Print Spooler Keeps Crashing in Windows 7 Ultimate Edition

Anonymous
2009-10-27T23:35:05+00:00

Recently I upgraded my system from Windows Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Ultimate edition. Although the system overall has been working well, I've been unable to print, let alone view my printers because the print spooler service keeps crashing.

When I try printing in various programs I get an error saying I need to install a printer before printing however when selecting yes to install a printing, I get an error message saying something along the lines of not being able to add the "add printer" dialogue because I the spooler isn't running.

I've tried manually starting the service and rebooting however no matter what I try, the spooler stops running after about 10 or so seconds. On a similar note, I've tried two repair installs but to no avail.

Thanks for any assistance.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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Anonymous
2009-10-28T22:59:03+00:00

Hi xcrunner645,

         Welcome to Windows Answers Community Forums

•         This behavior occurs if existed printer drivers are corrupt.

     I suggest that you remove all the installed printers and reinstall the Windows 7 printer drivers if available.

Remove a printer

  1. Click the "Start" button, type PRINTER in the search box and press Enter.
  2. Find the icons of installed printers, and delete them.
  3. Right-click on the blank part of the window, and choose "Run as administrator"->"Server Properties".
  4. On the Drivers tab, select the listed printers and click the Remove button. Please then select Remove driver and driver package.
  5. Open Start menu, input APPWIZ.CPL in the Search box and press ENTER to launch "Programs and Features".
  6. Try to remove all related printer software.

If the issue is not resolved, I suggest that you clear the printing sub system.

Step 1

======

Start Windows Explorer, and then rename all files and folders in the following two folders:

c:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86

To rename a file, we can right click the file and select Rename.

Step 2

======

  1. Click Start, type REGEDIT in the Start Search Bar, and then press ENTER.
  2. Navigate to and then click the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environment\Windows NT x86

View the list of subkeys. There should be only the following subkeys:

Drivers

Print Processors

If there are any keys other than those listed above, follow these steps:

a. On the File menu, click Export.

b. In the File Name box, type a descriptive name for this key -- for example, type WindowsNTx86regkey -- and then click Save to save it to your local Desktop.

We can use this backup of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environment\Windows NT x86 registry key to restore the key if you experience any problems after you complete this procedure.

c. Delete all keys other than Drivers and Print Processors.

Step 3

======

Navigate to and click the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors registry key. View the list of subkeys. There should be only the following subkeys:

BJ Language Monitor

Local Port

Microsoft Document Imaging Writer Monitor

Microsoft Shared Fax Monitor

Standard TCP/IP Port

USB Monitor

WSD Port

If there are any keys other than those listed in above, follow these steps to delete them:

a. On the File menu, click Export.

b. In the File Name box, type a descriptive name for this key -- for example, type Monitorsregkey -- and then click Save to save it to your local Desktop.

We can use this backup of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors registry key to restore the key if you experience any problems after you complete this procedure.

c. Delete all keys other than the 5 listed above.

Step 4. Disconnect the printer cable from the computer, and then restart the computer.

Step 5. Reconnect the printer cable to the computer, install the printer according to the manufacturer's installation instructions, and then check if the issue persists.

You can also use these two articles to troubleshoot this issue:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2000007

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933454

Hope it helps. 

Thanks and Regards:

Shekhar S - Microsoft Support.

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  2. Anonymous
    2012-01-13T08:53:17+00:00

    There is an unresolved problem with pdf files.

    The workaround follows.

    Click on the Start button and select Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services. Locate Print Spooler in the list. Check that it has started and that the StartUp type is Automatic.

    I suspect that it has stopped and that just starting it will not solve the problem.

    You may need to show hidden files. Type Folder Options in the search box above the Start button and select View, Advanced Settings and verify that the box before "Show hidden files and folders" is checked and "Hide protected operating system files" is unchecked. You need to scroll down to see the second item. You should also make certain that the box before "Hide extensions for known file types" is not checked.

    Now access Windows Explorer and select c:\windows\system32\spool\printers. Normally this folder should be empty but there is a problem when files with “spl” and “shd” extensions stick there. Delete the files and restart your computer. This may resolve your immediate problem.

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  3. Anonymous
    2012-01-13T06:30:35+00:00

    It works like a charm! Thanks for your sharing

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  4. Anonymous
    2011-11-23T07:09:38+00:00

    Hi DenaB,

    printing a .pdf made by a scanner it what starts the problem. The problem continues in a way described here at

    Print Spooler Keeps Crashing in Windows 7 Ultimate Edition

    since you can not print anything. You get an annoucement that there are no installed printers. Trying reinstall printer fails due to print spooler being down.

    So far I have learned how to start and restart print spooler. It does not bring back printing, as it seems that the print spooler crashes very soon again.

    Yesterday I think I managed to fix my own laptop printing again, by

    running printing diagnostics,

    letting it detach printer drivers from print spooler,

    restarting print spooler

    removing installed printer

    getting a pnp driver package from HP netsite

    reconnecting printer USB and seeing that it has installed itself, no success

    removing installed printer

    getting another pnp driver package from HP netsite

    reconnecting printer USB and seeing that it has installed itself, no success

    removing installed printer

    getting another driver package from a third party netsite

    reconnecting printer USB and seeing that it has installed itself, no success

    removing installed printer

    rebooting computer

    installing printer through install a new printer wizard and choosing manually a driver that I think had not yet been used at any point

    My laptop, according to dxdiag.exe is


    System Information


    Time of this report: 11/23/2011, 08:50:27

           Machine name: KINNUSPEKUHP

       Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.110622-1506)

               Language: Finnish (Regional Setting: Finnish)

    System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard

           System Model: HP Pavilion dv7 Notebook PC

                   BIOS: Default System BIOS

              Processor: AMD Turion(tm) II P520 Dual-Core Processor (2 CPUs), ~2.3GHz

                 Memory: 4096MB RAM

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