Spoolsv.exe is acting up and I can't print

[msk_30339]

My mother is running WinXP SP2 on her computer with a local printer
attached. Everything worked great until a few days ago, when the
printer stopped working. (According to her, she didn't do anything
new, didn't install anything, etc). After some poking around, I found
that spoolsv.exe was using all of the local resources. I stopped the
service, cleaned out the files in the C:\Windows\System32\Spool
\Printers folder and restarted the service. The process came up with
no problems, using almost none of the CPU. But as soon as I tried to
print something, we got the same problem. The document doesn't print,
and it sits in that folder, with the service chewing up the
processor. I've tried printing from MS Word, Notepad and from a 3rd
party app (for printing forms, etc). None of them work, all result in
the same behavior. I also tried to set the properties to print
directly to the printer and bypass the spooling, but that didn't help.

Any idea what's going on? Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Thank you!

-Murali

 

[Brian A.]

My mother is running WinXP SP2 on her computer with a local printer
attached. Everything worked great until a few days ago, when the
printer stopped working. (According to her, she didn't do anything
new, didn't install anything, etc). After some poking around, I found
that spoolsv.exe was using all of the local resources. I stopped the
service, cleaned out the files in the C:\Windows\System32\Spool
\Printers folder and restarted the service. The process came up with
no problems, using almost none of the CPU. But as soon as I tried to
print something, we got the same problem. The document doesn't print,
and it sits in that folder, with the service chewing up the
processor. I've tried printing from MS Word, Notepad and from a 3rd
party app (for printing forms, etc). None of them work, all result in
the same behavior. I also tried to set the properties to print
directly to the printer and bypass the spooling, but that didn't help.

Any idea what's going on? Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Thank you!

-Murali

Click Start > Run, type in: services.msc and press Enter or click Ok.
Maximize the Services window.
Scroll down to Print Spooler, if it isn't started:
Right click on it > click Start in the popup menu or click on it once and click Start
at the top of the left pane.
Close put of Services.

If no joy:
Click Start > Run, type in: eventvwr.msc and press Enter or click Ok.
In the Left pane click on either System or Applications.
Check for any errors in the Right pane and if found double click on an error to open
a details window.
See if the details description gives any clue to the issue and follow the link if
included for a "possible" resolution.

Also see if this helps:
You experience problems printing, viewing printer icons, and adding printers, the
Print Spooler service does not function correctly, and you receive print-related
error messages on a Windows XP-based computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919750/en-us



--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[msk_30339]

Brian-

Thanks for the response. I can start and stop the Print Spooler
service with no trouble. When I start it, if there are files in the C:
\Windows\System32\Spool\Printers directory, the spoolsv.exe app starts
using 80%+ of the CPU. If there are no files there, then it sits at
0%-1%. If I try to print something, nothing comes out of the printer,
nothing of value is reported in the Event Viewer, and spoolsv.exe
starts tearing up the processor (until I stop the service and clear
the directory). Basically, I have no errors, no alerts, no nothing.
Just no documents coming out of the printer, and the service is
spiking the processor.

-M

 

[msk_30339]

Brian-

Thanks for the response. I can start and stop the Print Spooler
service with no trouble. When I start it, if there are files in the C:
\Windows\System32\Spool\Printers directory, the spoolsv.exe app starts
using 80%+ of the CPU. If there are no files there, then it sits at
0%-1%. If I try to print something, nothing comes out of the printer,
nothing of value is reported in the Event Viewer, and spoolsv.exe
starts tearing up the processor (until I stop the service and clear
the directory). Basically, I have no errors, no alerts, no nothing.
Just no documents coming out of the printer, and the service is
spiking the processor.

-M

 

[Brian A.]

Are there any pending, stalled or failed prints in queue?
Start > Settings > Printers and Faxes.
Double click the printer.

If there are click Printer > Cancel All Documents.
Close out and see if it will print.

If not and even though you state you get no errors, the print spooler may be
corrupt, try replacing it as mentioned in the link I provided in the previous
response.

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Brian A.]

BTW, Check All Printers queues, especially MS Office Document Image Writer if it's
installed, it's notorious for snatching up print jobs and holding them in queue.

If nothing helped to this point, check the system to see if Spoolsv.exe is located
anywhere else other than system32. If you find it elsewhere run a full system virus
scan with fully updated definitions, a few viruses use that file name to prevent
detection.

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Guest]

Brian-

Thanks for the response. I can start and stop the Print Spooler
service with no trouble. When I start it, if there are files in the C:
\Windows\System32\Spool\Printers directory, the spoolsv.exe app starts
using 80%+ of the CPU. If there are no files there, then it sits at
0%-1%. If I try to print something, nothing comes out of the printer,
nothing of value is reported in the Event Viewer, and spoolsv.exe
starts tearing up the processor (until I stop the service and clear
the directory). Basically, I have no errors, no alerts, no nothing.
Just no documents coming out of the printer, and the service is
spiking the processor.

-M

Can you please include the post what you are responding to,as it make easy
for anyone to follow up though your thread.

Either update the printer driver or Uninstall the software for the printer,
run disk clean up then defrag in safe mode, then go to the Printer
manufacturer and download the latest Driver for the printer.

 

[msk_30339]

There were pending docs in the queue, but nothing appeared out of the
ordinary ('stalled' or 'failed' or 'error' or anything like that. I
tried to cancel all the docs, but it didn't do anything. I had to
kill them manually. It might have deleted them eventually (since the
CPU was running at 99%, I didn't feel like waiting). I will try
replacing the print spooler. Unfortunately, I won't get to play with
the machine until Saturday, so I'm trying to gather all the
information that I can between now and then.

 

[msk_30339]

Can do. Sorry about that; I don't post often, and my nettiquite has
apparently slipped

I will add this to my list of things to try.

Thanks

-M

 

[Guest]

You are welcome, it is for your benefit and others will come after you to
read your thread, nothing against you.

 

[msk_30339]

Here's what ended up working:

1- Removing all instances of spoolsv.exe and replacing with a known
good copy (from another machine)
2- Reinstalling the printer drivers from the CD

A couple of reboots and it seems to be ok now.

Thanks again for your help, guys. Hopefully this info will be useful
to someone else at some point.

-M