Print Manager - a service that exists in all versions of Windows, shows how many printers are connected to the computer, as well as documents queued for printing. But with this small program, problems may arise related to its launch or operation, because everyone knows how capricious printers are. The print spooler may turn off, not start at all, freeze, and much more. Solutions to these problems will be discussed later in the article, but first we will figure out how to launch the print manager.
Solution: Print Spooler service keeps disconnecting
If the print spooler shuts down a few seconds after starting, you should clear the print queue - delete all files in the \windows\system32\spool\printers . If this does not help and the service continues to stop or crash, you need to remove the print drivers (clear the \System32\spool\drivers ) and install new drivers from the official website of the printer manufacturer.
You should move on to other solutions only if clearing the printers folder and reinstalling the drivers did not help. Disabling the print service can be caused by various reasons: from virus activity to incompatibility of old drivers with the new Windows (the problem may appear after updating Windows 10), but the most common of them are outdated drivers or an overloaded spool folder.
Table of contents:
What should I do if Print Spooler is disabled?
Method 1: Emptying the PRINTERS folder
First of all, it is worth suspecting that the information accumulated in the “PRINTERS” folder has led to a conflict in the system, which is why the “Print Manager” service constantly crashes. To solve the problem, just clear this folder.
1.
To do this, make sure the printer is connected to your computer using a USB cable, and then navigate to the
C:WindowsSystem32spoolPRINTERS
.
2.
Once you open the desired folder, delete all files contained in it.
3.
After that, try starting the Print Spooler service, and then send the document to print.
Please note that in order to prevent the Print Manager service from crashing, do not print the previous document, in fact, because of which the service crashed. If you need to print this particular document, try resaving it to a new file.
Method 2: Reinstall printer drivers
The second probable reason for the printing service to crash is problems with the printer drivers.
1.
To reinstall the printer drivers, you must first remove them from your computer.
To do this, open the "Control Panel"
, and then go to the
"Uninstall programs" or "Programs and Features"
.
2.
In the list of installed programs, find the drivers for your printer and uninstall them.
Force clearing the print queue
The easiest way to get rid of the problem is to clean out the %SystemRoot%\System32\spool\PRINTERS . This folder stores documents sent to the print queue. When the spool folder becomes full, the print scheduler (spoolsv.exe) crashes and causes the service to crash or stop.
The problem is relevant for corporate computers, where many documents can be sent for printing at the same time. The error does not depend on the version of Windows: the problem appears both on server Windows Server 2008/2012 (and others), and on any builds of Windows 7 and 10 (as well as 8/8.1, XP, Vista - the problem is everywhere).
To force clear the print queue:
- Open the c:\windows\System32\spool\printers folder on the computer to which the printer is connected via USB.
- Delete all files in the folder - these are the documents from the print job that caused the service to hang up.
- Restart the service. By default, the autostart service should be set to “Automatic”, so it is enough to resend the document for printing.
- If not, you need to go to “Start” - “Control Panel” - “Administration” - “Service Components” - “Local Services”, find “Print Manager” in the list and restart the service.
- The document should print normally.
Resubmitting the same document for printing may disable the print spooler service again. This especially often occurs when trying to print a document in PDF format on an old printer with outdated drivers. In this case, there are only two options: either try to get rid of freezes and crashes by reinstalling the drivers, or change the printer to a newer model.
Uninstalling and reinstalling printer drivers
Print Spooler may be disabled on any version of Windows when you try to print a PDF document. Restarting the print spooler service or clearing the queue will not help, since the printer simply does not accept such a document and does not know how to process it.
There are two options to solve the problem:
- Save the file in a format other than PDF. Restart the service and send the document for printing - everything should print without problems.
- Update drivers. Remove old drivers: stop the print spooler service, delete all contents from the \System32\spool\drivers . Install new drivers: they can be taken either on the disk that comes with the printer, or downloaded from the device manufacturer’s website (HP, Canon, Xerox).
If you need to print a document quickly, you should save it in a different format. This can be .jpeg and .png if the document contains a lot of graphics, or any of the text formats (txt, doc, docx, rtf) for documents with text.
To translate text into another format, you can use installed graphic or text editors. An alternative option is to use one of the many online services that offer to change the document format without changing its content. This will ensure that you do not lose the ability to use the printer while searching for a solution to the problem.
