How to Fix Windows Print Spooler Errors and Printing Issues

Print Spooler manages all print jobs in Windows. When it crashes or gets stuck, nothing prints. Here's how to fix every variant.

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Check Spooler Status

# Check if Print Spooler is running
Get-Service Spooler | Select-Object Name, Status, StartType

# View print jobs in queue
Get-PrintJob -PrinterName (Get-Printer | Select-Object -First 1).Name

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Fix 1: Restart Print Spooler

# Restart the service
Restart-Service Spooler -Force

# If it won't restart — stop, clear queue, start
Stop-Service Spooler -Force
Remove-Item "C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*" -Force -EA 0
Start-Service Spooler

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Fix 2: Clear Stuck Print Queue

Jobs can get stuck and block all printing:

# Complete queue clear script
Stop-Service Spooler -Force
Start-Sleep 2
Get-ChildItem "C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS\" -EA 0 | Remove-Item -Force -EA 0
Start-Service Spooler
Write-Host "Queue cleared and spooler restarted"

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Fix 3: Spooler Crashes Repeatedly

# Check for corrupted spooler files
sfc /scannow

# Check spooler crash history
Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='Application'; ProviderName='Application Error'} -MaxEvents 20 |
  Where-Object {$_.Message -like "*spoolsv*"} |
  Select-Object TimeCreated, Message | Format-List

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Fix 4: Remove and Reinstall Printer Driver

Corrupted driver is a common cause of spooler crashes:

# List installed drivers
Get-PrinterDriver | Select-Object Name, PrinterEnvironment, MajorVersion

# Remove specific driver
Remove-PrinterDriver -Name "HP LaserJet 1020" -EA 0

# Remove all non-Microsoft drivers
Get-PrinterDriver | Where-Object {$_.Manufacturer -ne "Microsoft"} |
  ForEach-Object {
    Remove-PrinterDriver -Name $_.Name -EA 0
    Write-Host "Removed: $($_.Name)"
  }

# Restart spooler after removal
Restart-Service Spooler -Force

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Fix 5: Repair Spooler Permissions

# Reset spooler folder permissions
$spoolPath = "C:\Windows\System32\spool"
$aclSpooler = Get-Acl $spoolPath

# Reset to default inheritance
$aclSpooler.SetAccessRuleProtection($false, $true)
Set-Acl -Path $spoolPath -AclObject $aclSpooler

# Also reset the PRINTERS subfolder
icacls "C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS" /reset /t /c

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Fix 6: Registry Cleanup

# Check for corrupted spooler registry entries
$spoolerKey = "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers"
Get-ChildItem $spoolerKey | ForEach-Object {
  $printerPath = $_.PSPath
  # Check if driver exists for this printer
  $driverName = (Get-ItemProperty $printerPath -EA 0).Printer_Driver
  if ($driverName) {
    $driverExists = Get-PrinterDriver -Name $driverName -EA 0
    if (-not $driverExists) {
      Write-Host "Orphaned printer registry entry: $($_.PSChildName)"
    }
  }
}

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Set Spooler to Auto-Restart on Failure

# Configure service recovery — restart on failure
$service = Get-WmiObject Win32_Service -Filter "Name='Spooler'"

sc.exe failure Spooler reset= 86400 actions= restart/5000/restart/5000/restart/5000

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Summary

Stuck queue: stop spooler → delete PRINTERS contents → start spooler. Crashes: check Event Log for spoolsv.exe errors, remove corrupted drivers. Driver issues: remove all third-party drivers, reinstall fresh. Set service to auto-restart on failure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Print Spooler keeps crashing every day — what's the long-term fix?

Usually a corrupted third-party printer driver. Remove all non-Microsoft drivers (script above), restart, then reinstall only the drivers you actually need from the manufacturer's official download.

I deleted the print queue but it refilled — why?

An app is continuously sending print jobs. Check all open apps — Office, PDF readers, browsers — for open print dialogs. Also check scheduled tasks that might auto-print documents.

Print Spooler service is missing from Services — how to restore?

# Re-register spooler service
sc.exe create Spooler binpath= "C:\Windows\System32\spoolsv.exe" type= own start= auto
Start-Service Spooler