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  • #2230356

    Print Monitor Freezes at 99% and print spooler files won’t delete

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    by dpotter555 ·

    I have a Dell computer running WinXP Professional with a Dell Photo 720 inkjet printer (it’s actually a Lexmark). When a job is printed, the print monitor freezes at 99% and the print job will not delete from the print queue. I believe the reason the monitor is freezing and the job won’t delete from the queue is that the .spl and .shd won’t delete the the \\spool\printers folder. Stopping and starting the print spooler doesn’t clear the job. The only thing that clears it is turning off the printing and re-booting the computer. My problem is that I don’t know why. This printer used to work on this computer before, but my boss did something (it’s his home computer) and I’m not sure what. I’ve research on the internet and have tried absolutely everything possible, but to no avail. If someone could give me some more suggestions, I would appreciate it.

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    • #2551556

      Clarifications

      by dpotter555 ·

      In reply to Print Monitor Freezes at 99% and print spooler files won’t delete

      Clarifications

    • #2551497

      A couple of things to try

      by rob miners ·

      In reply to Print Monitor Freezes at 99% and print spooler files won’t delete

      Completely Uninstall and Reinstall your Printer and ‘force’ XP to see new drivers:

      Step 1
      Disconnect the printer from the PC

      Step 2
      Go to the Control Panel and click on Add/Remove Programs. Highlight any Printer Software that is listed here. Select Remove.

      Step 3
      From the Control Panel, click on Printers & Faxes. Right click the printer in question and select Delete

      Step 4
      Look at the Toolbar. Select File, then Server Properties. Look in the Drivers tab. Highlight the printers drivers listed here and click on Remove for each one.

      Step 5
      Reboot the PC. Do NOT reconnect the printer!

      Step 6
      Go to the website of your printer manufacturer. Look for new XP drivers for your model. Download the correct software.

      Step 7
      Run the exe file you just downloaded. It should auto-start the installation program

      Step 8
      The software will tell you when to connect the printer.

      Step 9
      Once the software is installed and the printer connected, try a test page.

      How to forcefully clear all jobs from a print queue

      All administrators should know how to clear the print queue in Windows when all the jobs get ?stuck? and none of the jobs can be deleted. This will save you from having to restart a server (which is bad!).

      In order to get the printing services back up and running, follow these steps:

      1. Go to Start, Control Panel and Administrative Tools. Double click on Services icon.

      2. Scroll down to the Print Spooler service and right click on it and select Stop. In order to do this, you need to be logged in as Administrator. At this point, no one will be able to print anything on any of the printers that are being hosted on this server.

      3. Next you need to go to the following directory: C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\PRINTERS. Delete all the files in this folder. This will clear all print queues (it?s a good idea to first make sure there are no other print jobs being processed on any of the other printers on the server because doing this step will delete those jobs also)

      4. Now you can go back to the Services console and right-click and choose Start for the Print Spooler service!

      You can also go to a command prompt and type net stop spooler or net start spooler to start and stop the service.

      • #2551487

        Already done that

        by dpotter555 ·

        In reply to A couple of things to try

        Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. It is appreciated. I have done those steps already probably about 5 times. I have also removed ALL printers and drivers from windows as well as all references in the registry. I’ve been googling this problem for days and have tried everything that was suggested that made even a little bit of sense. More suggestions are welcome!

        • #2551478

          A couple more

          by rob miners ·

          In reply to Already done that

          To access the Dell Printer Solution Center:1Click Start?Programs or All Programs?Dell Printers?Dell Photo Printer 720?Dell Printer Solution Center.2Click the Troubleshooting tab.

          Try the Printer Self Test.

          Try changing the Printer Spool Options.

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