Windows 8.1 Print Spooler Strangeness

The "Print Spooler" service entry has disappeared from services.msc
However I can still print, access my printers, and run net stop spooler and net start spooler and the service stops and restarts
But it's just not there in the GUI.
I've gone through several attempts to reinstall the service but nothing has changed the situation.
sfc /scannow comes back with no component store corruption.
Any Suggestions?

Hi,
On current situation, please refer to Arthur’s suggestion in following similar thread and check if can help
you to solve this issue.
Print
Spooler Service is missing
If this issue still exists, would you please let us know whether there has another good Windows 8.1 computer?
If has a good computer with the same OS and Print Spooler service display correctly, you also can Export Spooler registry (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Spooler) from the good computer and then Import it to the problematic computer.
Then please monitor the result. (Please note: please backup registry entries before any operation. It will help us to avoid any unexpected issue.)
If any update, please feel free to let us know.
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
Justin Gu

Similar Messages

Windows 8 stops printer spooler in vista pc

My AIO HP F4280 printer spooler service in my Windows Vista PC stops when I send a print job via wireless from my Windows 8 laptop PC. I downloaded and installed the Windows 8 software for the F4280 and if the printer is connected to the Windows 8 PC, prints from the Windows 8 PC, as well as prints sent via wireless from the Vista PC, are done with no issues.
Going back to wireless from the Win 8 to the Vista continues to stop the spooler service.
All known updates for both PCs have been installed.

Hello Campersteve. Please refer to this Microsoft forum for troubleshooting on this issue: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_8-hardware/print-spooler-keeps-stopping-win...
The forum contains great troubleshooting steps that could resolve the issue. Let me know if this assists you or not. I'm only here to help!
Mario
I worked on behalf of HP.

Windows 7 64bit Print spooler crash with Acrobat pro 9

i recently installed a new computer with windows 7 64 bit - also upgraded my old CS to CS 5. whenever trying to print any .pdf or even look at the .pdf printer settings - my print spoller crashes and i have to go into system32/spool to fix
has anyone seen this issue?

If you would like to find which printer driver cause the crash issue, I suggest you isolate each driver and run
printing job. Please:
1. Open mmc in Start Search box.
2. Click File->Add/Remove snap-in
3. Add "Printer Management". Click Add "The Local Server".
4. Click Finish.
5. Expand Print Servers->[server name]. Click on Drivers.
6. Right-click on the first driver, choose "Set driver isolation"->"Isolated".
7. Start a printing job.
8. If the issue still occurs, change the isolation to System Default for this driver, then isolate the next driver
and start printing job.
You can find which driver is the root cause.
You need to involve a Windows 7 compatible driver for Windows 7 clients. If the driver is packed, you can extract
the driver pack and add the driver from printer server console. However, if the driver is included in an
installation file, you may try the following method.
1. Install the driver on one of the Windows 7 clients.
2. Launch mmc from Start Search box.
3. Click File->Add/Remove Snap-in.
4. Add "Printer Management". Point to the server in "Specify the printer server".
5. Expand "Printer Management"->"Printer Servers"->"Drivers".
6. Right-click, then click "Add a driver".
Please follow the instructions to add the Windows 7 printer driver. After doing so the driver should be added into
the server.
If the printer driver is not found, the driver should be not designed for enterprise environment. In this case you
may need to add the printer from the client side manually.
for more information.............
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itprogeneral/thread/85915d44-5638-46e1- 97b7-bfe032cd0994/
http://printers.iyogi.com/errors/printer-spooler-error-windows-7.html
Hope this helps you.

Printing from CS3 under Vista to Windows 2003 server print que very slow

I just upgraded one of my machines to vista with CS3. I normally print to a windows 2003 server print spool que. When I go to print it takes forever to pull up my different printers and then go to properties. On my XP machines there is no problem, I can select the print que, go into properties for my printer and it works fine. Something with Vista, CS3 and WIndows 2003 server?
Thanks

shadeDream
Im curious about your 802.1x issues are. Im testing user profiles VS login window profiles for 802.1x on our Cisco wi-fi LAN right now, and I'm scratching my head on how the login window profile is actually supposed to work. Its a chicken-and-the-egg situation for me. I cant use user login window profiles, I have to use user profiles, which don't work very well in my environment for various reasons. Granted, it has improved since 10.5.3, but its still not working as I expect it to work. Do you have a Apple Discussion post related to this issue I can read?
Sorry for hijacking this discussion with off-topic content...

