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
    2010-09-19T13:42:54+00:00

    i did this but then i saw that the status was stopped and there was a start tab. i clicked it then error 1068 popped out. It refused to start :/ what should i do?

    I will refer you to a similar thread.  The post which I have given you the link to was by a guy called Encro and it was posted May 10, 2010.

    It has solved my predicament.  As of yet I have had no recurrence of the problem.

    I suggest you have a read through the thread and see if it relates to your problem.

    Let us know if it solves anything.

    http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7hardware/thread/78fa30f1-78d0-408c-b9d9-3a3584728c41

    Barneyboy48 Experience Level: Baseline - Please keep it simple!

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-09-18T23:21:55+00:00

    i did this but then i saw that the status was stopped and there was a start tab. i clicked it then error 1068 popped out. It refused to start :/ what should i do?

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  3. Anonymous
    2010-06-24T14:15:46+00:00

    Hello,

    I'm scrolling thru seeing if more people have a problem.

    I'm getting issues on a domain network.  More specific a SBS 2003 Enviroment. The devices and printers seems to pick up rogue printers and gets hung up installing them.  Mind you this is even with network discovery disabled. I originally thought it may be related to choosing HOME network for the network settings by accident, but to no avail it is happening on machines with the correct network settings too. Sometimes the machine locks up so bad I have to log into the server, stop and restart the spooler service from AD, log into the machine in question restart the spooler locally ( I can now since I restarted it from the server, so weird), then finally open printers and remove the grayed out printers leaving only the printers needed.  Things go fine for awhile and I have to do it again a few weeks down the road.

    Please fix this.

    Thanks.

    MCP

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  4. Anonymous
    2010-05-07T08:05:21+00:00

    Barneyboy48,  HKLM is HKey_LOCAL_MACHINE in the registry editor.  Just be EXTREMELY careful once you get there. 

    Just passing through looking for a solution for a similar problem. 

    How do I get to the registry editor?

    Why have I got to be careful - please enlarge?

    Barneyboy48

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