For the purity of the experiment, you can remove all drivers and printers that are known to Windows. After that, add devices and install drivers one by one to find out at what point/driver the error occurs. After you remove or install printers, you must restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Alternative methods to solve the problem
If the previous methods did not help, the chance of further successfully solving the problem is not great. On the Internet you can find a lot of advice on cleaning your computer or checking the system for viruses - they say, these reasons can cause problems with the print manager crashing. In reality, such a chance is minimal.
Also, you should not immediately try to reinstall Windows or roll back the system to a restore point. The problem does often appear on HP and Canon printers after a series of updates to Windows 7 and 10. Rolling back the update using a restore point may temporarily solve the problem, but it will reappear after updating the PC.
You can go to the printer properties, uncheck the item Bidirectional communication and/or Advanced printing options .
Installing the printer via a Local port can also help; to do this, select:
- Install printer ->
- Add a local printer ->
- Create a new port -> Local Port -> Next ->
- Port name: enter \\server name (or IP)\printer name -> click OK ->
- Next, you need to select and follow the instructions on the screen.
After completing all steps, the printer should work correctly. Sometimes you need to restart your computer for the service to stop crashing. Otherwise, if the print spooler continues to stop, the cause should be a conflict or incompatibility between the drivers and Windows.
Driver bugs that are incompatible with a specific version of Windows on a specific device cannot be corrected. Even if everything worked fine before, and then the problem started to appear after one of the updates. Conversely, if Windows has not been updated for a long time (especially 7 and XP), you should update the system, since the problem may have already been resolved.
Did you manage to solve the problem with the print spooler? Write about it in the comments to help other people.
Source
Reasons for stopping the print spooler
If you encounter a problem when the print spooler stops, then the causes of the problem may lie in the following factors:
- The system is infected with a virus;
- Pirated OS version;
- Outdated or incorrectly installed drivers;
- Equipment incompatibility;
- Insufficient RAM to perform printing processes.
Based on these reasons, solutions to the problem suggest themselves.
Ways to solve the problem
If you don't know what caused the print spooler to stop, you might want to run a virus scan on your PC. In most cases, it is malware that is to blame for the service error.
To scan your PC, you can select the Dr.Web utility or any other updated anti-virus program.
After checking the system and removing malicious objects, you should restart your computer.
Next, we run a system check for errors. To do this, click “Start”, enter “cmd” in the search bar and launch the console with Administrator rights.
After entering the command “sfc /scannow”.
Since our problem is related to the print manager, it is worth checking the functionality of the service during a system scan. To do this, click “Start” and enter the request “Services”. Select the desired section.
A new window will open. In the list we find “Print Manager”. You should first stop the service and then start it again.
If these actions could not return the print manager to normal operation, you should disable the service again and go to the address: drive C, folder “Windows”, “System32”, “spool”, “drivers”. We delete all contents in this folder.
After deleting the content, we return to the service and start it again.
Installing new drivers can also be a valid method. To do this, you should use the following instructions. Press the key combination “Win + R” and enter “hdwwiz”.
Next, follow the prompts of the “Hardware Installation Wizard”.
Select automatic equipment search.
We select the device, port and wait for the search and installation of new drivers. Afterwards we reboot the PC.
If the above methods did not help solve the problem, run System Restore and select a checkpoint before the problem occurred.
Windows 7 Print Spooler turns off: causes and solutions to the problem
Apparently, many users who use sending documents to print to a printer, at least sometimes, have encountered the fact that in Windows 7 the “Print Spooler” is often turned off and, what is saddest, spontaneously, and at the most inopportune moment for this. Let's try to figure out why this happens and how to eliminate possible problems with printing. Despite the fact that the solutions described below will be given specifically for Windows version seven, they can be equally applied to all other modifications, including earlier and later ones.
Print spooler is disabled on Windows 7 computer? Three steps to solving the problem
While communicating on one of the computer forums, I suddenly came across a completely strange-looking question: what to do if the Print Spooler service suddenly stops (turns off) on a computer with Windows 7.
It would seem, does this even happen? Microsoft seems to have done its best in the 7th version of Windows, saving users from all the print manager glitches characteristic of Windows XP. Nevertheless, the issue turned out to be serious, the problem is real, and the case itself is far from isolated. Based on this, we had to “pull ourselves up” and find a simple and fairly effective solution to fix this problem. Do you want to know what it is?
Why does Windows 7 Print Spooler turn off spontaneously?