OfficeJet Pro L7780 - Have to Restart Print Spooler every job I print (Windows 7 32-bit)

I have an OfficeJet Pro L7780 that shows as offline in Devices and Printers constantly. I discovered if I queue up print jobs to it and then restart the print spooler all of the jobs will come out perfectly then the printer will instantly go offline. Here is what I've done for troubleshooting already:
Upgrade to newest firmware (R2011NxNxeN0)
Factory Reset by hold # and 3 at boot
Changed Ink and Print Heads
Installed newest 14.0 driver (tried both Basic and IT Pro Driver)
Rebooted and restarted printer and computer
Tried all this on a 2nd Windows 7 computer with the same results
Anyone actually use this printer on Windows 7 32-bit over the wired network port!!?!
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Same printer, same problem, same remediation by restarting Printer Spooler service. Only difference is OS is Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit.
FYI- I'm using my L7780 via a wifi connection using WPA2 security and a static IP and network RAW printing to port 9100. The printer always appears available via network pings but not to the print spooler. As such, printer is always "grayed out" and disabled but will accept jobs into its queue.
After endless searching this is what appears to be working as a fix: Turn off SNMP on printer port.
Printer Properties -> Ports Tab -> (Select Port) -> Configure Port -> uncheck "SNMP Status Enabled"
Hopefully this works for others- but I also found mention that others found a fix in toggling other settings such as "Enable bidirection printing" check box. Who knows what seemingly unrelated software triggers this issue but it began one strange day and drove me crazy.

Adobe PDF Printer (Acrobat Pro 9.3.2) causes Print Spooler crash on Windows 7 64-bit

We have recently upgraded our office to Windows 7 64-bit. This upgrade has been very smooth with the exception of Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro. We are running Acrobat 9.3.2, I know there are a couple of additional updates available but they do not fix this issue if installed.
The problem occurs when users create documents using the Adobe PDF printer. The Print Spooler will crash, causing the application they are printing from to stop responding and they are forced to close the program. From this point onwards the user will be unable to print to any printer whatsoever, until they restart their computer. Stopping and starting the print spooler (clearing temp files as well) sometimes corrects the issue, but by the time they have found an admin to do this they may as well just restart.
I should note that this problem is not very consistent. It occurs sometimes after one PDF has been created, sometimes after they have created many PDFs, and sometimes not at all. It doesn't seem to matter which application they create the PDF from either. It's very irritating because I can't pin it down to anything in particular.
I've Googled a lot around this subject and I can see that I am not the only one with this issue, however there don't seem to be any solutions out there. This issue is widespread across our organisation and I would greatly appreciate any constructive suggestions on finding a resolution.
Many thanks, Steve.

Several months ago, I started working on this issue and thought that I had it resolved by uninstalling the "Internet Printing Client" from "Windows Features" (Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off > expand Print and Document Services > uncheck Internet Printing Client). This change seemed to help at the time, as I was then unable to reproduce the issue and the end-user was unable to reproduce the issue for two weeks after (thus I closed the help desk case). But now it looks like the issue is back. Maybe the above setting will help someone else, but I'm now looking for a permanent fix.
PS: I have instructed our users on the "Save as PDF" option provided in Office 2010, but I don't think that is used all the time, and the PDF printer is there only option in other applications (IE for example).
Anybody had this issue and found a fix?
Thanks,
Justin

Windows 7; Printers Have Disappeared; Printer Spooler won't stay running.

I'm using Windows 7 Home Premium and an Epson Stylus Photo R220 printer. I also had a few virtual printers (ie: Snagit) installed before the problems started.
All of the printers (from my Devices and Printers) have disappeared, except for a generic "USB Printer" selection that shows it is my Epson R220. I can't print to it, and when I try to print a document and try to "Add Printer", a warning pops up saying "Can't
Add Printer. The local print spooler service is not running. Please restart the spooler or restart the machine." I've tried both with no success.
Sometimes, when I try to start the Print Spooler, I get a message "Error 1067: The process terminated unexpectedly." or it starts and just stops again.
I have also tried reinstalling the driver for my printer as specified from Epson's website, but the installer can't detect my printer, and if I try manually finding the port, nothing comes up, which I find odd since my computer recognizes when the printer
is attached.
Lastly, and I'm hoping it's not connected although I think it likely is, last night my computer had troubles starting Windows. So I did as it directed and I loaded my Windows CD into the computer and had it "Repair the problem". After several minutes, Windows
booted fine again.
Now I really don't want to have to reinstall Windows, as that will remove all of my program files, so I'm hoping that's not the only solution. Any ideas?

