Print Spooler keeps stopping on Windows 10

Printing documents is quite simple in Windows 10, but some users reported issues while printing.

Your printer relies on the Print Spooler in order to work, and according to users, it often crashes. Let’s see how to fix that.

What do I do if print spooler keeps stopping on Windows 10?

1. Uninstall unnecessary printers

1. Type control in Windows search and click on Control Panel from the results.
2. When Control Panel opens, locate Devices and Printers.
3. In Devices and Printers section, select the printer you want to remove and click Print server properties.
   
4. Go to Drivers tab. You should see the list of all installed printers.
5. Select the printer you want to remove and click then Remove button.
   
6. Select Remove driver and driver package and click OK to completely remove the printer.
   
7. After removing unnecessary printers, restart your PC.

Having two or more printers installed can sometimes cause issues with Print Spooler and printing.

If Print Spooler keeps stopping on your Windows 10 PC, you might be able to fix this problem by uninstalling the printers that you don’t use.

Note that this might be a solution only if you had two or more printers installed on your PC. Sometimes printer drivers can cause Print Spooler service to stop working, so be sure to remove them.

2. Delete the Print Spooler files

1. When the Services window opens, locate Print Spooler, right-click it and choose Stop.
   
2. Minimize Services window and go to the following folder: C:WindowsSystem32spoolPrinters
   • Keep in mind that you’ll need administrator privileges to access it. Also, the folder can be hidden sometimes, so make sure you have the option to view hidden files turned on.
3. Once you open the Printer folder, delete all files within.
4. Disconnect your printer from your PC.

Sometimes Print Spooler service can keep stopping due to Print Spooler files, and one way to fix this problem is to remove those files.

Before you can remove these files, you need to disable the Print Spooler service by following the steps above.

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3. Check if Remote Procedure Call services are running

1. Open Services window and make sure that Print Spooler service is running. In addition, check if the service is set to Automatic startup.
2. Locate Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service and check if its Startup type is set to Automatic.
3. Double click Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator service to open its properties.
4. When Properties window opens, set the Startup type to Automatic and click the Start button to start the service.
   
5. After the service is started, click Apply and OK to save the changes.

Users reported that Remote Procedure Call services can also cause problems with the Print Spooler, therefore you need to make sure that these services are running properly.

To do that, follow the steps above and fix the problem in no time. Check if the problem persists.

4. Copy the spool folder from a working PC

According to users, you can fix this problem simply by copying the spool folder from a working Windows 10 PC or even from a virtual machine that runs Windows 10.

Make sure that the version of Windows 10 is the same (either 32-bit version or 64-bit).

To locate the spool folder, simply go to the C:WindowsSystem32 folder and copy it to the problematic PC.

Instead of overwriting your spool folder, we suggest that you rename it or move it to a different location and then paste the new spoon folder.

In addition, users are also suggesting to export and copy a registry key from a working PC. Simply export the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlPrint

Next, transfer it to the problematic PC and run it to add it to the registry. The problem should be gone now.

5. Restart Print Spooler service

One of the simplest solutions is to simply restart Print Spooler service. To do that, follow these steps:

1. Open the Services window.
2. Locate Print Spooler service, right-click it and choose Restart.

After restarting the service, check if the problem is resolved. Go to our next solution if it still persists.

6. Modify your registry

1. Press Windows Key + R and enter regedit. Press Enter or click OK.
   
2. When Registry Editor opens, navigate to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlPrintEnvironmentsWindows NT x86Print Processors
   • If you have 32-bit version of Windows 10. If you use 64-bit version, go to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlPrintEnvironmentsWindows NT x64Print Processors
3. Delete all keys except winprint. Simply right click the key you want to remove and choose Delete from the menu.
   
4. Close the Registry Editor.

You can fix the problem with Print Spooler by deleting a few values from your registry.

Before you start modifying the registry, we strongly suggest that you create a backup of the registry so you can easily restore it if anything goes wrong.

After deleting the keys, try to start the Print Spooler service again. According to users, Print Spooler should start without any problems.

Users are also suggesting deleting non-default provides. To do that, follow these steps:

1. In Registry Editor go to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlPrintProviders
2. You should see several subkeys available. Delete all keys except Internet Print Provider and LanMan Print Services.

If you can’t access Registry Editor, things aren’t as scary as they seem. Check out this helpful guide to fix it.

7. Remove the driver and driver entries from the registry

Some users are also suggesting removing all entries from the registry that are related to your printer.

This can be a complicated and potentially dangerous process, so be extra cautious. After deleting all entries related to your printer, make sure that all its drivers are removed from your PC.

Finally, reinstall the printer drivers and the issue should be fixed.

8. Delete the duplicated drivers

1. Press Windows Key + S and enter print management. Select Print Management from the list of results.
2. When Print Management opens, in the left pane select All Drivers option.
   
3. List of all printer drivers will appear. If you notice duplicated drivers on the list, be sure to delete them by right-click and choosing the Remove Driver Package option.

Users reported that you can fix the problem with Print Spooler simply by deleting the duplicated drivers using Print Management tool. To do that, follow the steps above.

9. Take control of the spool folder

1. Go to the following folder: C:WindowsSystem32
2. Right-click the Spool folder and choose Properties from the menu.
3. Go to the Security tab and click the Edit button.
   
4. Click the Add button.
   
5. In Enter the object names to select, enter your user name and click Check Names. If your username is correct, click OK to save the changes.
   
6. Select your username from the Group or user names section and check Full Control in Allow.
   
7. Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

According to users, it seems that you can fix this problem by changing a few security permissions. Needless to say, you must have full control over the spool folder.

10. Delete files from printers and drivers folders

Users reported that restarting the Print Spooler service doesn’t always fix the issue, therefore you should also try deleting all files from the

C:Windowssystem32spoolerprinters

and

C:windowssystem32spoolerfolders

After deleting these files, disconnect your printers from your PC and connect them again after a couple of seconds. Lastly, start the Spooler Service and check if the error is resolved.

11. Reset Internet options

1. Press Windows Key + S and enter internet options. Select Internet Options from the menu.
2. Go to Advanced tab and click Reset.
   
3. Click the Reset button again to confirm.

Few users reported that they fixed this issue simply by resetting Internet options. To do that, you need to follow the steps above.

After resetting your Internet settings, the problem with the Print Spooler should be fixed.

12. Use Print as Image option

Users reported that they can’t print PDF files with Adobe Reader. According to them, they are able to print all documents except PDF.

To solve this issue, you need to go to the Advanced printing setup and select the Print as Image option. After using this option, you should be able to print without any problems.

13. Change the DependOnService value

1. In the left pane navigate to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesSpooler
2. In the right pane, double click the DependOnService.
3. Change the value data to RPCSS and click OK to save the changes.
4. After doing that, restart your PC and check if the problem is resolved.

Several users reported that they fixed this issue by simply changing the DependOnService value in their registry. To change this value, follow the steps above.

14. Disable Allow service to interact with desktop option

1. Open the Services window and locate Print Spooler service. Double click it to open its properties.
2. When the Properties window opens, go to Log on tab.
3. Locate Allow service to interact with desktop option and disable it.
4. Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

To fix the problem with Print Spooler service, you might have to disable Allow service to interact with desktop option. To do that, follow the steps above.

After turning this feature off the problem with Print Spooler service should be fixed.

Print Spooler service can cause a lot of issues for Windows 10 users, but you should be able to fix them by using one of these solutions.

If you know other workarounds, feel free to share your tips with us via the comments section below.

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