Printer spooler won't start at startup - Windows 8.1

Anonymous
2013-10-30T06:00:37+00:00

Hi,

Problem started with trying to add a home network printer. I get the error message "Windows can't open Add Printer. There are no more endpoints available from the endpoint mapper."

Each time I boot the PC I have to go to Services and start the Printer Spooler, and then I can add printers, and print, but after a reboot I have to repeat this action again.

The Printer Spooler is set to automatic, but like I say it won't start automatically.

I also checked out the c:\windows\system32\spool\printers folder but it was empty. (deleting all files in this folder has been offered as a solution)

Has anyone worked this one out yet? There seems to be a few people suffering the same issue.

Thanks

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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Anonymous
2013-11-26T18:24:31+00:00

SOLUTION!!!  This worked for me and I have tested it over and over again.

"As suspected by many, the problem is Kaspersky related.

I found a solution: download kavremvr.exe (Kaspersky Lab Products Remover), run the program, select "<Remove all known products>" and then click on "Remove".

Restart the computer, wait, do not panic, the first reboot is slow.

On the first reboot, still the spooler will not restart automatically.

Again, restart the computer, everything should be ok now."

I originally had Kaspersky antivirus installed from the manufacturer which I removed thru add / remove programs back when I had windows 8.  I guess not everything was removed when I originally uninstalled it.  You must do the 2nd restart as described above for it to work.  I found this solution on another thread while searching different keywords trying to get answers.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-06-27T05:23:31+00:00

    Hello Sam,

    Thank you for the update.

    I would suggest you to try following methods and check if it helps.

    Method 1:

    Stop and start the "Print Spooler" service from command prompt and check. Please follow these steps:

    a. Press Windows + x keys and select command prompt(admin). If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click allow.

    b. Type the following commands in the command prompt one by one and press Enter after each command.

    net stop spooler

    net start spooler

    c. Close command prompt.

    Method 2:

    Please follow these steps:

    a. Press Windows + x keys and select command prompt(admin). If you are prompted for an

    administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click allow.

    b. Type the following commands in the command prompt and press Enter.

    CMD /K SC CONFIG SPOOLER DEPEND= RPCSS

    c. Close command prompt.

    I hope this information helps.

    Thank you

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-06-27T06:56:43+00:00

    Hello Ratandeep,

    I tried both methods.

    After I applied the commands in the first method, I closed the computer, started it up again opened a word document, gave the print command and it said "you need to select a printer ect" the printer window said that no printers, not even my cute PDF-writer, could be found.

    Then I applied the second method, same procedure, with the same (non-) result.

    Cheers

    Sam

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-06-27T09:11:33+00:00

    Hello Sam,

    Thank you for the reply.

    It is very unfortunate that none of the suggestions provided in the previous posts help. I would suggest you to try following steps and check if it helps.

    a. Click Start, type regedit in the start search box and press Enter. Registry editor will open.

    b. Expand the folders to the following location:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\Services\Spooler

    c. On the right window pane, double-click on the "DependOnService" registry value.

    d. Delete the existing entry and then replace it with RPCSS.

    e. Close registry editor.

    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://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756

    I hope this helps.

    Thank you

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-06-27T12:20:30+00:00

    Thanks Ratandeep,

    When I got into the register at the suggested spot however the value was already ( multistring ) 'rpcss'.

    Cheers

    Sam

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