Printer Spooler Service Not Running Windows 10

Printer Spooler Service Not Running Windows 10

Sometimes you may get an error message while printing a document that “Printer spooler service not running” and the document fails to print.

This error message comes up when the printer spooler service has been disabled or is corrupted because of some kind of a virus on the computer. It is impossible to print without the printer spooler service because this is the service which is responsible for communication between the computer and the printer.

Regardless of the fact that your printer is wireless or it hooked up directly to the computer with the USB, the printer spooler service is important for the printer to print anything.

To fix “Printer spooler service not running” error message it is very important to first understand the detailed reasons which can cause this error message. Following are the most common reasons for the same:-

Common Reason for Printer Spooler Service Not Running Windows 10

• If you get the error message “Printer spooler service not running” then it could be because of the fact that the spooler service is not running or it has been stopped.
  
• Another reason is when your system is infected and the printer spooler service has been infected by a virus. The files related to print spooler are spoolsv.exe and spools.dll. When your computer has got a virus, these 2 files lose their permission due to which the computer cannot connect to the print spooler and hence can’t print. To resolve this, first, run the virus scan using your antivirus program. If it still doesn’t fix the problem, follow the instructions mentioned below.
• If the printer spooler service has gone corrupt itself. This happens when the system restarts abruptly which in result cause the spoolsv.exe and spoolss.dll files to crash resulting in the error message “Printer spooler service not running”.

Now that we have understood the main reasons behind getting the error message “Printer spooler service not running”. Let’s fix the problem by following the Mentioned tips:-

Fix Printer Spooler Service Issues

• First of all, we can try to fix this error message using the Automatic fix it tool available to repair the printer spooler service. But in order for the tool to run efficiently, first restart your computer is safe mode with networking. If you have Windows XP, Vista or 7. Then to start the computer in safe mode just keep pushing F8 key continuously after you boot your computer. Now you get advanced options menu with different options to choose from. Now select safe mode with networking and press enter. If you have windows 8 or 10. Then hold down the shift key and restart your computer to boot your computer in safe mode with networking. Once you are in safe mode, download the automatic fix it tool to repair the printer spooler service by clicking on this link Troubleshoot. Run this file and restart your computer and check if the problem resolved.
• If you still face the same problem. Then you may need to clear the spooler files and restart the spooler service. To do this follow the instructions:-

1. In your windows search box type services.msc and hit enter.
2. From the list of services, find Print spooler and stop it by double-clicking on it.
3. In  the search box on the taskbar,

type %WINDIR%system32spoolprinters, select the file folder in the search results, and then delete all files in the folder.

4. Now again open the Printer Spooler service and start it. Make sure it is set to Automatic.
5. Try to print

Fix Printer Spooler Service Not Running Win 10

• If the above steps did not resolve the problem and you are still getting an error message “Printer spooler service not running”. Then try to run the SFC scan. SFC scan or System File Checker. That is an inbuilt windows utility that allows users to scan the computer for any corruptions in the windows system files. It basically restores the corrupted files. To run this, open the command prompt with administrative privileges. Type SFC /SCANNOW and hit enter. This process might take a couple of hours to complete as it checks for any corrupted files and services on the entire system. Once completed, restart the computer and try to print.
• After completing steps if you still face the same issue. Then this could be because of the virus on the computer. Scan your computer using your antivirus program. Alternatively, you can run Malwarebytes on the computer to scan for possible viruses. The tool is free to use and to download it click on this link Malwarebytes. After downloading the software, run the setup and scan your computer. Once the scan is complete, remove the viruses found from the quarantine. 
• To further check the computer for viruses or infections, download adwcleaner for free from ADWCleaner. Download the program and run the setup. After scanning reboot your computer.