The Print Spooler Service is basically a software program in Windows operating system, which has been specifically designed to manage printers and print jobs issued from the computer.
Sometimes, the Print Spooler service stops working, in which case you will have to manually Start or Restart the Print Spooler Service on your computer.
Depending on your preference, you can Start, Stop and Restart Print Spooler Service using the Task Manager, Command Prompt, and Services.
Start, Stop, Restart Print Spooler in Windows 10/11
If you find the need to Stop, Start or Restart the Print Spooler Service, you can find below 3 different ways to Stop, Start, Restart the Print Spooler Service on your Windows 10/11 computer.
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1. Start, Stop, Restart Print Spooler Using Task Manager
Perhaps the easiest way to Start, Stop or Restart the Print Spooler Service in Windows 10/11 is by using Task Manager.
1. Right-click the Start button and select Task Manager.
2. On Task Manager screen, switch to Services tab, right-click on Spooler entry and click on Start.
Similarly, you can Restart Print Spooler by right-clicking on the Spooler entry and selecting the Restart option.
Note: The Restart option may not be available if the Spooler is not working.
3. At any time, you can Stop the Print Spooler Service by right-clicking on the Spooler entry and selecting the Stop option.
2. Start, Stop, Restart Print Spooler Service Using Services
Another way to Start, Stop or Restart the Print Spooler service is by going to the Services screen on your Windows 11/10 computer.
1. Right-click on the Start button and click on Run.
2. In the Run command window, type services.msc and click on OK.
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3. On the Services screen, right-click on Print Spooler and click on the Restart option.
Also, make sure that Print Spooler service is set to Start Automatically. If it is not, double-click on the Print Spooler entry. On the next screen, change the startup type to Automatic.
4. Click on Apply and OK to save this change to the Print Spooler service on your computer.
After this, make sure you restart the computer and you should be able to Print.
3. Stop, Start, Restart Print Spooler Using Command Prompt
If you like using the Command Prompt, you can use the “net user” Command to Start and Stop the Print Spooler.
1. Type CMD in the Search bar > right-click on Command Prompt in the search results and select Run as Administrator option.
2. In Command Prompt window, type input net stop spooler and press the Enter key to Stop Printer Spooler on your computer.
If the problem is being caused by a corrupted Print Queue, open the File Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Printers and delete all contents in the Printers folder.
3. Go back to Command Prompt, type net start spooler and press the Enter key to start print spooler.
After this, you should be able to Print from the computer, without encountering any error codes.
The print spooler manages print jobs in the Windows operating system. The spooler service (spoolsv.exe) can be stopped and restarted from the GUI (Windows Services console) and the command prompt.
To restart using the Services Control Manager, Go to Start Menu | Windows Administrative Tools, right-click Services, go to more, and click Run as administrator.
In the Services console, locate the Print Spooler. Then right-click the service, go to All Tasks and click Restart.
Alternatively, you can double-click the Print Spooler to open Properties.
From the Properties, you can stop and start the service.
Restarting Spooler with Command Prompt
To restart Print Spooler from the Windows 10 command prompt, open the command prompt as Administrator.
Then run the following two commands:
sc stop Spooler
sc start SpoolerYou can check the status of the Print Spooler service on a Windows 10 computer by running the sc query spooler command.
The sc qc spooler command shows the service configuration.
Among other things, the output shows you the startup type and the binary path to the spoolsv.exe.
Learn how to clear, stop and restart the print Spooler service in Windows 10/8/7 using system settings & cmd. Follow these steps if the printing job service is not running. Printing a series of documents is not a tough job until the entire process stops. If you have checked your printer for low ink or paper jam, its time to focus your attention to your computer. Print spooler is a file that manages the printing process for the computer. Taking a few steps to clear print spooler when you are stuck can effectively help you in resolving these issues. If you are signed in to your computer as an administrator, you can follow these methods to exclude the errors and get back to hassle free printing
again.
Sitting in front of computer, trying to take an urgent print out and if the print spooler keeps stopping then nothing is much annoyed than this. However, there are 03 solutions that I have mentioned below. It will hardly take 01-02 minute to restart the printing process, lets find it out.
Method 1: Restart Printing Using Services
Once your printing is stuck, open the Start menu and search for ‘Services‘ in the search bar.
