ERROR: Troubleshooting General Windows Print Spooler Problems

If the Print Spooler won’t start you’ll have to find out what driver/dll it’s having issues with and remove it (at least temporarily; you can attempt to reinstall it after you get Paw Prints working):

• Open Computer Management and check out the logs in System Tools > Event Viewer > Application and Service Logs > Microsoft > Windows > Print Service
• Crashes caused by nipp*.dll indicate that iPrint is the problem; uninstall iPrint and reinstall a newer version (if available). More often than not, however, a Canon or HP driver for a desktop printer is the issue.
• In Devices and Printers, find the printer(s) using that driver and delete them.
• For good measure, delete any files in C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS\
• Find any instances of the offending driver file in these locations and delete it:
  • C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\x64
  • C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\x64\3
  • C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\W32X86
  • C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\W32X86\3
• Likewise, delete any registry keys naming that driver here:
  • HKLM\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers
  • HKLM\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers\Version-3
  • HKLM\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Print\Environments\Windows x64\Drivers
  • HKLM\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Print\Environments\Windows x64\Drivers\Version-3

Restart and attempt to start the Print Spooler service (if it doesn’t start on its own).

If that doesn’t work, occasionally, the issue is with a corrupted spooler itself. In that case, you can try copying the files C:\Windows\System32\spoolss.dll and C:\Windows\System32\spoolsv.exe from a working computer of a similar OS onto a flash key, booting to external media, opening a command prompt or file system explorer, and replacing the spoolss.dll and spoolsv.exe files on the broken machine with the fresh copies.

Article ID: 203
Created: March 12, 2015
Last Updated: August 28, 2015
Author: KB Admin

Online URL: https://hdkb.clemson.edu/phpkb/article.php?id=203