I have wrestled with this issue on a client's computer for a few days now and I am coming to the conclusion that a Windows Update (do not know which one) has caused the problem.
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit installation
Printers disappeared from Devices and Printers and from the list of printers within applications. A reboot does nothing and there is a DCOM error that occasionally pops up, but the client has only seen it and I don't know the specifics.
Any attempt to start the Print Spooler gives me a 1053 error, which is "The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion."
Doing a NET START SPOOLER from a command prompt gives me "The service is not responding to the control function."
As a last resort I did an in-place upgrade of Windows 7 (run setup on the installation DVD from Windows - not from boot - and choose the upgrade option. All Windows system files are restored and user information is left in tact.)
This completely solved the problem. After doing this, however, the Windows Updates need to be brought up to date, so I went through the updating process. 15 minutes after I left, the client called me and said his printers were gone again.
I have come back today to figure this out and after trying a couple more things I decided to do a System Restore, the last of which was created before the installation of Windows Updates. After running restore, the system rebooted and all printers
were there and the spooler was running normally.
Because I thought there was some other issue, I again ran Windows Update to bring back the same updates I had done before.
Guess what? No printers, spooler not working.
I am now going to restore again to before the 64 windows updates that installed and turn off the automatic update function until Microsoft figures out what is wrong and comes up with a patch.
This is what I believe the problem is. I am going to look at the list of updates and check to see if Microsoft did a DCOM update, because that might be the problem, since DCOM is a dependency of the spooler and because there was some kind of DCOM error.

Windows 7 print spooler won't start

I upgraded my Dell Inspiron 545 from Vista to Windows 7 Home Premium a week ago and have only been able to print one document since then.
Under Vista my Canon MP610 and Lexmark 705 printers both worked, but no luck with Windows 7.
I keep getting the message Print Spooler isn't started.
I've tried starting it from the services dialog box and it just won't go. I've run an SCN scan and no problems were found.
My printers do work because our MacBook in the kitchen can get them to print from our wireless network.
Help!

Hello,
This problem is caused by the corrupted Printer Spooler service. Try the following steps to repair it:
Step 1
======
Start Windows Explorer, and then rename all files and folders in the following two folders:
c:\windows\system32\spool\printers
c:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86
To rename a file, we can right click the file and select Rename.
Step 2
======
1. Click Start, type REGEDIT in the Start Search Bar, and then press ENTER.
2. Navigate to and then click the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environment\Windows NT x86
View the list of subkeys. There should be only the following subkeys:
Drivers
Print Processors
If there are any keys other than those listed above, follow these steps:
a. On the File menu, click Export.
b. In the File Name box, type a descriptive name for this key -- for example, type WindowsNTx86regkey -- and then click Save to save it to your local Desktop.
We can use this backup of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environment\Windows NT x86 registry key to restore the key if you experience any problems after you complete this procedure.
c. Delete all keys other than Drivers and Print Processors.
Step 3
======
Navigate to and click the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors registry key. View the list of subkeys. There should be only the following subkeys:
BJ Language Monitor
Local Port
Microsoft Document Imaging Writer Monitor
Microsoft Shared Fax Monitor
Standard TCP/IP Port
USB Monitor
WSD Port
If there are any keys other than those listed in above, follow these steps to delete them:
a. On the File menu, click Export.
b. In the File Name box, type a descriptive name for this key -- for example, type Monitorsregkey -- and then click Save to save it to your local Desktop.
We can use this backup of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors registry key to restore the key if you experience any problems after you complete this procedure.
c. Delete all keys other than the 5 listed above.
Thomas77

Samba cups and windows 8: printer spools but will not print.

