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Fix: The Local Print Spooler Service Not Running in Windows 10

By October 23, 2019October 4th, 2020No Comments

You can face an error “The local print spooler service is not running” when trying to install a new printer, when opening the settings of the configured local printer or trying to print any file. This error may appear in Windows 10, Win 8.1 or 7.

The error message text may be slightly different depending on what you are going to do with the objects in the print spooler subsystem. For example:Windows can’t open Add printer.
The local Print Spooler service is not running. Please restart the Spooler or restart the machine.

Windows can’t open Add printer. The local Print Spooler service is not running

Windows cannot connect to the printer.
The local Print Spooler service is not running.

Windows cannot connect to the printer. The local Print Spooler service is not running

First of all, make sure if the Print Spooler service is running. If not, you can come across the error 0x000006ba.

  1. Open the Services management mmc console (services.msc);
  2. In the list of services, find Print Spooler;
  3. Make sure that the service is running (Service status: Running), and the startup type is “Automatic”;
  4. Restart the service; 
  5. If the service is not running, change its startup type and start it;
  6. On the Dependencies tab, verify that Print Spooler service depends on the following services: “Remote Procedure Control (RPC)” and “HTTP Service”. In order Print Spooler to work correctly, these services must be running. If the dependencies are not configured, you can restore them using the command: sc config spooler depend= RPCSS 

You can also check the Print Spooler service status from the command prompt using the following command:

sc query spooler

In this example, you can see that the service is running.

sc query spooler: running

If the Print Spooler service is missing or cannot be started, try to clear the print queue.Use the commands:

net stop spooler
del %systemroot%\system32\spool\printers\*.shd /F /S /Q
del %systemroot%\system32\spool\printers\*.spl /F /S /Q
net start spooler

Then delete files from the C:\windows\system32\spool\Printers folder (if the Print Spooler is stopped). Then make sure if print components are enabled in Windows 10:

  • Go to the Control Panel -> All Control Panel Items -> Programs and Features -> Turn Windows Features On or Off;
  • Find Print and Document Services in the list of features;
  • Make sure that Internet Printing ClientLPD Print Service & Windows Fax and Scan are enabled; 
  • You can try to reinstall the components: disable them, save the changes and re-enable them again.

If the “Local Print Spooler Service is not running” error appears when connecting a shared network printer from another computer, try to connect the shared printer through a local port (the printer address in the UNC format is used as the port name, for example \\PCName321\HP5000).

add a shared network printer via unc printer name

If nothing helped, start the printer troubleshooter wizard: Settings -> Update & Security -> Troubleshot -> Printer (Find and fix problems with printing) -> Run the troubleshooter.

printer troubleshooter in windows 10

Also check the integrity of system files using the commands:

SFC /scannow

and

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

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