FIX: Local print spooler service is not running
- If the Print Spooler service is not working in Windows, you won't be able to get any printing done.
- Make sure that the respective software and all its dependencies are running properly.
- Updating the drivers may solve this issue on the spot and you can also do it automatically.
- In case you have a wireless printer, you can also try to check the connection with the network or the PC.
Print Spooler service is your main connector with the printer, and if this service doesn’t work for some reason, you won’t be able to print your documents.
And it happens that the Print Spooler service is not working on Windows for a variety of reasons. For example, users have been getting error messages similar to the one below:
The local Print Spooler service is not running
So, we prepared a couple of workarounds in case you have problems with the Print Spooler in Windows 10. Since this can be a serious problem, we’re going to cover the following scenarios and error messages:
- Print spooler service stops automatically in Windows 7
- Windows 7 users have reported in the past that the Printer Spooler service tends to stop occasionally.
- Print spooler service not running Windows 10
- Issues with the Print Spooler service are also common in Windows 10.
- Error 1068 Print Spooler
- Error 1068 is one of the most common problems related to the Print Spooler service you can encounter.
- Print Spooler keeps stopping
- It’s also possible for Print Spooler to suddenly stops working, even if you’re able to run it in the first place.
- Print Spooler Windows 10 not starting
- On the other hand, you might not be able to run Print Spooler at all.
How do I fix Print Spooler service issues?
- Restart Print Spooler service
- Make sure all dependencies are running
- Update the printer drivers
- Uninstall unnecessary printers
- Run the Troubleshooter
- Reset the Internet options
- Disable the Allow service to interact with desktop option
- Set Prin Spooler on Automatic Startup
1. Restart Print Spooler service
- Go to Search, type services.msc and open Services.
- Find the Print Spooler service.
- Right-click on it and go to Restart as shown in the screenshot below.
As Print Spooler sometimes stops working or has had an error occur, the first thing we should try to fix it is to simply restart the service.
This command will restart your Print Spooler service, and hopefully, it will get back to its working state. But, if restarting the service doesn’t work, try some of the following solutions.
2. Make sure all dependencies are running
- Go to Services and find Print Spooler (as explained above).
- Right-click on Print Spooler service and go to Properties.
- Go to Dependencies tab and find which services are needed for Print Spooler to Run.
- Now, search through Services, and make sure all dependencies are running.
Print Spooler needs some other services to run in order to function, and if these services are stopped, the Print Spooler service will be stopped too.
3. Update the printer drivers
- Go to Search, type devicemngr, and open Device Manager.
- Find the printer you want to delete, right-click it and go to Update driver.
- Let the wizard look for new drivers.
- Follow further on-screen instructions.
- Restart your computer.
If your printer drivers are outdated, there’s a great chance you’ll encounter some errors when trying to print documents.
To remove this possibility from the equation, we’re going to update the printer driver, and install the latest version of the software.
3.1 Update drivers automatically
If this method doesn’t work or you do not have the necessary computer skills to update/fix the drivers manually, we strongly suggest doing it automatically by using a professional driver updater tool, once you selected the printer driver you need.
Our top recommendation is DriverFix because it uses a very large driver database in order to be able to install the best version for your specific hardware. All that while staying extremely light on your resources.
The tool is very easy to use. Just select the driver you want to update and let it complete the process. You can also set it up to automatically check and update all your drivers on a regular basis.
4. Uninstall unnecessary printers
- Go to Search, type devicemngr, and open Device Manager.
- Find the printer you want to delete, right-click it and go to Uninstall device.
- Follow further on-screen instructions.
- Restart your computer.
If you have more than one printer driver installed on your computer, drivers are very likely to interfere with each other.
So, the best thing you can do is uninstalling all unnecessary printers, so the one you’re currently using can work without any interruptions.
5. Run the Printer troubleshooter
- Go to Settings.
- Head over to Updates & Security and click on Troubleshoot.
- Now, click Printer, and choose Run the troubleshooter.
- Follow further on-screen instructions. Finish the procedure.
- Restart your computer.
If none of the solutions from above managed to solve the problem with the Printer Spooler, we’re going to try Windows 10’s troubleshooting tool.
Microsoft introduced this tool with the Creators Update for Windows 10, and you can use it for solving various system-related errors, including Printer issues.
6. Reset the Internet options
- Go to Search and type of internet options. Select Internet Options from the menu.
- Go to the Advanced tab and click Reset.
- Click the Reset button again to confirm.
The next thing we’re going to do is reset the Internet Options as shown in the steps above.
7. Disable the Allow service to interact with desktop option
- Go to Search and type services.msc.
- Open Services window and locate Print Spooler service. Right-click it and go to Properties.
- When the Properties window opens, go to Log on the tab.
- Locate Allow service to interact with desktop option and disable it.
- Click Apply and OK to save the changes.
And finally, if your Print Spooler is allowed to interact with desktop, you might encounter some problems. So, we’re going to disable this option.
8. Set Printer spooler on Automatic Startup
- Go to Search, type services.msc and open Services.
- Locate the Print Spooler service.
- Right-click on it and go to Properties.
- Go to Startup type and set in on Automatic Startup.
If the service does not start automatically when you boot up your computer, this may explain why the Printer Spooler service is not working on Windows.
Having to manually enable the service every time you start your computer is a time-consuming task. You can quickly solve this problem by setting the Printer Spooler service on automatic Startup.
NOTE
That would be all, we hope these solutions helped you to solve the problem with the Print Spooler service, if you have any questions, or comments, just reach to the comment section below.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The Print Spooler is a software program in Microsoft Windows that manages all print jobs currently being sent to the computer printer or print server. We have the perfect guide to fix the Print Spooler if the service is not working.
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If you notice that the Print Spooler service keeps stopping, follow the steps written in the step-by-step guide to fix the issue immediately.
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If the Print Spooler service is taking up most of your CPU, consider reading the comprehensive guide for some fixes to this issue.
