How to Fix a Printer Spooler Service That Keeps Stopping

If your printer suddenly stops working and Windows shows spooler-related errors, the issue may be the service that manages print jobs in the background. When the printer spooler service keeps stopping, documents can get stuck, printers may disappear, or nothing prints at all. This guide walks you through practical steps to get printing back and reduce repeat failures.

Why this happens

The Print Spooler is a Windows service that stores and sends print jobs to your printer. If it crashes or shuts down repeatedly, it is often because of a corrupted print job, damaged driver files, a conflict from old printer software, or a Windows service dependency problem.

In many home and office setups, the most common cause is a bad item stuck in the print queue. But if the printer spooler service keeps stopping every time you try to print, the root cause can also be an outdated or broken printer driver that needs to be reinstalled cleanly.

Fix it step by step

1. Restart the Print Spooler service.
   Press Windows + R, type services.msc, and press Enter. Find Print Spooler, right-click it, and choose Restart. If it is not running, click Start. Then double-click it and set Startup type to Automatic. Try printing a small test page after this step.
2. Clear stuck print jobs from the queue.
   Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select your printer, and open the print queue. Cancel all pending jobs. If they will not clear, stop the Print Spooler service again in Services, then open File Explorer and go to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS. Delete the files inside that folder only, then return to Services and start Print Spooler again.
3. Remove the printer and add it back.
   Sometimes Windows keeps calling a damaged printer object even after the queue is emptied. Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select the printer, and choose Remove. Restart your PC, then add the printer again. If it is a USB printer, reconnect the cable only after Windows is ready. If it is a network printer, make sure it is connected to the same network as your computer.
4. Update or reinstall the printer driver.
   Open Device Manager and expand Print queues or Printers. Right-click your printer and choose Uninstall device. If you see an option to remove the driver software, select it. Then download the latest full driver package from the printer manufacturer’s official support site and install it. Avoid using very old drivers saved on your PC, since they can cause the print spooler keeps crashing problem to return.
5. Check the spooler service dependencies.
   In services.msc, double-click Print Spooler and open the Dependencies tab. Make sure required services such as Remote Procedure Call (RPC) are running. If a dependency is stopped, the spooler may fail right after startup. Start any required service that is disabled or stopped, then test printing again.
6. Remove old printer software you no longer use.
   Multiple printer utilities from older devices can interfere with the current driver. Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps and uninstall software for printers you no longer own or use. Restart the computer after uninstalling. This helps if the printer spooler service keeps stopping after switching brands or replacing an older printer.
7. Run Windows system file checks.
   Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run sfc /scannow. When that finishes, run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth. These scans can repair damaged Windows components that affect printing services. Once both scans finish, restart the PC and print a test page.
8. Create a fresh test print to confirm the fix.
   After making changes, print a one-page document from Notepad or use the printer’s built-in Print Test Page option in Windows. If the spooler stays running and the page prints normally, your issue is likely resolved. If it fails only in one app, the problem may be with that application rather than Windows printing itself.

If the problem keeps coming back

If the printer spooler service keeps stopping after every reboot or every large print job, the issue is usually deeper than a simple queue problem. A damaged driver package, a third-party print utility, or a Windows profile issue may still be triggering the crash. In that case, it can help to test with another user account, install the printer with a manufacturer driver instead of a generic one, or get hands-on help before making bigger system changes.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my printer disappear when the spooler stops?

Windows relies on the Print Spooler service to manage installed printers and active print jobs. If the service crashes, printers may appear unavailable, offline, or missing until the service is restarted.

Can a bad driver make the print spooler keep crashing?

Yes. A corrupted, outdated, or incompatible driver is one of the most common reasons for spooler failures. Reinstalling the latest driver from the printer manufacturer is often the most effective long-term fix.

Is it safe to delete files from the PRINTERS folder?

Yes, but only when the Print Spooler service is stopped and only for files inside C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS. Those files are temporary print jobs. Do not delete other folders or system files in the Windows directory.

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