Clearing the Print Queue in Windows: A Step-by-Step Guide
Introduction:
Occasionally, users encounter issues with their printers, such as stalled print jobs or an unresponsive printer. One effective troubleshooting step is to clear the print queue. This process involves ending the Windows Print Spooler service, deleting any stuck print jobs, and restarting the service. Below, we'll guide you through each step to effectively clear the print queue on your Windows system.
Step 1: Stop the Print Spooler Service
1 Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
2 Type "services.msc" into the Run dialog box and press Enter or click OK. This will open the Services window.
3 In the Services window, locate and right-click on the "Print Spooler" service.
4 Select "Stop" from the context menu. This action will halt the Print Spooler service, preventing it from processing any print jobs.
Step 2: Delete Print Jobs
1 Minimize the Services window and return to your desktop.
2 Open File Explorer by pressing the Windows key + E.
3 Navigate to the following directory: C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS. You may need to provide administrative permissions to access this folder.
4 Once inside the PRINTERS folder, you'll see a list of files. These files represent print jobs waiting to be printed.
5 Select all files in this folder (you can do this by pressing Ctrl + A).
6 Right-click on one of the selected files and choose "Delete" from the context menu. Confirm any prompts to permanently delete the files.
Step 3: Restart the Print Spooler Service
1 Return to the Services window (you can simply maximize the window if you minimized it earlier).
2 Right-click on the "Print Spooler" service once again.
3 This time, select "Start" from the context menu. This action will restart the Print Spooler service, allowing it to process print jobs once more.
OR a quicker way would be to create a batch script, and run that to slightly automate the process.
COPY BELOW HERE STARTING HIGHLIGHTING AT @ECHO OFF
@echo off
rem Stop the Print Spooler service
echo Stopping Print Spooler service...
net stop spooler
rem Delete print jobs
echo Deleting print jobs...
del /Q /F "%windir%\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*.*"
rem Start the Print Spooler service
echo Starting Print Spooler service...
net start spooler
echo Print queue cleared successfully.
COPY ABOVE HERE ENDING AT CLEARED SUCCESSFULLY.
To use this script:
1 Open Notepad or any text editor.
2 Paste the above script into the editor.
3 Save the file with a .bat extension, for example, clear_print_queue.bat.
4 Run the saved batch file by double-clicking on it.
This script will stop the Print Spooler service, delete all print jobs in the queue, and then start the Print Spooler service again.
Conclusion:
By following the steps outlined above, you should be able to clear the print queue on your Windows system effectively. If you encounter any issues or if the problem persists after performing these steps, consider restarting your computer and attempting the process again. If the problem persists, you may need to troubleshoot further or seek assistance from a technical support professional.