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Print Spooler Not Running in Windows 11
The Windows Print Spooler manages print jobs. When it stops or hangs, jobs can remain stuck and printers can become unresponsive from Windows.
Start hereRestarting the Print Spooler is a Microsoft-documented first step; manually clearing the spool folder is a later step when the queue will not clear normally.
What to check
Step 1
Open Services.
Press Windows+R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
Step 2
Find Print Spooler.
Right-click it and choose Restart. If it is stopped, choose Start.
Step 3
Retest with a small print job.
If the spooler immediately stops again, that is different from a one-time stuck queue and deserves further driver/service investigation.
Step 4
If queued jobs cannot clear, use Microsoft's queue-clear procedure.
Stop the spooler, clear the contents of the spool PRINTERS folder, and start the service again.
Verified sources
Microsoft — Fix print spooler service not running errors in Windows ↗Microsoft — Fix print job stuck in queue errors ↗
Printer Triage is an independent troubleshooting reference and is not affiliated with Microsoft or printer manufacturers. Use the exact model's manufacturer documentation when instructions differ.