Fix print spooler service not running after windows 10 update

Print Spooler Service is responsible for managing print jobs you send to your printer. If due to some reason, this print spooler service stops running printer won’t print documents or users may get a “print spooler service” error “Operation could not be completed. The print spooler service is not running.” while trying to install a printer in Windows. for some other the error is different like

Windows cannot connect to the printer. The local print spooler service is not running.  Please restart the spooler or restart the machine.

This error usually occurs because of Corrupted spooler service that spools print jobs and handles interactions with the printer. And clear print spooler folder most probably fixes the problem for you.

Contents

1. 1 Fix printer spooler problems on Windows 10

2. 1.1 Clear Printer Spooler Files

3. 1.2 Run the Printer Troubleshooter

4. 1.3 Reinstall printer driver

5. 1.4 Check with a new user account

Fix printer spooler problems on Windows 10

If you are first time getting this error “print spooler service not running” open services window and restart print spooler service.

1. Press Windows + R, type services.msc and ok

2. Scroll down and look for print spooler service

3. Right click on print spooler service select restart

4. And, Make sure Print Spooler’s  Startup type set to Automatic

5. If not right click on print spooler service select properties,

6. Under “startup type“, select “automatic” and click “apply“

7. Click on the “recovery” tab.

8. Change the entries as follows:-First failure: Restart the Service-Second failure: Restart the Service -Subsequent failures: Take No Action -Reset fail count after 1 day -Restart service after 1 minute

9. Click “apply“

10. Click “log on” tab

11. Uncheck “allow service to interact with desktop” if it’s checked.

12. Click “ok” and restart the computer check if this helps.

Clear Printer Spooler Files

Sometimes Print Spooler service can keep stopping due to Print Spooler files, try to check and clear if there are print queues left on your printer spooler folder.

To do this first we need to stop the print spooler service (if its running state)

1. Press Windows + R, type services.msc and ok,

2. Scroll down, right click on print spooler service and click stop

3. Now navigate following path C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS

4. Delete all files in PRINTERS folder

5. Disconnect the printer from Computer

6. Go to windows services and Start Printer Spooler Service

7. Plug the printer back in And check this time printer print the pages without any error.

Run the Printer Troubleshooter

Also Running the build in Printer Troubleshooter help to detect You have the latest Printer drivers, and fix and or update them If you have connectivity issues or Print Spooler and required Services are running fine Any other Printer related issues.

1. Press Windows + I to open Windows Settings app,

2. Click update & security the troubleshoot,

3. look for and select printer,

4. now run the troubleshooter

5. Restart windows after complete the troubleshooting process.

6. Now check there is no more problem with print spooler service.

Reinstall printer driver

If none above solutions help, then the problem is most likely related to corrupted printer drivers that are installed on the computer. Try uninstalling all printers and printer software from the computer and start from scratch.

1. Open control panel, programs and features,

2. look for the installed printer driver and select uninstall,

3. Restart windows to completely remove the driver from your PC.

4. Now Obtain updated software from your printer manufacturers and reinstall only the items you need.

5. Check if this helps to fix the print spooler problem.

Check with a new user account

Also You may create a new user account and check if the issue occurs in the new user account.

1. Press “Windows key + X” and click on “Control Panel”.

2. Click on “User Accounts” and click on “Manage another Account”.

3. Click on “Add a new user in PC Settings”. Follow the on screen directions to complete the process.

4. Once this is done, log in to the new user account and check if the issue occurs in the new user account.

Did these solutions help to fix print spooler service problems on windows 10? Let us know on comments below, also read:

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