what does print spooler service not running mean?can't print..

margo2you

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Dec 14, 2007, 11:51:01 AM12/14/07

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Jay Freedman

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Dec 14, 2007, 12:16:36 PM12/14/07

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The message means exactly what it says, but in geek-speak. :-) Here's a
translation:

There is a program called the Print Spooler service. It's part of Windows,
and it's supposed to start automatically whenever you start Windows. Most of
the time it just sits in memory, doing nothing. When you click the Print
command in any program, the bits that need to be sent to the printer are
first sent to the Print Spooler program, which saves them in a temporary
file on disk and then sends them a few at a time to the printer (which is
comparatively slow and doesn't have enough memory of its own for a big
document).

The message is saying that the service isn't running. There could be many
reasons for that, and some of them are fairly serious while others are just
temporary.

The first thing to try is to reboot the computer and print the document
again. If the service started properly on the reboot, then the problem is
solved.

If that doesn't work, do this:

- Right-click the My Computer icon and choose Manage. In the Computer
Management window, double-click "Services and Applications" and then
single-click "Services" under that.
- Scroll the right-hand window to find Print Spooler. Right-click it and
choose Start.

If it starts (and a message box will tell you the start was successful),
then print the document. If it doesn't start, a message box may tell you why
it failed. If that "reason" isn't helpful, then in the Computer Management
dialog double-click the Event Viewer icon. Click the System item under that,
and look for an error item at the proper time; double-click it to read its
description. From there, you can Google the description or post a question
in a Windows newsgroup.

As a temporary workaround, you can tell Windows to bypass the spooler. Go to
Start menu > Settings > Printers & Faxes. Right-click your printer's icon
and choose Properties. In the Properties dialog, click the Advanced tab.
Choose the option button for "Print directly to the printer" and click OK.
The drawback of this is that you won't be able to edit in Word while the
document is printing.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

Rlummis

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Mar 28, 2008, 10:38:01 PM3/28/08

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> As a temporary workaround, you can tell Windows to bypass the spooler. Go to
> Start menu > Settings > Printers & Faxes. Right-click your printer's icon
> and choose Properties. In the Properties dialog, click the Advanced tab.
> Choose the option button for "Print directly to the printer" and click OK.
> The drawback of this is that you won't be able to edit in Word while the
> document is printing.

This doesn't work, since when you try to change the printer properties, you
get a message that the print spooler isn't running, which is your problem to
start with.

I have tried uninstalling and re-installing the printer drivers, rebooting,
etc. until I am sick of it, and it appears that this is a flaw inherent to
Vista. How, after a year and SP1, can you have an operating system that is
incapable of background printing? Also, when you type "print spooler" into
the "help and support" box, there is no reference to these problems.

Mary Sauer

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Mar 29, 2008, 6:05:21 AM3/29/08

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Control panel, Administrative Tools, Services, Print Spooler, is it started?

--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

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Rlummis

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Mar 29, 2008, 9:57:01 AM3/29/08

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> Control panel, Administrative Tools, Services, Print Spooler, is it started?
>

Yes, it is. It is set to Automatic. But when you try to print, you go
through the standard printer dialog boxes and then it crashes. The message is
"Spooler SubSystem App stopped working and was closed."

I am running Windows Vista Ultimate fully updated through SP1 and trying to
print to an OKI C5200n printer on a network. I have tried a couple of
different versions of the OKI driver. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks,

Richard Lummis

Mary Sauer

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Mar 29, 2008, 2:21:31 PM3/29/08

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There are several forums around that talk about your error.

http://www.smartcontent.info/frogpad/How-to-solve-Spooler-SubSystem.htm
http://www.computerperformance.co.uk/vista/vista_printer_install_problem.htm#Spooler_SubSystem_App_stopped_working_and_was_closed
Scroll down on this one, poster claims a solution
http://microsoft-personal-operating-systems.hostweb.com/TopicMessages/microsoft.public.windows.vista.general/2051678/1/Default.aspx

--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

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Rlummis

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Mar 29, 2008, 7:47:00 PM3/29/08

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> Scroll down on this one, poster claims a solution

Doesn't work for me. I followed his directions (basically, delete all
printer drivers from the registry and re-install) and still have the same
problem.

Mary Sauer

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Mar 30, 2008, 5:16:39 AM3/30/08

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An update is available that improves the compatibility and reliability of
Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938194/en-us

Changes to a printer's device configuration are not applied until the computer
restarts or the Print Spooler service restarts in Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933454/en-us

--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

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