Printer Spooler Error
Spooling is a computer technique wherein data is transferred temporarily so that it can be accessed and processed later. Since data is processed at different speeds, it is useful in slower processes to provide a waiting area for other jobs while it is still trying to read the current batch of information. It’s especially important in printers because this is actually the only means through which the computer communicates.
- Symptoms of spooler error
- Resolving printer spooler error
- Variation of printer spooler error
Symptoms of spooler error
Tell-tale signs of a printer spooler error include system freezes, high CPU usage and print queues that don’t let you print or delete a job. It is a very serious error that should be resolved at once.
Resolving printer spooler error
There are several ways to resolve printer spooler error, probably because there are many variations of this error. The error caused by faulty software can be resolved by deleting all the information found in the directory. Thereafter, navigate to the ‘Control Panel’, click on ‘Administrative Tools’ and then services icon. Find the service labeled Print Spooler, highlight it and restart the process. If that doesn’t work, the program might be corrupted. Click on start, then Run. Search for the document labeled services.msc, and this will trigger the opening of another window. On this window, scroll down and click “Print Spooler”. Check its setting and turn on automatic mode. Click Okay, and restart the machine. If you’re lucky, this might be all you have to do. Still doesn’t work? Navigate to the ‘Add/Remove Programs’ screen of the ‘Control Panel’. Find the all the software responsible for making the printer run including the drivers, and uninstall them. Be sure to be thorough about it, or the problem may not be solved. Download the latest copy of your printer’s software from the manufacturer and reinstall it.
A variation of spooler error is caused by software, giving faulty instructions. Due to this another program intercepts the instructions and confuses the spooler program. It also stops your computer from adding printers, so if this is the case, disable all third-party drivers and software. Examples of programs known to cause this error include the Lexmark Printer service. To stop the error from occurring, follow the steps listed above, but instead of reinstalling the software, you will have to modify Windows’ registry. This can be quite dangerous as deleting and modifying entries may just cause even more problems, but in this case, quite necessary. But, instead of blindly poking around your computer’s most important files, take professional help.
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Hi. I read your instructions to what may be wrong with my printer (worked fine yesterday) and it seemed to relate to my problem almost exactly, even though this is a NEW problem from what I’ve been experiencing practically since I bought it 2 1/2 yrs. ago. HP told me it was Vista drivers until the warranty expired… They then told me they would give me a discount on a new printer. I declined and found the same printer(HP Officejet 6480) at Newegg.com for $10 more than their supposed $100+ price break. Also, the reviews at Newegg for that printer rated it… very low to useless. I hate thinking what I spent on extra ink (still unopened) for that… printer.
Anyway, thanks for the written instructions and I’ll keep in mind calling you. Appreaciate your insight to “HP’s” problems, sold to “me”. Keep it up!
Jack