Updated 14/05/2023
Print Spooler Errors
If you’ve sent a document to your printer and after waiting a while, it failed to print, you likely have a print spooler error.
Is your printer displaying error messages like:
- ‘Print Spooler Error’,
- ‘Printer connection failed’,
- ‘the local print spooler service not running’
- ‘Please restart the printer spooler’?
Whilst this is frustrating, it’s also incredibly common.
Below we explain what a print spooler is, and the steps you need to take to fix this issue and get printing again.
How to restart the printer spooler – 3 Quick Steps
Firstly try deleting all jobs in the print queue and restarting the printer / computer.
If that doesn’t work, the following 3 quick steps will show you how to restart the print spooler and may solve your problem.
- Press the windows or start icon and type ‘services’, then click the services app.
- Find ‘Printer spooler’ in the list and right-click it. Then click ‘stop’ and wait for 30 – 60 seconds.
- Right-click ‘printer spooler’ again and click ‘start’.
If this doesn’t work, there is a more detailed method in the ‘How to fix a printer spooler error‘ section below.
What is a print spooler?
A print spooler is computer program that stores and organises a list of print jobs and sends them to the printer in the order they need to be printed.
If more than one thing is being printed, a print spooler creates a queue and sends the print jobs to the printer, one at a time, after each print has finished.
The word ‘spooling’ is a computer programming term which refers to a computer application that organises data or information and passes it across to a device with low memory and is usually slow to handle the data, such as an inkjet or laser printer.
Why do I need a printer spooler?
The printer would struggle to handle all the information about what you are printing at once because it isn’t fast enough and it doesn’t have a very high memory. That’s especially true if your printer is connected in an office where lots of people may be printing at once.
So, the printer needs a program to decide what order the documents should be printed in (depending on who clicked print first) and slowly pass the list of documents to be printed rather than send them all at once.
If you use a Windows operating system, you will have a spooler built into your device. It works with your printer to order the print jobs. A spooler means that you don’t have to wait for one job to finish before loading up another; it simply puts it in a queue and gets it ready and that’s where the term ‘print queue’ comes from.
Mac’s and IOS devices use Common Unix Printing system or ‘CUPS’ for short, which is a program that contains a print spooler / scheduler. For IOS, CUPS uses the internet printing protocol or ‘IPP’ to create print queues, which is the same as AirPrint.
What causes a print spooler error?
A printer spooler error can sometimes be caused by an interruption in communication between the printer and the computer.
Also, if there is an issue with a document that has been added to the print queue by the spooler, it will cause all print jobs behind it in the queue to stop. These can include:
- Print jobs getting stuck in the queue
- Data or documents in the spooler becoming corrupt and the spooler can’t translate it for the printer.
- Spooler service failure – The PC or spooler software has crashed part way through the transfer of information.
All the issues listed above will mean that your printer will stop in its tracks and refuse to print any more of your much-needed documents.
How to fix a printer spooler error
Printer Spooler Issue
Before you go any further, it’s worth restarting your computer and then re-sending the requests to the printer. For some this will do the trick, but it won’t for those with a slightly more complex issue. Nevertheless, it’s important to try this first to rule it out (remember to save any documents before restarting).
If that doesn’t work, you may need to stop and reset / restart your spooler.
Stop the printer spooler
This will wipe the queue clean and remove the errors in the system. Here’s how to do it:
- Shut down any programs such as Word or any other that you might have used to try and print with.
- Click the ‘Start’ button > Type ’Administrative Tools’ > then click ‘Services’.
- Then, on the list that appears, scroll down to ‘Print Spooler.’ Right click and select ‘Stop.’
- Head to ‘My Computer’ and double-click ‘Local Disk (C:).’ Then select the ‘Windows’ folder.
- ‘System32’ folder> ‘spool’>’Printers’
- Delete all the print jobs in this folder
- Head back to ‘Services,’ find ‘Print Spooler’ and right click. Now select ‘Start.’
- Now open the program you closed down and try and print the document you wanted as normal
Clear the Printer Queue:
You can also clear down the print queue by asking everyone who has sent something to the printer to go to their control panel on their computer and visiting ‘Printers and devices’, right clicking the printer icon and selecting ‘See what’s printing’. Then in the list of things printing, each individual item will need to be cancelled from the queue by the person who sent it to the printer.
