Print Spooler stops after trying to print a PDF file and it will not restart.

Anonymous
2010-09-08T17:02:07+00:00

Original Title: Print Spooler![](http://i4.social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/resources/images/trans.gif?cver=2.13.0068.4)

Hello,

The print spooler stops after trying to print a PDF file and it will not restart.  The only way I have been able to print again is to do a System Recovery.  When I try to print a PDF file again the print spooler does the same thing.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanx,

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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Anonymous
2010-09-09T05:04:00+00:00

Hi binofelix,

·        What happens when you try to restart print spooler when it stops? How are you trying to restart the print spooler service? Do you get any error message or any error code?

Try the steps below and check if it helps:

Step 1:

When the print spooler service stops, try restarting it and check if it helps. If you have already tried the steps then ignore Step 1.

a. Click Start and then type "services" (without quotes) in the Start Search box.

b. In the results area, right-click services, and then click “Run as administrator”.

You will be prompted to type the password for an administrator account. Click Continue if you are the administrator or type the administrator password. Then, click Continue.

c. In Services Window locate the service “Print Spooler” and double click on it.

d. Make sure that the Startup type is set to “Automatic” and the Service status is “Started”.

Step 2:

Try running the printer troubleshooter and check if it helps.

Open the Printer troubleshooter

Step 3:

Try the following Microsoft Fixit and check if it helps.

Fix printing problems by resetting the print spooler (Applicable to Windows 7)

Also, have a look at the following article links:

Why can't I print?

Printer problems in Windows

****Hope this helps. Let us know if you need further assistance.

Thanks and Regards, Santosh Y – Microsoft Support

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Anonymous
2014-09-18T08:18:36+00:00

Hello Joe,

Thank you for your reply.

I would suggest you to rebuild print spooler service and check if it helps. Please follow these steps:

a. Press Windows + R keys, type notepad in run window and press Enter.

b. In notepad, copy and paste the following:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\Spooler]

"DisplayName"="@%systemroot%\system32\spoolsv.exe,-1"

"Group"="SpoolerGroup"

"ImagePath"=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,\

  74,00,25,00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,73,\

  00,70,00,6f,00,6f,00,6c,00,73,00,76,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,00,00

"Description"="@%systemroot%\system32\spoolsv.exe,-2"

"ObjectName"="LocalSystem"

"ErrorControl"=dword:00000001

"Start"=dword:00000002

"Type"=dword:00000110

"DependOnService"=hex(7):52,00,50,00,43,00,53,00,53,00,00,00,68,00,74,00,74,00,\

  70,00,00,00,00,00

"ServiceSidType"=dword:00000001

"RequiredPrivileges"=hex(7):53,00,65,00,54,00,63,00,62,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,\

  00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6d,00,70,00,65,00,\

  72,00,73,00,6f,00,6e,00,61,00,74,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,\

  00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,41,00,75,00,64,00,69,00,74,00,50,00,\

  72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,43,00,68,\

  00,61,00,6e,00,67,00,65,00,4e,00,6f,00,74,00,69,00,66,00,79,00,50,00,72,00,\

  69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,4c,00,6f,00,61,\

  00,64,00,44,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,65,00,72,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,\

  6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,41,00,73,00,73,00,69,00,67,00,6e,\

  00,50,00,72,00,69,00,6d,00,61,00,72,00,79,00,54,00,6f,00,6b,00,65,00,6e,00,\

  50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,00,00

"FailureActions"=hex:80,51,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,14,00,00,\

  00,01,00,00,00,60,ea,00,00,01,00,00,00,60,ea,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\Spooler\Performance]

"Close"="PerfClose"

"Collect"="PerfCollect"

"Collect Timeout"=dword:000007d0

"Library"="winspool.drv"

"Object List"="1450"

"Open"="PerfOpen"

"Open Timeout"=dword:00000fa0

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\Spooler\Security]

"Security"=hex:01,00,14,80,78,00,00,00,84,00,00,00,14,00,00,00,30,00,00,00,02,\

  00,1c,00,01,00,00,00,02,80,14,00,ff,01,0f,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,01,00,00,\

  00,00,02,00,48,00,03,00,00,00,00,00,14,00,8d,01,02,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,\

  05,0b,00,00,00,00,00,18,00,ff,01,0f,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,\

  20,02,00,00,00,00,14,00,fd,01,02,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00,01,\

  01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00

c. Save the file as .reg file on the desktop.

d. Right click .reg file and select run as administrator.

e. Click yes, when message prompts.

Note: Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/back-up-registry

I hope this helps.

Thank you

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-09-23T14:26:40+00:00

    Thank you Ratandeep,  Both printers, so far, are working fine.

    Kudos,

    Joe Garner

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-09-17T19:48:18+00:00

    First:

    An easy way to reset the spooler is with the following batch file run as administrator:

    "Reset_and_Clear_Print_Spooler_Queue.bat" downloaded from: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/89483-print-spooler-queue-clear-reset.html

    Second:

    Let me bring you up to date on my basic printing problem.

    I am running Windows7, 64bit.  I have two printers installed: A Cannon iP7220 and an HP Photosmart 7960.

    Both print most files OK except on some PDF files.  If I try to print a PDF file using the HP printer with "print preview" the spooler locks up and I can't print from either printer unless I run the above bat file to reset the spooler.  I can however print the PDF file using the Cannon printer and the spooler works OK.   After a lot of research I have recently discovered that the HP printer will print the PDF file if I turn off the "use print preview" option.  It seems there is a bug in the HP driver when the print preview option is used with a PDF file.

    Let me know if I can be of further help in solving this problem.  I know a lot of other people on the web have this same problem.

    Joe Garner

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-09-17T10:53:01+00:00

    Hello Joe,

    Thank you for your response.

    Please refer to suggestions edited by J_Westin on January 30, 2013 and check if it helps.

    http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/fd7f46d3-baa1-4a38-9ad3-dec5426d9297/print-spooler-keeps-stopping-on-windows-7?forum=w7itproperf

    Note: Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/back-up-registry

    I hope this information helps.

    Thank you

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