So, first, let's briefly look at the possible reasons for this phenomenon. It is believed that there may be three main reasons (at least):
- problems with the service itself (incorrect startup type, corruption of system files, etc.);
- problems with printer drivers;
- exposure to viruses and malicious codes.
Sometimes, of course, you can also encounter somewhat unusual situations related to the fact that some third-party components interfere with the printing processes. In addition, for all those who use unlicensed copies of Windows, activated using dubious software, the print service may not be among the system components as such.
How can I check the status of the print service?
And before you start troubleshooting problems associated with the Print Spooler service being disabled in Windows 7, you need to check its status. To perform such actions, the optimal solution is to use the services section, called from the Run console using the services.mcs command.
Here you need to find the component you are looking for (naturally, if it is in the list), double-click to edit parameters, and then check whether the service itself is running and what type of start is set for it. If the dispatcher is not active, you must first start the service by pressing the appropriate button, and then set the startup type to automatic (not delayed, not manual, not disabled, but automatic). After this, you need to save the settings and reboot the system just in case, although this is not believed to be a prerequisite.
Where is
First of all, we need to figure out where exactly we can find this same dispatcher in order to check its state and, if necessary, change its properties. In Windows Search, enter “Services” (this is a classic application, you have it on your computer by default) and click the search button. A window like this appears.
List of services available in Windows
In this long list, we need the Print Manager service. This is exactly what we are looking for and what we will work with in the future.
Checking manager settings in the registry
If in the previous course of action the required element was not found among the services presented in the specified section, you need to perform some actions to return it.
To do this, call the editor (regedit), then in the HKLM branch, through the system partition and the current control folder, get to the Spooler directory, where you will need to check the DependOnService key, for which the RPCSS http parameter should be set as the current value. If the value differs from the specified one, it should be changed, and if the key itself is missing, create it yourself. After completing all the steps, restarting the computer system is mandatory.
"Print Spooler" keeps disconnecting: setting up service recovery
But all these are only preliminary solutions, which in general can be called diagnostic tools. But it also happens that with the above parameters and settings everything is in perfect order, but the Windows 7 “Print Spooler” turns off constantly and on its own, without producing any errors or failure messages.
In this situation, you must use the settings of the dispatcher itself, assuming that it is running and in an active state.
To do this, in the manager properties, you need to go to the recovery tab and set the parameters shown in the image above.
Troubleshooting startup problems using Windows tools
Now let's look at some of the issues regarding the main service not being able to start. Printing may not start if for no other reason than that the “Print Manager” in Windows 7 was disabled by activating unused system components.
Go to the programs and features section located in the standard “Control Panel”, go to the list of system components and check if the marks are removed from the main and subdirectories of the print service. When at least one of them is deactivated, the above problems may occur. After Windows enables printing components, restart. After that, just in case, check the status of the dispatcher in the services section, as described above.
But let’s assume that these actions have no effect and the Windows 7 Print Spooler is disabled again. In this case, you can use the system’s built-in troubleshooting tools, which can be found in the corresponding section of the Control Panel.
Among these tools, in the hardware and sound section, select the item to use the printer or the item to fix printing problems, and then simply follow the instructions of the Troubleshooting and Diagnostics Wizard. It is quite possible that the system will find and fix all the problems on its own, and your participation will not be required at all.
Fixing unstable dispatcher operation
And the solution just proposed may not give the desired effect. Why does Windows 7 Print Spooler turn off again and again? It is believed that the culprit may be outdated or damaged drivers for the printer itself.
To correct this situation, the simplest solution is to update the printer drivers through the appropriate item in the “Device Manager”. If the system reports that the most suitable and up-to-date drivers are installed for this printer, try updating using specialized programs like Driver Booster, which search for and install official control software without user intervention, using exclusively the resources of equipment manufacturers and driver developers. If the required drivers are still not found, which can often be observed on non-standard printers from those manufacturers for which support from Microsoft is not declared, in the “Device Manager” in the printer properties, go to the details tab, display the hardware ID and perform an Internet search drivers by the longest line with identifiers VEN and DEV.
What to do if the service is running slower than it should?
Now let's see what you can do if the Windows 7 Print Spooler is disabled after that. Apparently, something is interfering with the printer's operation. But what? Most likely, a conflict occurs in the system, for example, if there is a second installed local or network printer. If there are any, try disabling them for a while. Another reason is the priority operation of virtual printers like MS Office Document Image Writer. For this virtual device, you need to clear the print queue using the Printers and Faxes section.
