Print Spooler Service won't stay running - Windows 11

Anonymous
2022-03-05T17:11:52+00:00

Is there a fix for the Windows 11 Print Spooler Service that I can't get to run? It was working fine until last Tuesday - then no printing. I've removed the printers, uninstalled/reinstalled the software, updated everything. Gone through the suggested steps but problem isn't resolved. I keep getting the following: "The local print spooler is not running. Please restart the spooler or restart the machine." I get this whether I try to print or run print properties.

I can print to the printer(s) from a Windows 10 machine (laptop) with no problems so I don't think it's the printer(s) (Canon Pro-300 and HP Office Jet).

In the control panel there is an Inkjet Printer that I cannot remove - says it's a Canon inkjet printer with Driver unavailable (I found a driver listed at one time - C:\Windows|system\32\drivers\ksthunk.sys). How can I remove this device?

Any suggestions before I start over.

Thanks.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Devices and drivers

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-03-07T18:16:51+00:00

    Hello - thank you for your quick reply. The solution didn't fix the problem however. I've tried it a few times including reloading the drivers and software but no luck. The Print Spooler will show that it's running but does not allow a job or connection to the printer. I tried to print a page from Word but I keep getting the error message. The printer will print a test page from the printer side but not from the computer.

    Also, I could not delete the inkjet printer - sometimes it is not listed in the control panel and then it pops back up. It is not shown in HKEY_CURRENT_USER_Printer_Connections

    However - there is NULL machine listed in the ConvertUserDEvModesCount - could that be it?

    Anyway - if you have any other thoughts, I greatly appreciate them. Is the last resort reinstalling Windows 11?

    Thanks.

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  2. Anonymous
    2022-03-06T02:50:42+00:00

    Hi ChipDonahue,

    Welcome to Microsoft Community.

    It sounds like your Windows 11 Print Spooler Service can't get to run. Sorry to hear this. Try the solution below to see if the problem can be solved.

    1. Click Windows Search and enter: cmd > Open the Command Prompt as an administrator > Type in net stop spooler and hit Enter key.
    2. In Windows Explorer, navigate to %systemroot%\system32\spool (usually C:\windows...), and delete the .shd and .spl files you find there, but do not delete the sub-folders.
    3. Again in the Command Prompt, type in net start spooler and hit Enter key.

    Regarding the Inkjet Printer that you're unable to remove. Try to delete it from the Registry.

    Press Windows and R key together > Type in regedit and click OK to open the Registry Editor > Expand the folders in sequence: HKEY_CURRENT_USER_Printer_Connections > Select the Inkjet Printer from the list and right-click on it to delete.

    Feel free to keep me updated.

    Best Regards,

    Lynn Sun | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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