Update the Print Driver / software:
Old printer drivers (software installed on the PC that communicates with the printer) can also cause the printer spooler to fail. Search the website of your printer manufacturer for a new ‘printer driver’ which is an updated version of the software and install the most up to date driver on your PC. This can often fix many printer issues.
Android Spooler: How to Fix
- Tap the settings icon on your Android device and select the Apps or Applications button
- Select ‘Show System Apps’ in this section
- Scroll down this section and select ‘Print Spooler’. Certain devices will require you to first click ‘Storage’ before you can do so
- Press both Clear Cache and Clear Data
- Open the document or image you want to print
- Select the menu icon and then press print
- A print preview screen will appear, where you will select your chosen printer
Hopefully this has fixed that darn printer spooler error and you’re back in the realm of printing nirvana! How do you like them apples printer??
About Stuart DeavallI have been working in the printing industry with TonerGiant for over 16 years, and I'm the resident technical printer expert, helping people fix their printer problems for over 14 years. I have taken part in many training courses with HP, Samsung, Brother, Canon and Xerox to further my knowledge, and I'm also the Digital Marketing Manager at TonerGiant.co.uk (degree qualified).
Thanks for sharing the wonderful & amazing tips
I only use a lenovo tablet how do I rectify it
Hi there, it would be the same process as a regular desktop computer. Check the print que to see if there are a number of prints caught in the list and clear them down and that should fix the issue. If that doesn’t work, it could be a different problem causing your prints to fail.
Does anyone know where I find you show system apps section under the apps setting on Android
I have a 10 year old Samsung laptop. It suddenly failed to print to a Canon printer. Printer dialogue showed spooling. I simply restarted the laptop, as you had suggested, and the problem was solved. Thanks a lot.
Hey just wanted to say thanks for simple, useful, concise fix it advice. Corrected from Galaxy A10e. Just throwing this out there; “show system settings” is on Apps page following steps for android fix tucked in menu you get by clicking 3 dots in right side corner allowing you to find printer spooler and complete fix. (30 second fix after 2 days of hair pulling, lol)
thanks for the help this was really helpful fixed an issue in a branch by this
Print spooler has stopped on my android s5. I’ve deleted the print spooler cache and data several times and still can’t print. Continue getting print spooler stopped
thanks alot, the solution provided is just on point… just resolve a printing error in my office..
How do I fix the print spooler problem using my android Pixel C? Thank you.
Hi, you need to clear the printer queue on your android pixel by clicking the settings cog / icon > choose ‘apps or applications’ > and system apps. There should be a printer spooler setting and you need to clear data or cache. Once that’s done, try to print again.
I get the printer spooler error on my android phone, when I try to print from my phone.
Me too
hi! i have a problem with my printer. its not printing normally. for example im setting 10 copies ,, it prints only one copy. sometimes its not printing.
This sounds like a software issue unfortunately. I’m not sure how to fix this other than try to install the latest drivers from the printer manufacturer website.
Hi. Found your resolve on the internet before I found this article. Did this procedure 4 times. Turned off printer and restarted computer (laptop actually) too…still nothing prints. Time for a new laptop? Should I try to uninstall then reinstall the printer?
Hi Susan, Yes reinstalling would be worth a try. This article may also help you.
You are my hero. Following the provided steps I was able to complete it all by myself. Sending you a big shot-out with thanks and gratitude. This post saved me a lot of time dealing with IT. THUMBS UP!!!!
followed all the instructions. didnt know about deleting files directly from the spool folder… had a bunch of stuff in there. however, this still didnt fix my problem. windows tells me “error-spooling-printing” in the print queue status bar. i have deleted my printer, downloaded and installed the basic driver as well as the full software suite, stopped, started, and restarted the spooler service. reinstalled the printer AGAIN, restarted both printer and pc… still having same error. i consider myself to be an IT guy and i just cant figure this out… any help appreciated.
I’ve never come across your issue but I just read on another article to try:
Press the “Windows key” + “R”
Type “services.msc“ in the dialogue box, then choose “OK“.
Double-click the “Printer Spooler” service
then stop it and start it again.
Then restart the printer and try again.
Stuart,
I’m well aware of how to clear the queue and handle the normal spooler issues. The issue I want to solve is why these jobs are getting stuck to begin with. Now I know that depends on lots of factors and you can’t give specifics, but if you could point me to somewhere that describes common causes of jobs getting stuck or at least a place to start, that would be great. All I can find on the Internet is how to clear the print queue. Any resources you know of? Thanks!