Hello,
I have samba and cups setup. I have been trying to connect to my windows printer. Here is my setup
Arch linux linux-3.12.1-3
samba-4.1.2-1
cups-1.7.0-2
Windows 8.1
no firewalls
Samba config
[global]
security = user
#passdb backend = tdbsam
#username map = /etc/samba/smbusers
workgroup = Bobshouse
encrypt passwords = yes
wins support = yes
log level = 1
max log size = 1000
read only = no
#disable netbios = yes
printing = cups
printcap = cups
[homes]
browsable = no
map archive = yes
[Shared]
browsable = yes
read only = yes
path = /home/bob/Share
for cups some things I have tried are
lpd://hostname/printer
smb://username:password@hostname/printer_name
I can see the printer with smbclient
So the printer spools, but will not print. the paper does not move I just hear the printer. Also when I watch the print queues in windows and linux. Cups shows that it sent the document, but when I watch the windows queue it shows the document, but the size of the document stays at 32 kb out of 1.8 mb and says printing. I hope this makes sense. I am just trying to keep things very simple at this point. I just want to understand what the problem is and build on it.

Please provide the following relevant information so someone can help including:
Printer Model - done
Complete and Detailed Problem Description -
Operating System of computer (including service pack revision) - done
Connection Method - USB, Hardwired LAN, Wireless? -
Make and model of router and modem? -
Error messages - on printer screen and/or computer, any blinking light patterns?
If wireless, when the problem occurs, what is status of Blue Wireless light on printer, on, off or blinking? –
Power off printer and router. Power on router and wait 3 mins, power on printer. Does it connect to the router now? Do you have a valid IP address?

Windows cannot connect to the printer the local print spooler service is not running please restart the spooler or restart the m

We have 7 computers on a local network 3 of them have local printers 2 and are brand new Vista equiped. we shared the local printers on the vista machines but they are unaccessable from one vista to the other... it works from an XP to a Vista, but not from a Vista to a Vista.... go figure.... When we try to add the printers, the error message that we get is: "windows cannot connect to the printer. the local print spooler service is not running. please restart the spooler or restart the machine."
I would appreciate any help...
Thank you

This worked for me. GP
Problem : error 1075 and Local print spooler service is not running.
problem description : I have a Lexmark x4270 all in one. I installed the driver for it in my new laptop running Vista. Turns out the driver is not for Vista but XP. I uninstalled the XP driver and downloaded a Vista driver from Lexmark. When I try to run the printer software I get a message "Local print spooler service is not running. Please restart the spooler or restart the machine." I tried all of that. I have looked this problem up on the web and it is quite common with Vista. Many of the "solutions" say it is a problem with an incomplete removal of the incorrect printer driver and they show how to correct in the registry. I am not comfortable tinkering with the registry and thought I'd consult with you first.
I tried "everything" I could to fix the problem of getting "error 1075" fixed in my HP laptop running Vista. HP came up with simple solution below. The regedit part is what fixed mine. I did not need the safe mode part. I think Lexmark should add the solution to your knowledge base.
==============================
From HP: Please perform the below given steps in safe mode to resolve the issue.
Reboot your notebook and press F8. The system will show some booting options select safe mode.
Note: Starting computer in safe mode may take some time.
Uninstall the printer using Programs and Features from the control panel of your notebook.
Uninstalling any software from Control Panel :
1. Click on Vista (start) button
2. Click on control panel
3. Double click on Programs and Features
4. Click on YOUR Lexmark Printer and click on remove.
Download and reinstall the printer software using the below given link :
http://downloads.lexmark.com/cgi-perl/downloads.cgi?ccs=229:1:0:438:0:0&searchLang=en&os_group=Windows%20Vista&target=
NOTE: Clicking the link may give an error indicating it is invalid.
Copy and paste the entire link in a new browser window.
After the installation of drivers, restart the notebook into normal mode. Now plese check with printing any document. If the still persists then perform the below given steps :
Click on Vista (Start) button, and type Regedit.exe in search bar
Navigate to the following branch
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ Spooler
In the right-pane, double-click the DependOnService value
Delete the existing data, and then type RPCSS
Close Regedit.exe
Restart the computer.
This should resolve the issue.
For information on keeping your HP and Compaq products up and running, please visit our Web site at:
http://www.hp.com/go/totalcare

Print spooler keeps stopping on Windows 7

I have an HP desktop computer running Windows 7 it has an HP photosmart Printer and an Kodak AIO 5500 attached to it and shared over the network. Everything is fine with the HP printer but every time I try to print to the Kodak the print spooler keeps
stopping. I have tried many of the work arounds I have found but nothing helps. Every time I try to print to the KOdak I have to wait until after I have made all the print option and then I have to start the spooler. The firmware and software is up to
date on the Kodak printer. How can I fix this?

