A software program in Microsoft Windows that’s responsible for managing all print jobs getting sent to the computer printer or print server. The print spooler program allows a user to delete a print job being processed or otherwise manage the print jobs currently waiting to be printed.

How to restart the print spooler service

If a computer is having difficulty sending a print job to a printer, the problem may be the print spooler service. If the print spooler service is not running or is hung, you can restart it by following the steps below.

  • Open the Windows Task Manager.
  • In the Task Manager window, click the Services tab.
  • Click the Description column header to sort the list of services by description.
  • Scroll down and find the Print Spooler service in the Description column. This service is named Spooler in the Name column.
  • Right-click the Print Spooler service and select Restart in the pop-up menu.

Once the Print Spooler service is restarted, try printing a document or picture to see if the computer can send the print job to the printer.

Print buffer, Printer terms, Spool, Spooling

  • How to access the print queue.
  • How to fix spool 32 printer error.
  • Printer help and support.