7 Ways to Fix “Local Print Spooler Service is Not Running” on Windows
Printer Spooler service is built in Windows application which is responsible for managing printing operations. When the printer spooler services stopped working suddenly, a user might experience a print spooler service not running error.
Print spooler not running error usually occurs when the printer unit and Windows system are unable to communicate. Users can easily fix the error of printer spooler service by referring to the troubleshooting checks enlisted in this blog.
Why “The Print Spooler Service Is Not Running” Error Message Appears:
Users might see the two types of error messages on the computer screen when the Printer spooler service stooped working suddenly.
- Windows cannot connect to the printer. The local print spooler service is not running.
- The operation could not be completed. The print spooler service is not running.
For both on-screen errors, users can use the troubleshooting checks enlisted below.
How to Resolve Local Print Spooler Service Is Not Running:
- Power Cycle Printer and Connected Computer:
Continuous printing for long hours can lead to printer errors. Users can simply power cycle the printer and connected device in the following manner.
- Turn off your printer.
- Shut down the computer system.
- Remove the cables connected between the printer and the computer system.
- Wait for a couple of minutes.
- Reconnect the cables between the computer and printer.
- Turn on the computer system and printer unit respectively.
- Run Windows Printer Troubleshooter:
Windows operating system is having built-in troubleshooter that automatically detects and resolves printer problems. The following steps assist users to run printer troubleshooter.
- Press Windows+ I key to open the Settings application.
- Go to Update and Security.
- Select troubleshoot-> additional Troubleshooters option from the left side.
- Tap on the Printer and select the printer device you want to troubleshoot.
- Click on the next button to begin the procedure.
- Restart Printer Spooler Service:
- Open the run dialog box by pressing the windows+ R keys.
- Type Services.msc in the text box and click on the Ok button.
- Locate the Printer Spooler from the services windows.
- Right-click on Printer Spooler and Select the Restart option.
This will restart the Printer spooler Service. Users can reboot the computer system and check if the Local print spooler service is not running error fixed or not.
- Set The Startup Type of The Printer Spooler as Automatic:
If Restarting Printer Spooler services won’t help then, the user can set the start-up type of Printer Spooler services as Automatic.
- Press the Windows+ R key to launch the Run box.
- Type services.msc and press Enter button.
- In the services window, right-click on the Printer spooler.
- Select properties from the context menu.
- Set the Startup type as Automatic.
- Tap on the Apply and Ok buttons respectively to save settings.
- If the Startup type is already automatic then disable it. Tap on apply and ok button.
- Again, set the startup type as automatic.
- Close the services screen and restart your system
- Manually Delete Printer Spooler Files:
When corrupted files or print jobs are present in the print queue, it is essential to Clear the Printer Queue. Users can the user needs to manually delete printer spooler files in the following manner.
- Press the Windows+ R key to launch the Run box.
- Type services.msc and press Enter button.
- Right-click on Printer Spooler and select the stop option.
- Open file explorer and navigate to the C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS.
- Delete all the files in the PRINTERS directory.
- Close the file explorer and go to the services screen.
- Right-click on the Printer spooler and select the Start option.
- Test the printer by giving a test print.
- Update Printer Driver Software:
Outdated printer drivers often lead to various printer issues, users can update printer drivers by referring steps given here.
- Open the Run dialog box.
- Type devmgmt.msc and tap the OK button to open Device Manager.
- Expand the Print Queue section in the Device Manager.
- Right-click on your printer device and select the Update Driver option.
- Tap on the Search automatically for drivers button.
- This will automatically scan and update the Printer drivers.
- Reboot your system after updating the Printer driver software.
- Reinstall Printer Driver Software:
Users can uninstall printer drivers completely from the system and install the latest drivers from the manufacturer’s website.
- Open the Run dialog box.
- Type devmgmt.msc and tap the OK button to open Device Manager.
- Expand the Print Queue section in the Device Manager.
- Type devmgmt.msc and tap the OK button to open Device Manager.
- Expand the Print Queue section in the Device Manager.
- Right-click on your printer and select Uninstall option.
- Click on uninstall option.
- Restart the computer system.
- Visit the manufacturer’s website of your Printer. (HP, Brother, Canon)
- Download the appropriate printer driver software for your system.
By referring above troubleshooting check, the user can easily fix the local print spooler service that is not running problem. If the issue persisted then, users can update Windows OS and consult a technical expert.