If this does not help, disable the device completely or even remove it from the system.
If all else fails
The last method that can help you is cleaning the Printers folder, which is located in the previously mentioned path C:Windowssystem32spool. After cleaning this folder, there is a chance that everything will work for you.
So, having at hand all the necessary knowledge to solve the problem with print manager crashes, all that remains is to wish you good luck so that everything works out for you. Remember that a systematic approach to the problem and solving it using logically constructed steps is the key to the fact that you will be able to restore the Windows Print Manager on your own. For any uncertainties, please contact us in the comments and you will receive an immediate response.
While chatting on one of the computer forums, I suddenly came across a completely strange-looking question: what to do if the Print Spooler service suddenly stops (turns off) on a computer with Windows 7. It would seem, does this even happen? Microsoft seems to have done its best in the 7th version of Windows, saving users from all the print manager glitches characteristic of Windows XP.
Nevertheless, the issue turned out to be serious, the problem is real, and the case itself is far from isolated. Based on this, we had to “pull ourselves up” and find a simple and fairly effective solution to fix this problem. Do you want to know what it is?
Additional preventative measures
Finally, if the Windows 7 Print Spooler turns off and the above solutions do not help, it may well be due to a virus. Check your computer for viruses using portable scanners. The most effective solution would be to use utilities with the general name Rescue Disk, which, when written to removable media, allow you to boot before the main operating system starts and perform the most in-depth scan with complete neutralization of the threats found.
Source
Why is Print Spooler not listed in the list of services?
Let's make a small digression for those who do not have this service on the list. What to do in this case?
First, try searching for a service called Printer Spooler. This is it, only in the English version. Found it? Then hurray, we’ll continue working with her.
If not, then the second point. The Print Spooler may also be missing if you are using an unlicensed version of Windows. In this case, if everything we talk about below does not help you, you will have to contact a specialist to reinstall the system, and, preferably, this time do not spare money on a license. So what to do?
Another reason why you may not find this service. The print manager may also disappear if you have already tried to do something on the C:\\ drive - deleted some files, launched third-party programs. In this case, most likely you deleted this service yourself and you will just need to reinstall it.
And the last, most common cause of problems with this service is the presence of viruses on your equipment. Before you try anything with the print spooler, just scan your computer for viruses. And only if no problems are found, proceed to other actions.
Also, if you don't have a print spooler, try the following steps:
- Start menu, Run command.
- Enter
Enter regedit in the “Open” field to go to the list of registers regedit is a command that opens the registry window. - In the left column we look for the registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Services/Spooler and here we check the DependOnService parameter - RPCSS http must be specified.
The data in the DependOnService register on your computer should match the picture - Restart the Print Manager service.
Why are there problems with it (it turns off, won’t start, etc.)
Over time, the following problems may arise with this service: it will stop starting, begin to shut down on its own, freeze, or load the processor. Reasons for such errors:
- The computer is infected with viruses aimed at blocking services.
- System files related to printing in one way or another have been damaged by the user or by a virus.
- The drivers for your printer or scanner are out of date or damaged, so it may not detect devices or work with them incorrectly.
- The service responsible for printing has been disabled by the user or by conflicting services. This may cause it to disappear from the control panel or become unresponsive.
How to troubleshoot problems
So, the lack of printing service or problems with it will lead to documents not printing or printing incorrectly, so you need to deal with this yourself using the instructions below. First, we will describe methods that can eliminate any of the above problems, and then solutions for some errors separately.
Restarting the computer
The first thing you should do is restart your computer so that all programs, tasks and services restart. Perhaps this will fix the problem, since unnecessary applications that conflict with the manager will close.
Virus check
It may be due to a virus that is interfering with the printer service, so follow these steps:
- Open the antivirus installed on your computer.
Enabling the service and configuring it
The most common cause of printing problems is a disabled or incorrectly configured service. To resolve the error caused by the service, follow these steps:
- Using the Windows search bar, look for the Services application.
Checking print spooler related services
Perhaps the problem is not in the manager itself, but in the services or programs associated with it. You can find out if this is the reason and eliminate it in the following way:
- Open the Services program through the Windows search bar.
Reset parameters, update drivers
Perhaps some files or drivers were damaged, because of this the printer service began to freeze or load the processor, so you need to restore everything manually, and for this you must first perform a reset.
