
Printing problems can crop up at any time and the one thing that bugs me the most is a printer that’s not printing. [sic] Printing your documents should not be a problem, but it often is…
I have been having a problem with Windows 10 for a while now, and it seems to have gotten worse over time. The worst part about this problem is that there is no fix for it, but I have found some workarounds that help with it.
Milan Stanojevic
Co-Editor in Chief
Milan has had a passion for computers since childhood, which has led him to become interested in all PC-related technologies. Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Read more
Updated: July 9, 2021
Published: April 2018
- If the printer crashes while queuing in Windows 10, it’s probably the Print Spooler service.
- You should restart this service and its co-dependencies as soon as possible.
- Reinstalling the printer driver may also help, so don’t hesitate to try.
- Remove all documents waiting for the cue, as any one of them may be the cause of the problem.
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Many users often print documents in Windows 10, but unfortunately problems can occur from time to time.
Users have reported that printing in Windows 10 gets stuck on the spool, and today we’ll show you how to fix it.
How to lock printing to spool in Windows 10?
1. Move the files and restart the print spooler service
1.1 Moving lights to another folder
- Open File Explorer and navigate to the following folder: C:Windows system32spooldrivers
- There should be three files available: IA64, W32X86 and x64.
- Open each of these folders and find the folder named 3. There should be a large number of numbered files in this directory. For example, W32X8631, W32X8632, etc.
- Select all numbered folders in folder 3, right click on them and select Cut.
- Now paste these folders into another folder. For example, you can use them. For example, move it to the desktop or to another folder.
The print process sends files to the print queue, but sometimes there is a problem with these files or with the print spooler service. So you need to move these files and restart the service.
If you are having problems with copy and paste in Windows 10, check out this handy guide that will help you solve the problem with ease.
1.2 Restarting the Prin’s Spooler service
- Press Windows + R and type services.msc. Press Enter or OK.
- Locate the Print Spooler service and check its status.
- If the Print Spooler service is not active, you can start it by right-clicking it and selecting Start from the menu.
After moving the numbered folders to another location, you must restart the Print Spooler service. Follow the steps described above to do this.
1.3 Starting up co-dependent services
- In the Services window, locate the Print Spooler, right-click on it, and select Properties.
- Search for available services in the This service depends on the following system components. The Print Spooler service depends on these services, and you must first enable these services to run the service.
- In addition to enabling the services, you need to set their startup type to Automatic. After enabling the dependent services, try to restart the pressure washer.
Sometimes the Print Spooler service does not start due to problems with dependent services. If this is the case, follow the steps above.
1.4 Restarting the Print Spooler service from the command line
- Open the command prompt as administrator. To do this, press the key combination Windows + S and type cmd, then select Run as Administrator.
- When the command line opens, you can enter the net stop spooler command to stop the print spooler service and the net start spooler command to start the print spooler service.
If you do not want to use the Services window, you can simply restart the Print Spooler service from the command prompt. Some users prefer this approach because it is faster, but you can use the method that suits you best.
Follow the steps described above to restart the print spooler from the command prompt.
After moving the numbered folders to another location and restarting the Print Spooler service, the problem should be completely resolved.
2. Reinstalling the printer driver
- Press Windows key + X and select Device Manager from the list.
- When the Device Manager opens, locate your printer. If you cannot find it, click the View tab and check the Show hidden devices box.
- Find your printer, right-click on it and select Remove.
- Select the Remove drivers for this device check box and click OK.
- Restart the computer after the uninstallation process is complete.
Sometimes coil clogging problems are due to your drivers. One way to solve the problem is to reinstall the printer driver. Follow the steps described above to do this.
Once the printer driver is uninstalled, go to the printer manufacturer’s website, locate your printer model, and download the latest driver for that model.
Run the installation file and wait for the driver to install. Then check that the error has been corrected.
Automatic driver update
After uninstalling the drivers, it is recommended to reinstall/update them automatically.
If you download and install drivers manually, you run the risk of installing the wrong driver, which can cause serious problems on your system.
Drivers can then be updated in batches or individually without the user having to make complex decisions.
In most cases, the current drivers for your PC’s hardware and peripherals are not properly updated by the system. There are important differences between the generic driver and the manufacturer’s driver. Finding the right driver version for each of your hardware components can be tedious. Therefore, an automatic wizard can help you find the right drivers and update your system every time, and we recommend DriverFix. Here’s how:
- Download and install DriverFix.
