Storage

Ask something
Discussion Locked

Spooler subsystem app has encountered a problem and needs to close

0 helpful
23 replies

by tmiddlemas

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

I recently had to do a repair of a XP Home installation and ran the XP Home setup CD. All worked fine, but now as soon as a user logs on they are greeted with a "Spooler subsystem app has encountered a problem and needs to close" message, which continues to pop up periodically while the PC is running. Printers which were installed prior to the repair are no longer present in the printers and faxes window, and when I try to re-install a printer I get a message saying the "Print Spooler Service is not running" (however if i check in services it says it is) I have tried the MS knowledge base articles 810894 and 324757 also deleting and .shd and.spl files suggested in previous threads on this subject. But nothing makes any difference.
ANY help please!

23 replies

by dugadugdug

This was an issue that was resolved with SP2. Install, or reinstall, XP SP2. To stop the message from occurring, should installing the latest SP not do the trick, go to the command prompt and type 'net stop spooler'

by tmiddlemas

I can stop the print spooler eror message from ever popping up by disabling the print spooler in services. However I still cant install a new printer. Something during the XP refresh has caused this problem but Im at a loss exactly what! I will try installing SP 2 again.

Thanks for your help.

by tmiddlemas

For anyone whos interested, I fixed this problem by running the XP installation disk again with all peripherals disconnected.

Thanks for helping

by drush

with all peripherals disconected but I don't have the original disc. What else might help.

by bhatnagar_nitin9

Goto this site and download the SP2 and run it from your local machine.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=049C9DBE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en
Reinstall it and you will be all set.

by pgpam57

I was getting the same error from an HP 1020 that had been working fine, no system changes had been made. (I have no reason to think this is strictly related to this model printer) I noticed that there was a file I had tried to print a few days ago stuck in the printer queue for that printer, about the time when first started seeing the spooler error. I could not 'cancel' that file from the queue. To fix, I unplugged the USB from the 1020, started the print spooler service manually (from run/services.msc), and then I could cancel the print job using the printer queue. So far so good...

by lgentile

I just wanted to say THANKS for this one. I looked through a bunch of MS documentation and as usual, it led me to measures I didn't think I had to do (mess with registry settings, delete all printers, etc).

I killed the spooler service and all HP services in memory, then deleted all files in the spooler directory (Windows\System32\Spool) and I was then able to restart the spooler and print a test page to the 1020 printer.

Thanks again!

by t_mac

A file stuck in a queue was my issue also...very cool. I started the spooler from differently but no matter, same thing. Big problem, simple fix. Saved me from deleting drivers, etc. also. Thanks!

by angells60640

Thanks, I had a doc stuck in the print queue as well. I thought I was in real trouble reading that I had to "delete this"; "reinstall that"; "run this"... oy! So simple and it saved my a@@!

by neilr58

I had the same problem and found that this page saved me hours of frustration.

http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/

by dhillier

I too had the EXACT same problem, and I too have an HP 1020 LaserJet. disconnecting the 1020 then manually starting the Print Spooler seems to have worked. Thanks!

by eh9116

I performed the same steps which worked beautifully for my HP 1018. It happened when I tried to print after opening 2 programs at once and hitting print in of them (I think it tried to print from both)...either way it seemed to confused XP and this error began to happen. I got the error every time I started my computer, I could not print, "Printers and Faxes" was empty and I could not Add a Printer (Operation Failed). Solution:

1. Unplug the USB cable from the printer.

2. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to bring up task manager and click the "Processes" tab.

3. Click on spoolsv.exe and click End Process.

4. Click HPZim12.exe (or similar) and click End Process.

5. Go to Start->Run, type in "services.msc" and hit enter.

6. Find "Print Spooler", right click on it and hit "Start".

7. Go to Start->Settings->Printers and Faxes. Double click all of the installed printers, one at a time, and remove anything in the print queue by right-clicking and choosing "cancel".

8. Once all print jobs are gone, close all those windows and plug the USB cable back into the printer. You should be good to go!

by awaris

i have fixed from a different way just directly right click on my computer and select manage then in manage select services and applications and select service and then select print spooler and go to properties
then stop the spooler and start it back

by kleinbaas

Thanks p.messer! I had this same error after printing stopped working. Among other printer I had a HP printer.
Following p.messer's advice I fixed this thus:
1. Disconnect the printer
2. Re-start the printer spooler (restarting the PC will do this)
3. Delete any jobs in the printer queue
4. Re-connect the printer and test it

Hope this helps others!
Al - www.brightvisions.co.uk/support

by chrislovett

Had the "printspooler" continually stopping problem - deleted all files in system32/spool, re-started the spooler and all's fixed. Thanks!

by kathy

I fought with this issue all day and thankfully found this site. Deleting the files solved my problem as well!

by ccarte70812

I experienced the same problem, but on Windows Server 2003

I didn't feel comfortable deleting the files so I cut the files out of the spooler directory, and placed them in a temp directory. Restarted the spooler and tested the printer.

There was an error stating the printer could not be located.

I then stopped the print service again.

Copied back the spooler files from my temp directory and restarted the printer spooler service again.

I tested the printer and it appears to be working fine.

I suppose starting the printer spool service without the files in c:\windows\system32\spool clears the hiccup that was in the queue.

by ajjur

This issue is caused from a corrupted printer driver.
The followings are the steps to resolve this issue.
1. Click Start - Run and type Services.msc
2. Right click on Printspooler and Restart the service.
3. Uninstall printer driver and reinstall or download and reinstall a new driver from the net.

by ashily24dee

Hi,

Go to Start / Run and type in "services.msc" without quotation marks, then press Enter or click OK.

In the window that opens (Services) look for "Print Spooler" on the right

Right-click "Print Spooler" and select "Properties".

Click on the "Recovery" tab and change all 3 drop-down boxes to "Restart The Service".

Make sure the 2 text boxes underneath say "1" in them.

Click Ok until you are back at the Services window, close it and you're good to go.

Go back into the properties of the "Print Spooler" tab and be sure to click Start to restart the Print Spooler service and it will restart the service immediately.

The Print spooler depends on the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service. Is this service disabled? Go to services.msc look for RPC. Check state: Automatic

http://printers.iyogi.com/errors/printer-spooler-error.html

http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/forums/printer/68459

http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6122_102-5134206.html

This discussion is closed to new replies.