How to Restart a Print Spooler on Vista

Printers can be extremely unfriendly to use. If a document is formatted incorrectly and sent to the printer, you may find that the printer sends out page after page of a document that you cannot use--and you are left without a way to quickly stop it. "Stop the Print Spooler" service in Windows Vista will quickly end a print job in the event that a document begins printing incorrectly due to poor formatting or a printer problem, then restart it so you can begin printing again.

Instructions

1. Step 1

   Hit the Windows logo and "R" keys on the keyboard simultaneously. In the window that appears, type "net stop spooler" and hit "Enter." You should receive a confirmation message stating that "The Print Spooler service was stopped successfully."

2. Step 2

   Hit the Windows logo and "R" keys again. This type, type "c:\windows\system32\spool\printers" and hit "Enter." A new window will open, showing any print jobs that are still remaining in the Print Spooler.

3. Step 3

   Click on a print job, then hit the "Ctrl" and "A" keys simultaneously to highlight all of the print jobs. Hit the "Delete" button on the keyboard to delete them, then close the window.

4. Step 4

   Hit the Windows logo and "R" keys again. Type "net start spooler" and hit "Enter." Another confirmation message should appear, this time stating that "The Print Spooler service was started successfully."

5. Step 5

   Resume printing your document.