Even in this digital era printer is used regularly for many tasks. There are many errors that occur with printers with regular usage and we can fix them easily. Some users are reporting that the Print spooler keeps stopping automatically in Windows 11/10. In this guide, we have a few solutions to fix the issue.
What is Print Spooler service?
Print Spooler is responsible for handling all the jobs you send to the printer. It is a Windows service that takes care of your print commands. Without Print Spooler service, it is impossible to print anything.
Why does the Print Spooler service stop automatically?
The Print Spooler stops automatically for many reasons. It may be due to corrupt or outdated system files and printer drivers, Print Spooler service settings are set to manual, or third-party programs are interfering with the print spooler.
Print Spooler Service keeps stopping automatically in Windows 11/10
If the Print Spooler Service keeps stopping automatically in Windows 11/10, here are some suggestions that are sure to properly fix the issue.
- Run Printer Troubleshooter
- Set Print Spooler service start-up to Automatic
- Change Print Spooler Recovery options
- Delete Print Spooler cache
- Update Printer drivers
- Delete Unnecessary Registry Keys
Let’s get into the details of each process and fix the issue.
1] Run Printer Troubleshooter
If the printer is stopping automatically due to an error that we don’t know, it can be fixed by running the Printer troubleshooter. When you run it, it automatically scans for the issues and resolves them automatically.
To run the Printer troubleshooter,
- Open the Settings app
- Scroll down and click on Troubleshoot tab
- Then, click on Other troubleshooters
- Find Printer in the list and click on Run beside it
Check if it has fixed the issue.
Related: The local Print Spooler service is not running
2] Set Print Spooler service start-up to Automatic
The error might also have been caused if the startup settings of Print Spooler are messed up. You need to set it to automatic to resolve the issue and carry on with printing.
To set the Print Spooler service startup to automatic,
- Open Run command
- Type Services.msc and press Enter
- Find Print Spooler in the list of Services
- Right-click on it and select Properties
- In the General tab, you will find Startup type. Click on the drop-down button beside it and select Automatic.
- Then, click on Apply and then OK
Also ensure that HTTP Services and the Remote Procedure call (RPC) service is set to Automatic.
Restart your PC and see if it has fixed the issue.
3] Change Print Spooler Recovery options
There are options available to set what the Print Spooler service has to do after its failure while handling printing jobs. You need to set them to Restart the service after failures. This will make Print Spooler run even after many failures and handle your printing jobs.
To change Print Spooler recovery options,
- Open Run command
- Type Services.msc and press Enter
- Find Print Spooler in the list of Services
- Right-click on it and select Properties
- Click on the Recovery tab. Click on the drop-down buttons beside First failure, Second failure, and Subsequent failures and set them to Restart the Service
- Then, click on Apply and then OK
Then, close the Services window and restart your PC. Then, see if the error has been resolved or not.
4] Delete Print Spooler cache
Sometimes the error might also be caused by the cache that is built up. The corruptions that occur with the cache might be causing the issue. You need to delete the Print Spooler cache to fix the issues related to it. Before cleaning the Print Spooler cache, you need to stop the Print Spooler service and then, clear the cache.
To stop Print Spooler,
- Open Run command
- Type Services.msc and press Enter
- Find Print Spooler in the list of Services
- Right-click on it and select Stop
It will stop the Print Spooler service on your PC. You need to clear the Print Spooler cache now. To do it, you need to be an administrator or have administrative privileges. Then, navigate to,
C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS
and delete all the files in the folder. It will delete all the cache that is built up and fix the issue. Then, restart your PC and check if the issue is resolved.
5] Update Printer drivers
Drivers on Windows PC are the most important tools or software for the PC to run smoothly. Without drivers, you can’t do most of the tasks. Likewise, an outdated or corrupted printer driver might cause the Print Spooler service to stop automatically. You need to update the Printer drivers on your PC to fix the issue. You can use any of the following methods to update the printer driver:
- Check for Driver Updates via Windows Update to update your drivers
- Visit the manufacturer’s site to download the Printer drivers.
6] Delete Unnecessary Registry Keys
Print Spooler service issues can also be fixed by Registry. You need to delete unnecessary registry keys related to the Printer to solve the issue.
Before making any changes in the registry, you need to backup your registry and proceed with changes.
To delete unnecessary Registry keys,
- Open Run command
- Type regedit and press Enter
- Navigate or paste the following paths in the address bar of the Registry Editor and press Enter
- 64-bit:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows x64\Print Processors - 32-bit:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows x86\Print Processors - Delete everything in that path except for winprint folder.
Then, restart your PC and see if it has fixed the issue.
These are the different ways using which you can fix if the print spooler is stopping automatically on your Windows 11/10.
Related read: How to enable or disable Print Spooler Service on Windows 11/10.