Hi,
I would like to suggest you perform the following steps to troubleshoot the issue.
Clear Printer Spooler Files and Enable the Spooler Service
=================================
1. Click Start, type "Services.msc" (without the quotation marks) in the Search box and press Enter.
2. Double-click "Printer Spooler" in the Services list.
3. Click Stop and click OK.
4. Click Start, type "%WINDIR%\system32\spool\printers" in the Start Search box and press Enter, delete all files in this folder.
5. Click Start, type "Services.msc" (without the quotation marks) in the Start Search box and press Enter.
6. Double-click "Printer Spooler" in the Services list.
7. Click on Start. In the Startup Type list, make sure that "Automatic" is selected and click OK.
Does it work?
Regards,
Arthur Li - MSFT
Thanks Arthur. Your solution worked for me and I now have both my printers back in use. I am using Windows 7 and IE9. Suspect that clicking the Print button on an internet site yesterday when reserving an item for collection at the local outlet of
a national high street retailer may have caused the problem.

Print spooler issues with windows 8

printer stopped when i switched to windows 8.
error message telling me print spooler is not functioning
unable to get it to function...every probram indicates that printer is working properly, yet it shows that I have no printer installed and my printer cannot be found or activated no matter what I do.
Joseph J Grech

Hi,
If updating the printer driver cannot fix the issue, please also try the following steps:
Clear Printer Spooler Files and Enable the Spooler Service
=================================
1. Run "Services.msc" (without the quotation marks).
2. Double-click "Printer Spooler" in the Services list.
3. Click Stop and click OK.
4. Navigate to "%WINDIR%\system32\spool\printers", delete all files in this folder.
5. Run "Services.msc" (without the quotation marks).
6. Double-click "Printer Spooler" in the Services list.
7. Click on Start. In the Startup Type list, make sure that "Automatic" is selected and click OK.
Regards,
Arthur Li
TechNet Community Support

I have an HP2840 running with Windows 7. Every time I fax from the computer the printer spooler sto

I have an HP2840 running with Windows 7. Everytime I fax from the computer the print spooler STOPS.
I have to start, then stop, then start again everytime before any of my printers are available.
Is there a setting I need to change?

it sounds to me that the print spooler is crashing. Typically if the spooler crashes, when restarted it will try and process the job in the queue. If it crashes again, the job will be purged from the queue.
Mark
Say Thanks by clicking the Kudos Star if the post helped you.
Please mark the post that solves your problem as Accepted Solution
(Although I am employed by HP, I am speaking for myself and not for HP) .....

Strange T400 issue - Dock/Print Spooler

Have a user within the company here.
Windows XP Professional SP3 - Print spooler continuously stops itself.
At first I thought it may have been an OS issue, but everything checks out just fine there.
So, I go take the laptop and am bringing it back to my desk to work on it, and I login while at their desk, and the print spooler is now fine. So, I log off, have them log back in, and everything is fine.
So, I go to say everything is fine, but I decide to put it back on the advanced mini dock to see if it works, prints fine there. So I restart the laptop, have the user log back in, print spooler isn't working.
It appears that as long as during startup the laptop is not in the dock, and once logged in you don't log off and back on, the print spooler will operate normally.
Anybody ever seen something like this?

hi,
I checked with other sample application also.. but its not working fine.
i am using firefox browser right now. can you explain why the issue is coming??

Windows 8 Print Spooler wont start.

I just upgrade my system from windows 7 to windows 8 and am not able to add a printer because the Print Spooler won't start.
The error that I get when I try to start it is
Error 1068 The dependancy Service or group failed to start
I have searched the archives and have looked at the dependencies listed in the service the list says:
HTTP Service (This does not exist in the service list.)
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) (Was able to start this)
DCOM Server Process Launcher (Was able to start this)
RPC Endpoint Mapper (Was able to start this)

If Adil's suggestion does not work then try the command below. This will clear out your current dependencies on the spooler and leave it with just RPCSS which should allow you to start print spooler. Remember to run this from and Administrative
command prompt by going to your start screen and typing in "cmd" and then right clicking on Command Prompt and selecting Run As Administrator.
sc config spooler depend=rpcss
do not work for me at all: get the error msg:
[SC] OpenService FAILED 1060
The specified service does not exist as an installed service.
Be kind and Mark as Answer if I helped.

Windows 8.1 Print Spooler Strangeness

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for