"Spooler Subsystem App has encountered a problem and needs to close"

[ggull]

[System specs: see end of post]

SYMPTOMS:

All of a sudden I keep getting an error (in a popup window) "Spooler
Subsystem App has encountered a problem and needs to close." (and it asks to
send a report to MS).

This happened out of the blue after printing about 50 pages using
the copy utility that came with my Epson 2450 scanner. (Copying to an HP
LJ1012.)

Now I get the message whenever I try to print from any program, or else I'm
asked to select a printer but the only printer showing is the "Add
Printer"icon. (Similarly if I go to Printers & Faxes).

The "spooler subsystem..." error also just pops up for no apparent reason
when I'm doing other things not printer related. Often at or near boot, but
also seemingly at any time.

If I try to Add Printer I have various problems. Sometimes I immediately
get "Operation could not be completed. The print spooler service is not
running". Sometimes it gets partway through the Wizard, to the point where
it asks me to choose the port (LPT1, etc), but there are not ports to choose
from. (I can't reproduce this latter behavior now, so may be a bit off in
my description.)

ATTEMPTED FIXES:

I tried right clicking on My Computer, Manage, ...
... Services and Applications, Services, start the print spooler.
Looks good, but get same "Print Spooler..." error when try to print.
However, afer restarting the print spooler, at least the installed
printer drivers show up ... though they vanish after I try to select
one, leaving just the "Add Printer" icon.

Went to the article 324757
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;324757
Since I do have a Lexmark printer driver, though the Lexmark is no longer
attached, looked for LexBce following instructions in step 1, but found
nothing.
I'd rather not get into the registry if there is some workaround to try
before that step.

I did find a download from the Brother printer site
http://global.solutions.brother.com/Library/en_us/faq/faq000539_000/index.html
Tried running that, no change.

SO ......

1) Are there any other things I might try before biting the bullet and
doing the registry edit per KB324757?
-- That's going to be a big pain because ... catch-22 here ... I can't print
off the instructions to follow, nor the "what to do if it goes wrong"
instructions either. So I'll have to go down to Kinko's (or library?) to
print them, or borrow a laptop and configure it for my ISP.
-- Also, several people have reported that that fix doesn't work for them.

2) What might have caused this? What can I do to prevent this problem
recurring?

-------------------------------------------------------
Win XP HE SP2
HP laserjet 1012 printer
Still had/have drivers for a Lexmark Z32, no longer connected.
Single user system, not networked. (Except the cable ISP is a LAN.)
Have not changed anything for quite some time, and printer has been
operating stably for several months.
NAV, Ad-Aware SE Personal, Spybot
-- all updatee and run within past 2-3 days. (Clean.)
Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool -- background, auto-update.
Running the built in XP firewall ... I know, I know ... that's on my 'to do'
list.

 

[Yves Leclerc]

You "may" get problems like this if you use a HP PCL6 (PCLXL) driver.
Either:

1) Get an updated driver.

2) Use a PCL5e driver.


You will need to restart the Printer Spooler service before you can print.

[System specs: see end of post]

SYMPTOMS:

All of a sudden I keep getting an error (in a popup window) "Spooler
Subsystem App has encountered a problem and needs to close." (and it asks
to send a report to MS).

This happened out of the blue after printing about 50 pages using
the copy utility that came with my Epson 2450 scanner. (Copying to an HP
LJ1012.)

Now I get the message whenever I try to print from any program, or else
I'm asked to select a printer but the only printer showing is the "Add
Printer"icon. (Similarly if I go to Printers & Faxes).

The "spooler subsystem..." error also just pops up for no apparent reason
when I'm doing other things not printer related. Often at or near boot,
but also seemingly at any time.

If I try to Add Printer I have various problems. Sometimes I immediately
get "Operation could not be completed. The print spooler service is not
running". Sometimes it gets partway through the Wizard, to the point
where it asks me to choose the port (LPT1, etc), but there are not ports
to choose from. (I can't reproduce this latter behavior now, so may be a
bit off in my description.)