Hi there Roger, I’m not aware of any specific resources that list some of the reasons for a print queue to get stuck but generally it’s to do with the printer drivers needing updates, being corrupt, or sometimes settings of the document your printing (often PDF’s cause a lot of issues). It is more often than not a software issue.
Thanks for this great information. However, When I do the right click to select ‘stop’, it shows ‘start’ and when I select it, this message appears: ‘Error 1068, the dependency service or group failed to start”. Please let me know what to do. Thanks!
I’m not familiar with this error but you can find some advice here: https://www.techsupportall.com/solved-print-spooler-error-1068-the-dependency-service-or-group-failed-to-start/
Yes it actually worked after a full day of trying to fix my printer. Thank you.
HI there, I enrolled onto HP instant print and after about a year I unsubscribed, but since then I can’t print from this PC. although it recognises the printer, keeps saying that it cannot install driver. I noticed that the spooler has stopped but unfortunately I cant restart it as it keeps saying that the dependencies aren’t running (and they are! )
That sounds very strange and definitely a firmware / driver issue. All you can try really is to uninstall and reinstall the printer. Alternatively, install the latest firmware (if it allows you to) and failing that reset to factory settings.
I have a moto g stylus android phone. I followed the steps outlined above (settings – system apps – print spool) and cleared all data and cache but I still get the error “print spooler – print error – failed to print” and still cannot print certain documents although I can print others. Any idea why this might still be?
hi there, it can sometimes be caused by document settings on some PDF’s (protected documents).
For some reason, I have what looks like spam seemingly permanently in my printer queue such that it prints when I immediately connect my computer to the printer. Every single time. It drives me crazy. Will this solution solve that? Also, how does spam get into a printer queue? Thanks.
If you can clear your printer queue down does it keep reappearing? If so I think you might have a virus on your computer that needs to be removed.
Hi my spooler doesn’t display such errors, but in stead, when I sent documents to the printer it didn’t print and the status of the section “See what’s printing” just stucked at “Spooling sent to printer”/”Spooling – printing” forever. Do you have any tips to deal with such problem? Thank you so much!
I would try to delete everything out of the what’s printing list and then restart the printer. If that doesn’t work or you’ve already tried that I’d search for a printer firmware update and see if that fixes it.
I dont have a printer spooler on my android, but yet I’m getting the printer spooler error. I dont know what to do.
I believe there is a spooler on android devices. You can get to the settings via settings > apps > More > system apps > Print Spooler (or storage > Print Spooler) then clear data or stop the spooler.
Hi –
I have a picture of my late brother printing every time I start my printer. I’ve never sent it to the printer, but just scanned it in to send to a cousin. It’s not in the queue, but prints anyway. I’ve checked the queue. I don’t see this question discussed online.
Hi Diana, I’m afraid I’ve never come across that before, I’m unsure why it would print anything when there is nothing in the queue.
Hi, how can I connect my xerox to my wifi? I’ve try setting but I can not find the option on my xerox setting.
Hi, it depends if the printer model has built in wifi, some machines are network / usb only.
Hi. Found your resolve on the internet before I found this article. Did this procedure 4 times. Turned off printer and restarted computer (laptop actually) too…still nothing prints. Time for a new laptop? Should I try to uninstall then reinstall the printer?
I would try to uninstall and re-install. I’d also try to update the printer drivers on your lap top. It can sometimes be a software issue.
Stuart, I’m hoping you are still available for help. Recently, when I try to print a document and select specific pages instead of printing all, my printer gets hung up. I have to clear the print spooler everytime. If I print all of a document, it prints fine. I can work around this, but was wondering why this is happening.
Hi Lisa, that’s a new one for me. It sounds like the firmware might have an issue or the printer drivers. All you can try is to update drivers and firmware and see if that fixes the issue. Also, depending on the software that you’re printing from (whether that’s word or a pdf etc…) if you can update that software, I’d try that as well.
I have an Android, A32 5G.And I find No show systems apps after going to the apps in settings. Also, the 3 dots to the right.Only show me permissions manager, Special access, Or reset app preferences, None of which help. Still trying to find print Spooler Somewhere?
Hi Phillip, download the samsung print service app, then go to settings, then connections, more connection settings and turn the default print service off and use the samsung app instead.
Thanks for sharing the wonderful & amazing tips