Windows reports the Print Spooler service is not running
The Windows service that queues and manages print jobs has stopped, so nothing can print and printers may vanish from Settings altogether. Sometimes it is simply switched off; more often it starts, crashes within seconds, and stops again. Distinguishing those two situations is the whole of the diagnosis.
What causes it
- The service was disabled manually, by a script or by security policy
- A corrupt print job in the spool folder crashes the service on start
- A faulty printer driver brings the service down
- Damaged system files in the printing subsystem
- Malware or an over-aggressive cleanup tool removed spooler components
How to fix it, in order
Work down the list and stop when the printer recovers. The steps are ordered from most likely and least invasive to last resort.
Start the service and set it to Automatic
Press Windows+R, type services.msc and press Enter. Double-click Print Spooler, set Startup type to Automatic, click Start, then OK. If it starts and stays running, print a test page immediately to confirm.
See whether it stays running
Wait a minute, press F5 in services.msc, and check the status again. If it has stopped by itself, something is crashing it and simply restarting it will never hold. This distinction decides everything you do next.
Empty the spool folder
Stop Print Spooler, open C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS in File Explorer and delete every file inside, keeping the folder itself. Start the service again. A single malformed job here is the most frequent reason for a spooler that dies within seconds.
Check the Remote Procedure Call dependency
In services.msc, confirm Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is Running and Automatic. The spooler depends on it and cannot start otherwise. Never set RPC to Disabled.
Identify the crashing driver in Event Viewer
Open eventvwr.msc and look under Windows Logs › Application for Application Error events naming spoolsv.exe. The faulting module in the detail pane is usually a vendor DLL, which identifies precisely which printer driver to remove.
Remove the offending driver
With the spooler briefly running, open printmanagement.msc › Print Servers › your computer › Drivers, right-click the suspect driver and choose Remove driver package. Restart, then reinstall a current driver from the manufacturer. Removing all drivers for printers you no longer own is worthwhile while you are there.
Repair system files
Right-click Start, choose Terminal (Admin), run sfc /scannow, then DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth, and restart. This restores spooler binaries if they are damaged or missing.
Configure automatic recovery
In the Print Spooler properties, open the Recovery tab and set the first, second and subsequent failures to Restart the Service, with a one-minute reset. Printing will then survive occasional crashes while you work on the underlying driver.
Stopping it happening again
When it is not worth fixing yourself
If you would rather not work through this alone, a printer specialist can take a look with you on a screen-share and tell you honestly whether the machine is worth saving.
Frequently asked questions
Why do all my printers disappear when the spooler stops?
Windows enumerates printers through the spooler, so with the service down there is nothing to list. They come back when it starts.
Is it safe to delete files in the spool folder?
Yes, with the service stopped. You lose only the queued jobs, which you can print again.
Should I leave the spooler disabled for security?
Only on machines that never print, such as some servers. On a workstation it prevents printing entirely.
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