ATTEMPTED FIXES:

I tried right clicking on My Computer, Manage, ...
... Services and Applications, Services, start the print spooler.
Looks good, but get same "Print Spooler..." error when try to print.
However, afer restarting the print spooler, at least the installed
printer drivers show up ... though they vanish after I try to select
one, leaving just the "Add Printer" icon.

Went to the article 324757
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;324757
Since I do have a Lexmark printer driver, though the Lexmark is no longer
attached, looked for LexBce following instructions in step 1, but found
nothing.
I'd rather not get into the registry if there is some workaround to try
before that step.

I did find a download from the Brother printer site

http://global.solutions.brother.com/Library/en_us/faq/faq000539_000/index.html
Tried running that, no change.

SO ......

1) Are there any other things I might try before biting the bullet and
doing the registry edit per KB324757?
-- That's going to be a big pain because ... catch-22 here ... I can't
print off the instructions to follow, nor the "what to do if it goes
wrong" instructions either. So I'll have to go down to Kinko's (or
library?) to print them, or borrow a laptop and configure it for my ISP.
-- Also, several people have reported that that fix doesn't work for them.

2) What might have caused this? What can I do to prevent this problem
recurring?

-------------------------------------------------------
Win XP HE SP2
HP laserjet 1012 printer
Still had/have drivers for a Lexmark Z32, no longer connected.
Single user system, not networked. (Except the cable ISP is a LAN.)
Have not changed anything for quite some time, and printer has been
operating stably for several months.
NAV, Ad-Aware SE Personal, Spybot
-- all updatee and run within past 2-3 days. (Clean.)
Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool -- background, auto-update.
Running the built in XP firewall ... I know, I know ... that's on my 'to
do' list.

 

[ggull]

Thanks, Yves. I'm not sure what driver I had installed -- as I said, if I
go to "Printers and Faxes" all I see is the "Add Printer" icon. Unless you
can suggest another way to see what is there?

But I will try to reinstall the driver ... or an update ... and restart the
printer spooler and see what happens. (As I recall, I didn't have to go
through "Add Printer" to install the HP driver; as I also noted, Add Printer
leads to a dead end.)

You "may" get problems like this if you use a HP PCL6 (PCLXL) driver.
Either:

1) Get an updated driver.

2) Use a PCL5e driver.


You will need to restart the Printer Spooler service before you can print.

[System specs: see end of post]

SYMPTOMS:

All of a sudden I keep getting an error (in a popup window) "Spooler
Subsystem App has encountered a problem and needs to close." (and it asks
to send a report to MS).

This happened out of the blue after printing about 50 pages using
the copy utility that came with my Epson 2450 scanner. (Copying to an
HP LJ1012.)

Now I get the message whenever I try to print from any program, or else
I'm asked to select a printer but the only printer showing is the "Add
Printer"icon. (Similarly if I go to Printers & Faxes).

The "spooler subsystem..." error also just pops up for no apparent reason
when I'm doing other things not printer related. Often at or near boot,
but also seemingly at any time.

If I try to Add Printer I have various problems. Sometimes I immediately
get "Operation could not be completed. The print spooler service is not
running". Sometimes it gets partway through the Wizard, to the point
where it asks me to choose the port (LPT1, etc), but there are not ports
to choose from. (I can't reproduce this latter behavior now, so may be a
bit off in my description.)

ATTEMPTED FIXES:

I tried right clicking on My Computer, Manage, ...
... Services and Applications, Services, start the print spooler.
Looks good, but get same "Print Spooler..." error when try to print.
However, afer restarting the print spooler, at least the installed
printer drivers show up ... though they vanish after I try to select
one, leaving just the "Add Printer" icon.