- Start the software.
- Wait until all defective drivers are detected.
- DriverFix will show you all drivers that have problems and you only need to select the one you want to fix.
- Wait until the application has downloaded and installed the latest drivers.
- Restart the computer for the changes to take effect.
DriverFix
Make sure the drivers for the components of your PC are working properly without endangering your computer.
Denial: This program must be upgraded from the free version to perform specific actions.
3. Upgrade to a previous version of Office
Many users use Microsoft Office to edit and print documents, but according to some users, printing can get stuck on the spooler due to issues with Office.
A suggested solution that has worked for some users is to downgrade the Office installation to an earlier version. After that, the printing problems were completely solved.
4. Delete all incomplete documents
- Navigate to the following folder: C:Windows32spoolPrinter
- You should see all pending print jobs in the Printers folder. Delete all the files it contains and restart the computer.
Before printing, all documents are moved to a specific folder, but sometimes the print spooler has some problems that can interfere with the printing process on your PC.
One solution is to remove the queued documents from their folders, but before you do this, you must stop the queued print service.
To do this, open the Services window, locate the Print Spooler service, right click on it and select Stop from the menu.
Also remember to set the print spooler startup type to Automatic. Then clear all queued print jobs. To do this, follow the simple steps described above.
After restarting the computer, go to the Services window and check that the Print Spooler service is active.
If everything works correctly and the startup type is set to Automatic, the Print Spooler service should start automatically in Windows 10.
After you remove the pending documents and check the status of the Print Spooler service, you can try printing the documents again.
5. Turn off bidirectional support for your printer
- Press the Windows key + S and type printer. Select Printer and Scanner from the menu.
- In the window that appears, locate your printer, click on it, and select Manage from the menu.
- On the left, click Printer Properties.
- Click on the Ports tab and at the bottom of the window you will see an option to enable bidirectional support. Disable it and click Apply and OK.
If you have a local network in your home or office, you probably share your printer with other users.
It is generally the most convenient way to print documents because users can print documents from their computers.
While sharing printers is convenient, it can also cause problems. If printing freezes when using a shared printer in the queue, you may need to check the printer properties and disable bi-directional printing support.
Follow the steps described above to do this. After disabling bidirectional support, check if the problem is resolved.
6. Turn off your antivirus/firewall
Security software is important, but sometimes these tools can interfere with the printer and cause roll failure.
To solve this problem, temporarily disable the antivirus and firewall.
Remember that Windows 10 comes with Windows Defender, which acts as the default antivirus. So your computer is not completely defenseless, even if you disable third-party antivirus software.
After disabling the antivirus program or firewall, check if the problem is resolved.
7. Try using a different Windows account
Sometimes printing can get stuck on a queue due to Windows account issues.
To check if your account is the cause of the problem, we recommend that you switch to a different Windows account and see if printing works under that account.
If this solves the problem, make sure your account has the necessary permissions to print.
8. Perform CFS scan
- Run the command prompt as administrator.
- When the command prompt starts, type sfc /scannow and press Enter.
- Wait until the analysis is complete.
- When the analysis is complete, verify that the problem is resolved.
Your files and your Windows installation can sometimes be damaged, which can cause printing problems. If you are experiencing problems with jammed prints on the roll, you can easily solve them by performing an SFC scan.
The SFC scan checks your computer for damaged files and tries to repair them. Perform the following steps to run an SFC scan on your computer.
9. Disable service to allow communication with desktop option
- Open the Services window, locate the Print Spooler service and double-click it. For more information on opening the service window, see Solution 1.
- When the Print Pooler Properties window opens, click the Connection tab. Find the Allow service to interact with desktop option and make sure it is disabled.
- Click Apply and OK.
Several users have reported that the problem of jammed prints on the spool can be easily solved by disabling the Allow service interaction with the desktop option. To disable this option, follow the steps above.
After disabling this option, check whether the printing problems are resolved.
10. Disable printer status message
- Open the Printers and Scanners section. For more information, see Decision 5.
- When the Printers and Scanners window opens, select your printer and choose Manage.
- Now click on Printer Properties on the left hand side.
- Click the Advanced tab, and clear the Show local printer information notifications and Show network printer information notifications check boxes.
