Print spooler
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,315
Likes: 10
From: France
Print spooler
Question from an ancient (very ancient!).
Currently a bog-standard PC running Windows XP.
A few weeks ago, without any other symptom, my print spooler has suddenly given up the ghost. No print from Word, or browser, or whatever.
(NOT the printer driver, but the spooler itself, according to the error messages!)
Is there a 'quick-and-dirty' method to re-activate the spooler?
Just counting on all of you, before having a long and laborious session with "Help" and the install CD, etc.
CJ
Currently a bog-standard PC running Windows XP.
A few weeks ago, without any other symptom, my print spooler has suddenly given up the ghost. No print from Word, or browser, or whatever.
(NOT the printer driver, but the spooler itself, according to the error messages!)
Is there a 'quick-and-dirty' method to re-activate the spooler?
Just counting on all of you, before having a long and laborious session with "Help" and the install CD, etc.
CJ
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Aviation Qualifications: PPL
Posts: 8,121
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From: Twickenham, home of rugby
You can check the System event log to see if there's anything there, also check the services to see if the Print Spooler service (C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe) has started, and if the service it is dependent on (RPC) has also started.
Check that the C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe file is present and correct - if it has been corrupted, there's a good copy in C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles\i386.
Check to see if there is anything in the
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\PRINTERS folder.
If there is, delete it.
If that doesn't help, there's always google!
SD
Check that the C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe file is present and correct - if it has been corrupted, there's a good copy in C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles\i386.
Check to see if there is anything in the
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\PRINTERS folder.
If there is, delete it.
If that doesn't help, there's always google!
SD
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,315
Likes: 10
From: France
XP for dummies... How do I check the system event log, and how do I check the services...?
Nothing in the C
WINDOWS\system32\spool\PRINTERS folder.Using a totally basic command line command > lpt1 works, but I expect that bypasses the spooler.
CJ
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Aviation Qualifications: PPL
Posts: 8,121
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From: Twickenham, home of rugby
Using a totally basic command line command > lpt1 works, but I expect that bypasses the spooler.
It does bypass the Windows printer driver, though, which would explain why you can print direct to the parallel port but not from Windows applications.
Remove and re-install the printer driver.
SD
Per Ardua ad Astraeus
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 18,575
Likes: 4
From: UK
Originally Posted by CJ
How do I check the system event log, and how do I check the services...?
1) Then System Tools/Event Viewer/System and then
2) Services and Apps/Services
have fun!
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,315
Likes: 10
From: France
SD and BOAC,
Many thanks to both of you!
SD, re-installing the printer driver (an HP) didn't work, it still called for the Windows spooler itself.
My command line command was "echo hello ctrl-L dir > LPT1", so that would have written straight to the port and bypassed everything.
BOAC, thanks to your instructions I found the right spots in the wilderness, and they seemed to indicate that spoolsv.exe had indeed been corrupted.
Since I had doubts about the 'how' (hence about what elsee might have been corrupted at the same time), I just went the whole hog, and re-installed XP.
That did the trick.
Cheers!
CJ
Many thanks to both of you!
SD, re-installing the printer driver (an HP) didn't work, it still called for the Windows spooler itself.
My command line command was "echo hello ctrl-L dir > LPT1", so that would have written straight to the port and bypassed everything.
BOAC, thanks to your instructions I found the right spots in the wilderness, and they seemed to indicate that spoolsv.exe had indeed been corrupted.
Since I had doubts about the 'how' (hence about what elsee might have been corrupted at the same time), I just went the whole hog, and re-installed XP.
That did the trick.
Cheers!
CJ
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 10,804
Likes: 1
Proberly the best plan reinstalling the whole lot if you feel the urge.
I spent a week resetting windoze printer Q's spoolers after some knob transferred them off a 2.11 bindary novell server with an up time of 2 years!!!
It took me a week to find it on a pre rollout audit. Found at the back of a cleaning closet raw bolted to the wall with zero ventilation and quite happily having 50 odd Q's and 1500 users hanging off a 486. The replacement windows option was 2 servers each costing 10k plus and gawd knows how much in licensing costs.
I spent a week resetting windoze printer Q's spoolers after some knob transferred them off a 2.11 bindary novell server with an up time of 2 years!!!
It took me a week to find it on a pre rollout audit. Found at the back of a cleaning closet raw bolted to the wall with zero ventilation and quite happily having 50 odd Q's and 1500 users hanging off a 486. The replacement windows option was 2 servers each costing 10k plus and gawd knows how much in licensing costs.
I loved working with 3.12! 
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 10,804
Likes: 1
2.11 if i remember rightly was a bit of a tw@t.
I just remember lots of blue screens with block text and hitting the tab key alot.
But you couldn't complain though. After it was setup it just kept on chugging away using next to no system resources.
You could add an extra 5 quid an hour on your rate for pretending you knew what you were doing with it as well.
I just remember lots of blue screens with block text and hitting the tab key alot.
But you couldn't complain though. After it was setup it just kept on chugging away using next to no system resources.
You could add an extra 5 quid an hour on your rate for pretending you knew what you were doing with it as well.
