Solved Print spooler keeps running

[whs]

My print spooler keeps running and eats 10% of my i7. There is nothing in the print queue and I have not used the printer since weeks. I shut off the service but that is not a permanent solution. What could be the cause.

 

[Anak]

You might have a corrupted print file in the printer spool folder Wolfgang.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/89483-print-spooler-queue-clear-reset.html

• Go to services and stop the spooler if it isn't already.

• Then navigate to your printer spool folder, mine is: C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS and delete anything you find in there; .shd, .shl files, there may even be a recalcitrant .spl file from a shockwave flash object, delete that also.

• Restart the spooler service and check CPU usage.

Steve

 

[whs]

As I had said, I already had cleared the print queue and stopped the service. I found a couple of files in system32 which I deleted. Will reset the service and reboot now.

Update after reboot: seems to work Anak. Thanks for the tip on the system32 folder.

 

[Anak]

You're welcome whs, I'm glad it worked for you.

• I'm not sure of the relationship between the queue and the sys32PRINTERS Folder.

• If you clear the queue does that also clear the PRINTERS Folder?

• If it is a cancelled print job, does the job wait in the PRINTERS Folder until another call? And that's how one gets corrupted files when its forgotten about?

All I do know for sure is to check the PRINTERS Folder to see if there are old files/jobs there.

whs, Thank you for the reps!


Shawn, Thanks for sliding that tutorial into my first post, I didn't think to check and see if one was there.

 

[whs]

If you clear the queue does that also clear the PRINTERS Folder?

Apparently not because I had nothing in the print queue but these 2 buggers in the spooler folder. Maybe they are from some abandoned print job. I now remember that I was experimenting with the printer from my virtual systems.

 

[Anak]

Wolfgang I wanted to post this sooner, but I was detained.

If you clear the queue does that also clear the PRINTERS Folder?

Apparently not because I had nothing in the print queue but these 2 buggers in the spooler folder. Maybe they are from some abandoned print job. I now remember that I was experimenting with the printer from my virtual systems.

Your experiment offers a clue, most if not all printer problems can be attributed to problems with drivers, from the printer itself to third-party applications that utilize their own print drivers such as a .pdf print driver.
Consider your virtual system as a third-party application, if there is an unknown problem with drivers or the setup between it and the physical printer the chances are greater you will end up with a corrupt file.
I mentioned earlier that most if not all printer problems can be attributed to problems with drivers, another good way to create a corrupted file is to incorrectly clear the printing queue.

I found this on Brite Hub:

Printer Spooler Folder
The most common location for this its C:\Windows\System32\spool (depending on your Windows installation folder). You can always access this folder by going to Start > RUN and type in "%SystemRoot%\System32\spool" or simply navigate to this folder with the Windows Explorer. Within this folder you will see a few subfolders like: PRINTERS and DRIVERS. (I am naming here only the folders that are important for us right now). The "DRIVERS" subfolder holds all the printer drivers installed on the local print server and the "PRINTERS" folder will hold all the queued print jobs.

In the "PRINTERS" subfolder you will usually see some files with the ".shd" extension os ".spl" extension. The ".shd" extension files provide information about which printer the print job was sent to and from whom the print job came. The ".spl" extension it's the drawing command sent to the printer. Each print job will usually generate 2 files each with the ".slp" and ".shd" extension.

Source: http://www.brighthub.com/computing/windows-platform/articles/105298.aspx

To correctly clear the printing queue see slide #7 of the brighthub link:

In order to delete these files we will first need to stop the print spooler service (if it's not already stopped or crashed). Go to Start > Run and type "services.msc". find the "Print Spooler" service and stop the service. Then navigate to "C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Printers" and delete all the files in this folder. By doing so you will empty the print spooler queue and delete any remaining print jobs. Try to start the "Print Spooler" service again. As an alternative you can stop the spooler service, delete the files, and start it again from the command prompt:

net stop spooler
del /q %systemroot%\system32\spool\printers\*.*
net start spooler

Related Link:
How to Print from a Windows-Based Virtual Machine in Virtual PC

 

[whs]

Thank you very much for the additional inputs. That is very helpful. I never suspected so much mystery behind a simple printer, LOL.

 

[Anak]

You're welcome, it was my pleasure.

All things considered printers can be simple, but if one variable is out of place they can be the beast that awakens.