Print Spooler keeps restarting

Anonymous
2009-08-31T19:54:08+00:00

I screwed up my print spooler in windows 7. It's in a restarting loop and does not allow me to do anything. The fix it tool from Microsoft that usually works great and clears out all the print drivers so that I can start fresh does not work in windows 7.

How can I fix this issue in 7?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2009-09-01T11:23:56+00:00

Hello Methodman85,

 Thank you for using Microsoft Windows Forums.

 Sorry you are having this problem with your printer.  I would suggest submiting your question at the link below for Windows 7 Forums.  You can also search FAQ's as well as submit a question.  Thanks!

Windows 7

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/category/w7itpro/

I would also try the steps below to see if this helps out.  This is from the same site where the Fix It tool is located. 

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/8c11977e-8244-408f-a036-7978a618d7a21033.mspx#EOD

A print spooler is software that temporarily stores print jobs on the computer hard disk or in memory until the printer is ready to print them. If you've been waiting an unusually long time for a document to print, or if you see an error message about the print spooler, spooler subsystem, or spooler resources, you might need to change and then restart the Print Spooler service on your computer.

To do this, we recommend that you save your work, and then restart the computer to restart the Print Spooler service. If you don't want to restart the computer, try these steps instead.

 To change or restart the Print Spooler service

 You must be logged on as an administrator to perform these steps.

1.  Open Administrative Tools by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Administrative Tools.

2.  Double-click Services.  If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

3.  Right-click the Print Spooler service, and then click Properties.

4.  On the General tab, next to Startup type, make sure that Automatic is selected.

5.  If the service is not already running, under Service status, click Start, and then click OK.  If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

James Microsoft Answers Support Engineer Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-06-03T21:18:11+00:00

    This problem still seems to be doing the rounds!

    I had this fix given me sometime last year and it works for me and continues to do so, (i.e. I have no further trouble (I am touching some wood at the time of writing this!))

    The fix was published in another thread on this web forum by a guy calling himself Encro and all credit to him because he knows what he is talking about.

    The fix: Getting the spooler to start!

    This seems to be a very common issue on Windows 7 caused by a recent "Important" update within the late March/early April period. I discovered the fix for this while working on a clients machine and noticed something abnormal in that the Print Spooler wasn't actually the Print Spooler anymore which is why it wouldn't start. Now that our team have fixed just under 20 machines using this process I'm pretty confident it is the workaround solution until a future WSUS update corrects this properly. This is still speculation at this stage since so far logfiles haven't really provided much help in troubleshooting this further and it may be unrelated to a KB from Windows Update.

    I'm still trying to determine the actual update from Windows Update that caused the issue to notify Microsoft of the bug however the problem goes something like this:

    Determining if this is the cause on your computer.

    Check in %windir%\system32 (C:\Windows\System32) for the existence of spoolsv.exe.org and spoolsv.exe

    If they both exist then it is likely the following issue.

    Compare the file size of spoolsv.exe

    Sometimes the real spoolsv.exe will be named spoolsv.exe.org [545KB] and in the place of spoolsv.exe place will actually be a 41KB file posing as the print spooler. I'm guessing the system backed up the original spooler at some point and replaced it accidently with something else. spoolsv.exe should be the 545KB file at this stage.

    Correcting the problem

    Step 1: Rename spoolsv.exe to spoolsv.bak

    Step 2: Rename spoolsv.exe.org to spoolsv.exe

    Renaming spoolsv.exe.org here is a little more tricky as it requires changing the file ownership from TrustedInstaller to the Administrator Group and giving the group full write permissions for the file. This likely has security implications so it's recommended to revert the permissions after the file is renamed.

    By changing the Ownership of the file from TrustedInstaller to Administrator then enabling Full Modify for the Administrator Group you can swap the files over by renaming and correct this issue.

    I usually rename spoolsv.exe to spoolsv.bak and then rename spoolsv.exe.org to become the actual spoolsv.exe.

    Step 3:

    Start the print spooler via Services (services.msc) or at the command prompt using net start spooler.

    Instant <3 from the Spooler and a major headache for many people finally fixed :)

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-06-13T01:39:52+00:00

    Just go to HP website and download new updated driver.

    The following link is for windows 7, 64 bit with HP1020 printer.  Each person will have to figure out which specific driver they need.

    http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=bi-58677-3&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&os=4063&product=439320&sw_lang=&key=null&site=null&ts=true#thankyou

    This worked for me.  It is easy to download but you need to shut down the computer after you do the download and restart or reboot or whatever.

    I did not need to understand any of the other stuff discussed above.

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-06-23T07:16:26+00:00

    Hey guys,

    I'm not sure if this is the same problem I'm having.

    My HP PROBOOK 4520s & HP K8600 A3 printer is refusing to print. it's in network environment and all the other computers print to the printer - but not my probook.

    After removing the printer from devices and printers, its reappears even before restart of system and appears transparent. No prints going through

    anyone have any advice or thoughts?

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  4. Anonymous
    2011-07-08T11:22:10+00:00

    Deleting everything in

    C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS

    completely solved the problem.

    Thomas

    DELL optiplex 780

    Windows 7 professional

    KonicaMinolta MC2300DL

    I lost printer spooler activity following a windows update in June and your solution worked beautifully. many thanks

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