Open the Service window and look for Print Spooler.
Right click on the option and open Properties.
Open the General tab in the service properties window and click on Stop button. Do not close this
window yet.
Now open File explorer from the start menu, desktop or task-bar. Type the given text in the address bar
and hit Enter.
%windir%\System32\spool\PRINTERS
If your computer asks for permission to run this, provide it by clicking on Continue.
Select all the files that open by clicking and dragging the mouse over them. Right click the selected files
and select Delete.
Now go back to the properties window for Print Spooler in Service and click Start. Click on OK to close
the Properties window.
If the issue is resolved, printing will start again automatically.
Shortcuts to Insert Column in Excel Sheet
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Method 2: Using Command Prompt
For Windows 10 users, clearing and restarting print spooler from the CMD (Command Prompt) is the quickest
and easiest method. Follow these steps:
- Go to Start Menu and search for Command Prompt.
- Right click the Command Prompt option and select Run as administrator.
- After the window opens, type the following text and hit Enter on your keyboard
net stop spooler
- Without closing this window, go to ‘File Explorer’ or just open ‘Run button’ and type the text given below in the address bar.
C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Printers
- Hit Enter to open the directory.
- Select all the files that open and hit right click.
- Select Delete and go back to the Command Prompt window.
- To restart the print spooler in Windows 10, type the given text in the Command Prompt window and hit enter
net start spooler
- This will automatically resume the printing.
Method 3: Cancelling current documents
If there is an error in one or all of the documents that you have queued to print, the above steps may
not resolve the issue. In this case, you need to remove the document from the list and resume the
operation.
For this, follow these steps to let your printer restart or cancel printing task in Windows 10/8/7/XP.
- Go to Control Panel from the search bar next to the Start menu and select Devices and Printers.
- Choose the printer that you are using and right click the icon. Select See what’s printing to recover the
list of documents that are queued for printing. - Click the header for the Submitted column to arrange the list of documents in the order in which they
are given for printing. It will be the first file on the list that will be causing the error now - Right click on the file that is on top of this list and click on Restart.
- If the printing does not start after that automatically, again select the file on the top of the list and hit
right click. Click on cancel to remove the document from the list and confirm by clicking Yes. Once the
printing of that document has been cancelled, it will be deleted from the list and the printing will
resume instantly. - If the printing does not resume even then or the file is not cancelled, there may be more or all
documents that are causing the problem. - In that case, go to Printer menu on the top left corner of the screen and select Cancel all Documents.
This will clear the list and you can restart printing by giving a new command.If the printing issue is not resolved still, you can check the printer for faulty connections and refer to the manufacturer’s guide on the same.
Hope, now your printer is working like butter 🙂 Let me know if you still facing problem.
Print spooler serves as a bridge between your desktop and the printer. It lines up all printing processes in queues to make sure all print commands are handled correctly. So, it can be quite frustrating if you’re trying to get prints of important documents, only to get an error. Today we will show you how to restart your print spooler on Windows 10 so that you can start afresh and be uninterruptedly productive!
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By restarting your print spooler, you can ensure faster and smoother operations across your desktop. This can save you time and effort once your printer is back on track for future needs. So without wasting much time, let’s check out the methods to restart your spooler:
Method 1: Via System Settings
You can easily restart the print spooler from your desktop’s system settings. Follow the steps mentioned below to do the same:
1. Click on the search bar on the taskbar on your Windows 10 PC and enter Services.
2. Scroll down and click Print Spooler from the list of services.
3. Right-click on Print Spooler and select Restart or click on Restart from the left menu.
Method 2: Via Command Prompt
You can also restart the print spooler through the command prompt. Check out the steps below:
1. Open Command Prompt on your PC in administrative mode.
2. Click on Yes to confirm your action.
3. Enter the command net stop spooler to stop the print spooler from working.
4. Now enter the command net start spooler to restart your print spooler.
Why is My Print Spooler Not Working?
There can be several reasons why the print spooler might not be working on your desktop, such as:
- There are pending printing jobs that are not removed from the print queue.
- Unstable printer connection with your computer.
- Your printer drivers are not running in the latest version.
- The printer is incompatible with your computer.
- Involvement of printer with any third-party software or drivers.
