Fix Print Spooler Keeps Stopping in Windows 10: Do Mend its Function

If you’re facing trouble while printing with your printer, it is often caused due to a faulty spooler. In case you’re wondering what it is, it’s a file that manages the printing tasks that you assign to the printer. When you want to print multiple pages, this software maintains them in a queue. And, thus, if it faces any issue like the print spooler keeps stopping, you won’t be able to use the printer until you fix this. 

Does the print spooler keeps stopping in your device? That undoubtedly creates quite an inconvenient and annoying situation. But, you need not run straight to a professional to get it fixed. To save your time, there are some solutions that you can apply by yourself. So, keep reading to know what they are in case you’re unaware.

Causes and Solutions for Print Spooler Keeps Stopping Issue

From what it seems, this is quite a complicated issue and can have multiple causes. As such, you might have to make some effort to find out the exact cause behind the problem in your case. However, it’s not that hard to find out. You can just apply the fixes for each cause until you reach a solution.

  • System Reboot

Even though you might probably need to go for other solutions, you might want to try this one first. After all, system reboots can remove a wide range of errors and are effective in many cases. If it works, that will save you a lot of time after all.

  • Printing Errors

Sometimes, an error in the printing function can cause problems within the spooler. In such cases, it’s quite difficult to know where the process has gone wrong.

Maybe it has something to do with the settings you chose or any other aspect of the task. Regardless, you would need to find out the issue and proceed with a suitable solution. After all, you can’t print anymore unless you get the spooler running properly again.

So, how do you detect where the printing process has gone wrong? In case you’re wondering, it’s quite simple — by troubleshooting the issue. From what it seems this problem might be more common than you might have thought. That’s why there’s a separate troubleshooter for printers in Windows 10, apart from other components. So, you must try running it to solve the issue.

You’ll find this option in the Troubleshooter page of your device’s Settings. It will check your device for any issues related to the printer and repair them. In case it can’t fix the problem, it’ll inform you what you need to do next to solve it.

  • Spooler Service

Your device runs various services in the background to support running various applications, and one of them is the print spooler service. Sometimes, an error or a wrong setting in it can cause the issue that you’re facing.

Not Set to Automatic

You can set the various services in your Windows system to start manually, automatically, or even disable them. Usually, it would be more convenient if you set the spooler service to Automatic. Moreover, it does run on that setting by default. But, you might have unknowingly set it to Manual or Disabled it somehow. Simply, navigate to the Print Spooler service on the Services page. Make sure the Startup type is set at Automatic in its Properties.

Hanged or Facing Errors

In many cases, the print spooler keeps stopping due to some error in its function. As a result, it gets hanged and causes trouble in completing the printing tasks. So, what do you do in such cases? Simply navigate to the Print Spooler service like the above-mentioned step.

Disable it from the Startup options for a while and then enable it again, and this might remove whatever error it was facing. If this method doesn’t work, you might want to consider getting professional help.

  • Too Many Spooler Files

The spooler saves all the printing tasks you give your device, in the form of files. These are executable and the spooler makes sure they’re completed one by one in the right order.
Now, sometimes you might need to perform quite a high number of printing jobs. That means there will be a large volume of spooler files. As a result, it might have trouble handling them sometimes. Moreover, the files might even get corrupted due to an error. So, a large number of pending files often cause issues with the print spooler.

To fix this, you simply need to remove the files. For that, you need to disable the service first. Once you’re done with that, go to the File Explorer and go to the System Drive. Then, you need to navigate to the Windows option, select System32, then Spool and finally Printers. In many cases, you might find this folder in System64, regardless, delete every file in the printer folder. This will remove the workload as well as corrupt files. Also, don’t forget to enable the service after this.

This step will remove all the pending printing jobs in the same order as you had assigned your device. So, you need to assign them once again. Also, you might want to keep the workload as low as possible to prevent further issues

  • Too Many Printers Installed

For using your printer with your device, you need to install the software on your PC. Moreover, you need to do so for each printer you use. So, you might sometimes have multiple of them installed on your device. In that case, it could have something to do with the problem you’re facing with the spooler, and it is often found as one of the common causes of this issue.

Thus, you need to remove the printers that you have stopped using or don’t need to use anymore. This should fix or at least contribute significantly to solving the issue with the spooler.  To do this, you need to navigate to the Printers And Scanners page in your device’s Settings. You’ll find every printer that you’ve installed listed in there. Right-click on any of them and choose the option to remove the device.

In some cases, you might not see results right away after applying this solution. So, you need to reboot the system once, before you check on the problem.

  • Printer Driver Issues

Your device needs a driver to control various hardware components. Apart from the ones located inside it, it also needs one to operate a printer. Moreover, it’s quite an important requirement to run your printing tasks smoothly. If the print spooler keeps stopping, it could have something to do with the driver.

Outdated

To ensure proper functioning, you need to keep your drivers up-to-date. Maybe you’re facing issues with the spooler due to an outdated printer driver. In that case, you can’t find a long-term solution unless you update it.

Navigate to the driver you’re using listed in the Device Manager. You can easily get the latest version by right-clicking it and choosing to update.

As an alternative, you can simply visit the manufacturer’s website and download the version you want. After you’re done, you can try using the printer right away to check on the problem.

Incompatible Version

Are you using the latest Windows version on your computer? The printer driver you’re using might simply be incompatible with it. You might sometimes not be able to update it due to various reasons. In such cases, there is an alternative for you — make your system emulate an older version to suit the driver. 

For that, you need to navigate to the driver and open its Properties tab. Choose the option to run it in compatibility mode. This can provide an effective solution until you decide to update the driver. 

Conclusion…

The above-mentioned fixes are some of the effective solutions that you must try when the print spooler keeps stopping. If none of them works in your case, then the problem must be critical and you might consider finding professional help. 

Maria Colombo
Maria Colombo
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