Went to the article 324757
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;324757
Since I do have a Lexmark printer driver, though the Lexmark is no longer
attached, looked for LexBce following instructions in step 1, but found
nothing.
I'd rather not get into the registry if there is some workaround to try
before that step.

I did find a download from the Brother printer site

http://global.solutions.brother.com/Library/en_us/faq/faq000539_000/index.html
Tried running that, no change.

SO ......

1) Are there any other things I might try before biting the bullet and
doing the registry edit per KB324757?
-- That's going to be a big pain because ... catch-22 here ... I can't
print off the instructions to follow, nor the "what to do if it goes
wrong" instructions either. So I'll have to go down to Kinko's (or
library?) to print them, or borrow a laptop and configure it for my ISP.
-- Also, several people have reported that that fix doesn't work for
them.

2) What might have caused this? What can I do to prevent this problem
recurring?

-------------------------------------------------------
Win XP HE SP2
HP laserjet 1012 printer
Still had/have drivers for a Lexmark Z32, no longer connected.
Single user system, not networked. (Except the cable ISP is a LAN.)
Have not changed anything for quite some time, and printer has been
operating stably for several months.
NAV, Ad-Aware SE Personal, Spybot
-- all updatee and run within past 2-3 days. (Clean.)
Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool -- background, auto-update.
Running the built in XP firewall ... I know, I know ... that's on my 'to
do' list.

 

[ggull]

Thanks for the tip -- at least it set me in the right direction.

It was either
(a) a simple matter of uninstalling and re-installing the printer
driver/software.
I did this with the install CD that came with the printer (HP LJ 1012)
or (b) a loose USB cable ... part of the install requires the printer to be
connected midway through, and in disconnecting the cable I noticed it came
out very easily, as if not fully set in. Unfortunately, I had already
uninstalled the driver, so couldn't check to see if just reseating the cable
would have fixed it..

I hadn't tried this because the symptoms all pointed to the Printer Spooler,
not the printer driver or hardware. Plus, none of the dozens of links I
checked in trying to debug this mentioned anything like it.

By the way, if I wanted to check whether it's the PCL6(PCLXL) drivier that
I've got, how would I go about doing this? Under Computer Management /
Device Manager, what I find is maybe more the USB driver than the actual
printer driver -- hp Laser Jet 1012 (DOT4) and when I show properties on
that, it basically repeats that info. Nothing at all like PCLxxx.
Likewise, right-clicking and showing properties on the HP in Printers and
Faxes just shows "Driver 5.60.2629.0", again nothing like PCLxxx.

Anyway, it's working again. Hopefully this can be of some help to the next
person who gets this apparently non-uncommon error message.
--- check the connection!
--- uninstall/reinstall the driver

You "may" get problems like this if you use a HP PCL6 (PCLXL) driver.
Either:

1) Get an updated driver.

2) Use a PCL5e driver.

You will need to restart the Printer Spooler service before you can print.

[System specs: see end of post]

SYMPTOMS:

All of a sudden I keep getting an error (in a popup window) "Spooler
Subsystem App has encountered a problem and needs to close." (and it asks
to send a report to MS).

This happened out of the blue after printing about 50 pages using
the copy utility that came with my Epson 2450 scanner. (Copying to an
HP LJ1012.)

Now I get the message whenever I try to print from any program, or else
I'm asked to select a printer but the only printer showing is the "Add
Printer"icon. (Similarly if I go to Printers & Faxes).

The "spooler subsystem..." error also just pops up for no apparent reason
when I'm doing other things not printer related. Often at or near boot,
but also seemingly at any time.

If I try to Add Printer I have various problems. Sometimes I immediately
get "Operation could not be completed. The print spooler service is not
running". Sometimes it gets partway through the Wizard, to the point
where it asks me to choose the port (LPT1, etc), but there are not ports
to choose from. (I can't reproduce this latter behavior now, so may be a
bit off in my description.)

<snip the rest -- get from earlier in thread if you really want it>