Is it Safe to Restart the Printer Spooler in Windows 10?
Yes, it is normally safe to restart the printer spooler in Windows 10 and is also recommended by Microsoft as a standard troubleshooting measure as it clears any print queue issues.
Does Restarting Printer Spooler Affect Installed Printers or Print Settings in Windows 10?
No, your installed printers or print settings should not be affected by restarting the printer spooler in Windows 10. But any previously pending printing lineups can be deleted after you have restarted the print spooler.
Also Read: How to Connect Your Android Phone to Wireless Printer and Print Using It
We hope that after following these methods, you have understood how to restart your printer spooler on Windows 10.
If you have any queries or suggestions, do not hesitate to reach out to us in the comment section. Keep visiting TechCult for more tech-related know-how.
Print Spooler is a built-in service in Windows 11/10 that temporarily reserves print jobs in the computer’s memory until the printer is ready to print them. If you stop the Print Spooler service, the printing task will stop from your computer. If the Print Spooler service is not working properly, crashes, hangs, or stops, you need to restart the Print Spooler service. If the Print Spooler service does not work properly, your documents get stuck in the printer queue, and you may need to stop or restart the Print Spooler service manually.
In this post, we’ll show you four methods to stop, restart or disable the Print Spooler service in Windows 10. These are the following:-
- Stop or Restart Print Spooler Service from Service Manager
- Stop or Start Print Spooler Service from Command Prompt
- Use a Batch File to Stop or Start Print Spooler Service
- Enable or Disable Print Spooler Service from System Configuration
To stop or restart the Print Spooler service using Service Manager on Windows 11/10, perform the following steps:-
Step 1. Press and hold the Windows logo key, and then press the R key to open the Run dialog box.
Step 2. Type the following in the Run box, and press Enter from the keyboard to open the Services window:-
services.msc
Step 3. In the Services window, scroll down the list of services to see the Print Spooler.
Step 4. Right-click the Print Spooler, and select either the Stop or Restart option from the pop-up menu.
How to Stop or Start Print Spooler Service from Command Prompt?
To stop or restart the Print Spooler service using Command Prompt on Windows 11/10, perform the following steps:-
Step 1. Open Command Prompt with administrative privileges.
To open the Command Prompt with admin rights, click on the Start button. Type CMD. Right-click on the Command Prompt entry and select the Run as administrator option from the available search results.
Command Prompt with administrative rights opens.
Step 2. To stop the Print Spooler service, run the following command:-
net stop spooler
To start the Print Spooler service, run the following command:-
net start spooler
How to Use a Batch File to Stop or Start Print Spooler Service?
Step 1. Open a new Notepad document and paste the following commands:-
@echo off NET stop spooler NET start spooler
Step 2. Click on the File menu, and select the Save As option from the drop-down.
Step 3. In the File name box, type Print Spooler.bat. In Save as type, select All Files from the drop-down.
Step 4. Select the location where you want to save the batch file and click the Save button.
Step 5. Right-click on the batch file (Print Spooler.bat) and select Run as administrator.
A command prompt window opens. Print Spooler service will be stopped, then started, and close the Command Prompt window automatically.
How to Enable or Disable Print Spooler Service from System Configuration?
It is also possible to enable or disable the Print Spooler service in Windows 10 from the System Configuration. To enable or disable the Print Spooler service, perform the following steps:-
Step 1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Step 2. Type the following and press Enter from the keyboard:-
MSConfig
Step 3. Once you complete the above steps, the System Configuration window opens.
Step 4. Select the Services tab in the System Configuration window. To disable the Print Spooler service, uncheck the box beside Print Spooler. To enable the Print Spooler service check the box before Print Spooler.
Step 5. Click Apply, then the OK button.
Once you complete the above steps, the Print Spooler service will stop or start, depending upon the role you have performed.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Print Spooler service is an important feature in Windows 10 that helps manage print jobs and ensures that they are printed correctly. However, if this service stops working or encounters issues, it can cause print jobs to get stuck in the queue, which can be frustrating for users. In this post, we have provided four methods to stop, restart or disable the Print Spooler service in Windows 11/10, including using the Service Manager, Command Prompt, batch files, and the System Configuration tool. By following these methods, users can resolve issues with the Print Spooler service and ensure that their print jobs are processed correctly.