Deleting files waiting to be printed
- Stop “Device Manager” by highlighting it in the general list of services and clicking on the “Stop” button.
Updating Printer Drivers
The printer drivers may be outdated or not damaged; you need to update them:
- Open your computer's control panel.
Resetting the Printer
It is possible that updating drivers will not work because the files related to the printer have been damaged. In this case, there is only one thing left to do - remove the device and install it again.
- While in the Devices and Printers section, remove the printer that is causing Device Manager to not work or display an error. Right-click on the device and select “Delete device”.
Scanning System
This method allows you to scan all system files, find errors in them, if any, and automatically fix them.
- Using the Windows search bar, run Command Prompt as an administrator.
Print Manager keeps crashing
PC1 - W7x64 license PC2 - W7x32 license Canon LBP6020 - 5 years old. —————————————— Printak is connected to PC1, everything worked without any complaints or problems (firewood from the LBP6020_6020B_R151_V110_W64_RU website) Local printing goes without problems. Nearby (in close proximity) is PC2. On it, as a network printer, this same Canon 6020 was installed, shared and with pre-installed firewood for x32. Everything went smoothly. (Naturally, all permissions have been made on PC1) Problem: (appeared about a week ago)
When printing a document on PC2, printing proceeds, but in system events the Print Manager has crashed. I restarted the service, but this does not solve the problem - there are just a lot of errors. If printing 1 sheet is not critical, printing occurs, the event triggered a dispatcher crash error and the service started again. But, if the printing is from 2 or more sheets, the first sheet prints, the service drops, the 2-3rd sheet disappears, the service rises, the 4th sheet prints, etc. There is nothing unusual in the software on PC1 and PC2. NOD32 Smart Security - license. There are no problems with the network (checked a hundred times). Attempts to install a network printer as a local one (via Local port) results in the error Access denied (I don't know why). Simply Denied access and OK. What access? To what resource? Not known. —————————————— Because. The printer is located between PC1 and PC2 and has made the connection with one turn accuracy. Now Print Spooler crashes on PC2. The printer is connected with a thick 1.8 m cable (changed for testing) The OS is clean (Drweb cureit with LifeCD and NOD32 itself did not reveal any suspicions)
I understand that the problem is in the compatibility of firewood. Presumably after OS updates (I was forced to update the entire fleet because of this May virus). 1) Rolling back makes no sense. 2) Throw away the printak!? Who has ever done this at home? 3) Replace the printak? - there is no replacement; buying a new one means admitting your incompetence in identifying and solving the problem. I don't want to discredit myself. 4) Install earlier firewood? — I couldn’t find any archived versions. 5) Reinstall the OS? - means eliminating the problem, but not finding out the source of the problem. And in the words time to reinstall a5!?
What to do if the printer manager is loading the processor
If the spoolsv.exe process overloads the processor by more than 20%, then the following may be the reason for this:
- There are too many files in the queue. Clear it; how to do this is described above in the paragraph “Deleting files waiting to be printed”;
- The lists of devices and printers show unused or non-existent printers. Find them and remove them. How to remove a printer is described in “Resetting the printer”;
- The drivers or files of your printer have been damaged, so they cause an error, and because of this, it loads the processor. Reinstall your printer (see above for how to do this);
- Perhaps the problem will go away if the service stops starting automatically. To do this, in the Services program, find the Print Spooler service and open its settings. Under Startup Type, select Manual.
Is it possible to reinstall it
The answer to this question is no, this feature is not provided in Windows. All you can do is stop the Device Manager service, clear the document queue, and remove the printer and drivers related to it. The service itself cannot be removed.
So, problems may arise with the print manager in Windows 7, due to which it will turn off, not start, freeze, or load the processor. All these errors can be resolved manually by following the instructions above. Perhaps the solution to the problem can be described on the official website of your printer manufacturer.
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Briefly about the reasons
In principle, as expected, in order to solve a problem, you first need to figure out why it actually arose. No sooner said than done. Having rummaged through the settings of computers with a problematic print manager, several factors were miraculously discovered that contributed to the premature death of this previously quite tolerably working service in Windows 7. In particular, among the reasons for this problem were:
- viruses that have successfully settled in the system;
- outdated and incorrectly installed (incompatible) printer drivers;
- unlicensed version of Windows;
- general overload of the computer with all sorts of junk files, which led to a slowdown of processes running in Windows.
