locate Print Spooler. Right-click and choose Properties. Click the Dependencies tab. Ensure all listed services, such as Remote Procedure Call, are running and set to automatic start.
- 5
Reinstall Printer Driver
Open Device Manager, find your printer under Printers or Print queues, right-click it, and select Uninstall device. Download the latest official driver from the manufacturer website and install it.
- 6
Run System File Checker
Open Command Prompt as an administrator. Type sfc /scannow and press Enter. Wait for the scan to finish and repair any damaged system files that might be causing the spooler to crash.
When to contact a professional
Call an IT professional if your print spooler crashes immediately after every system restart. You also need outside help if your system files are severely corrupted, or if network domain policies keep overriding your local spooler configurations.