Printers have always been very difficult machines to use and manage. This article is intended to help you in the management of one of the most common problems, which concerns the world of printers: the service that manages the print queue (called "Print Spooler" on Windows systems). The term "Spool" derives from the English acronym "Simultaneous Peripheral Operations On-Line" and refers to the process of the operating system that manages the sending and the sequence of commands directed to the printer. In some cases it may be necessary to stop this Windows service to prevent a wrongly printed document from actually being sent to the printer. Sooner or later it happens to anyone to print a document twice, or to turn off or unplug the printer to stop printing an unwanted document and then have it resume once the printer is turned on and reconnected to the computer. Read on to find out how to solve these types of problems and know what to do if necessary.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Use the Command Prompt
Step 1. Access the "Start" menu
You can do this in several ways: by pressing the "Windows" key on the keyboard or by clicking the "Start" icon in the lower left corner of the desktop.
Step 2. Type in the keyword "cmd" (without quotes)
Search by simply typing in the keyword "cmd" within the menu or the "Start" screen. This is the command to start the Windows "Command Prompt". When the search is complete, you should find the program icon in the results list that appeared.
Step 3. Run the "Command Prompt" as a system administrator
To do this, select the program icon with the right mouse button, then choose the option "Run as administrator" from the context menu that appeared. If the Windows "User Account Control" pop-up window appears, simply press the button "Yup".
The Windows Command Prompt allows you to execute a wide range of operating system commands using a simple text-based command line. All the operations that can be performed through the Command Prompt can also be performed using the mouse, the keyboard and the Windows graphic interface, but often in the first case you save precious time
Step 4. Type the command "net stop spooler"
Do this in the Command Prompt window that appears, then hit the Enter key. You will see a message similar to "The Print Spooler service is about to be stopped." After a few moments, you will see a second message similar to the following appear "Print Spooler service stopped."
Step 5. Delete the jobs in the print queue
To ensure that the printer does not resume printing the last document being processed as soon as you restart the "Print Spooler", you must delete all active pending jobs in the operating system's print queue. Open a "File Explorer" or "Explorer" window, then use it to access the following path: "C: / Windows / system32 / spool / PRINTERS". Paste it inside the address bar and hit the Enter key. If an operating system dialog box appears asking you to continue as a computer administrator, simply press the button "Continues".
Pay close attention to do not delete the "PRINTERS" folder, but simply its contents.
Step 6. Restart the "Print Spooler" service
In order to restore the printing functionality of the operating system, the service in question must be up and running, so you will have to restart it. Type the command "net start spooler" (without quotes) within the Command Prompt window, then press the Enter key. If you see the message appear "Print Spooler Service Started Successfully" it means that the service has started successfully and is active again.
Step 7. Close the Command Prompt window
The print queue has been emptied of active jobs waiting to be printed and the "Print Spooler" has been successfully restarted, so you are able to resume normal activity without any problems. If you prefer the print service to remain idle, type the command "net stop spooler" within the Command Prompt window or, more simply, do not perform the previous step in this section. When finished, remember to close the Command Prompt window.
Method 2 of 3: Use Administrative Tools
Step 1. Pause the printer
If possible, pause the printer to temporarily stop printing documents in the Windows print queue and have time to delete any jobs still waiting to be printed.
Step 2. Log in to the Control Panel
Press the "Windows" key on your keyboard, type in your keywords "control Panel" and press the Enter key.
Step 3. Find and select the "Administrative Tools" icon with a double click of the mouse
Inside the Control Panel window you should find the icon "Administrative tools". In this way you will have the possibility to access the advanced configuration settings of the system.
Note: Changing a large number of configuration options using Administrative Tools could potentially damage your entire system. Just try to stop the "Print Spooler" from running
Step 4. Locate and select the "Services" icon with a double click of the mouse
Inside the "Administrative Tools" window that appeared, you should find the icon "Services". Double-click it to access the entire list of services on your computer.
If you have difficulty locating the "Services" icon, press the S key after clicking one of the items in the "Administrative Tools" window. Each time you press the S key, the text cursor will move to the icon next to the currently selected icon whose name begins with the letter S
Step 5. Select the "Print Spooler" service with the right mouse button, then select the "Stop" option from the context menu that appeared
Find the "Print Spooler" service in the "Services" window, then follow the instructions. In this way the "Print Spooler" will be stopped automatically stopping the printing of any document present in the Windows print queue.
If you have difficulty locating the "Print Spooler", press the S key after clicking one of the services listed in the "Services" window. Each time the S key is pressed, the text cursor will move to the next service in the list, whose name begins with the letter S
Step 6. Delete the documents being printed
To prevent the printer from resuming printing when you restart the "Print Spooler", you must delete all active jobs waiting in the Windows print queue. To do this, open a "File Explorer" or "Windows Explorer" window, then use it to access the following path: "C: / Windows / system32 / spool / PRINTERS". Paste it into the address bar of the window, then hit the Enter key. If an operating system dialog box appears asking you to continue as a computer administrator, simply press the button "Continues".
Pay close attention to do not delete the "PRINTERS" folder, but simply its contents.
Step 7. Restart the "Print Spooler"
Select the "Print Spooler" service with the right mouse button, then choose the "Start" option from the context menu that appeared. At this point the printer should be ready again to receive new documents to print.
Method 3 of 3: Use the Task Manager or Task Manager
Step 1. Open the Windows Task Manager window (in more modern versions of Microsoft's operating system it has been renamed as "Task Manager")
To do this, press the hotkey combination Ctrl + Alt + Del, then choose the item "Task Manager" (or "Task Manager") from the menu that appeared.
Step 2. Go to the "Services" tab
It is located, along with other elements, at the top of the "Task Manager" window. By accessing the "Services" tab, the list of all services currently active and not present in the system will be displayed.
Step 3. Stop the "Print Spooler"
To do this, locate the named list item "Spooler", select it with the right mouse button, then choose "Stop" from the context menu that appeared.
If you have difficulty locating the "Spooler" service, press the S key after clicking one of the services listed under the "Services" tab. Each time the S key is pressed, the text cursor will move to the next item in the list, whose name begins with the letter S
Step 4. Delete the documents being printed
To prevent the printer from resuming printing when you restart the "Print Spooler" you must delete all active jobs waiting in the Windows print queue. To do this, open a "File Explorer" or "Windows Explorer" window, then use it to access the path: "C: / Windows / system32 / spool / PRINTERS". Paste it into the address bar of the window and hit the Enter key. If an operating system dialog box appears asking you to continue as a computer administrator, simply press the button "Continues".
Pay close attention to do not delete the "PRINTERS" folder, but simply its contents.
Step 5. Restart the "Print Spooler"
To do this, right-click the "Spooler" service in the "Services" tab of the "Task Manager" window, then choose the "Start" option from the context menu that appears.