- Then select Apply and OK to save your changes.
According to some users, turning off the printer status notifications can solve this problem. Follow the steps described above to do this.
We’re not sure if this method completely solves the problem, but several users have reported that it works for them, so go ahead and try it.
11. Print PDF files as images
Users have reported that when they try to print a PDF file, the printout gets stuck in the PC spool.
Apparently, this problem only affects low-end and home printers. If you experience this problem, we recommend printing the PDF documents as images.
To do this, simply try printing a PDF document and look for the Print as image option. Sometimes this option can be hidden in the advanced settings section, so you will have to search for it.
After choosing this option, click the Print button and your document will be printed without any problems.
12. Attempting to print PDF files from Adobe Acrobat
According to users, this issue may occur when you try to print a PDF document from Chrome.
There seems to be a problem with Chrome’s built-in PDF viewer. To get around this problem, first download the PDF file and try printing it with Adobe Acrobat or another PDF viewer.
This is just a workaround, but according to users it works, so feel free to try it. This seems to be a problem with Google Chrome, and until Google fixes it, you’ll have to rely on this workaround.
⇒ Download Adobe Acrobat
13. Restart Chrome
As we mentioned in our previous solution, sometimes printing can get stuck on the spool when you try to print a PDF document from Chrome.
In addition to downloading the PDF file and printing it from the PDF viewer, you can easily fix this problem by restarting the browser.
Users have reported that after restarting Chrome, the printing problem was completely resolved, so definitely try it out. Note that this solution is not permanent and you will need to repeat it each time the problem occurs.
14. Amendment of register
- When the registry editor opens in the left pane, go to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlPrintMonitors
- Unfold the Monitors button and locate your printer. Right-click on it and select Delete from the menu.
- After removing the printer key from the registry, close the Registry Editor.
If you share a printer on your local network, printing may get stuck in the spooler, but you should be able to solve this problem by simply deleting a value from your registry.
Remember that changes must be made to the registry of the computer to which the printer is attached. We have to warn you that editing the registry can cause problems if you don’t do it right, so be very careful.
To avoid damage, it is recommended to make a backup copy of the registry and use it in case of problems. To change the record, follow the previous steps.
If you are experiencing problems after removing this registry key from your computer, make sure you restore the registry using the backup file.
If you don’t know how to edit your registry, follow the steps in this special guide and learn how to do it like a pro.
A jammed spool may prevent you from printing documents on your computer, but hopefully you have been able to resolve this issue with one of our solutions.
If you have any other suggestions or questions, feel free to leave them below in the comments and we’ll be sure to take them into consideration.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I fix the print spooler in Windows 10?
The print spooler is a service that manages the printing process. It can be disabled in Windows 10 by following these steps: Open the Control Panel. Click on System and Security. Click on Administrative Tools. Double-click Services. Find Print Spooler in the list of services and double-click it to stop it from running. How do I fix a printer that is not working in Windows 10? If your printer is not working, you can try these steps: Open the Control Panel. Click on Devices and Printers. Right-click your printer and select Printer properties. Click on the Ports tab and click on Properties to see if there is a problem with the port that your printer is connected to. If you are using a USB port, try connecting it to another USB port or an Ethernet cable instead of a wireless connection. How do I fix my computer’s sound in Windows 10? If your computer’s sound is not working, you can try these steps: Open the Control Panel. Click on Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices. Right-click your sound card and select Properties. Click on the Recording tab to see if there is a problem with your microphone or speakers. If you are using a USB port, try connecting it to another USB port or an Ethernet cable instead of a wireless connection. How do I fix my computer’s microphone in Windows 10? If your computer’s microphone is not working, you can try these steps: Open the Control Panel. Click on Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices. Right-click your sound card and select Properties. Click on the Recording tab to see if there is a problem with your microphone or speakers. If you are using a USB port, try connecting it to another USB port or an Ethernet cable instead of a wireless connection. How do I fix my computer’s speakers in Windows 10? If your computer’s speakers are not working, you can try these steps:
How do I get my printer to stop spooling?
If your printer is spooling, you can stop it by pressing the Stop button on the printer.
How do I speed up the print spooler in Windows 10?
The print spooler is a service that manages the printing process. It can be used to speed up the printing process by managing the queue of jobs waiting to be printed.
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