How to Reset and Clean Printer Spooler on Windows 10

Are print jobs getting stuck, you are struggling with slow or failed printing, the print queue has corrupted data, or the spooler service is failing? The top solution to these and many more problems is to reset and clear the Windows 10 print spooler. 

These issues typically occur when the spooler data becomes corrupted or the service itself crashes, disrupting communication with the printer. Hence, performing a printer spooler reset and cleaning can help solve many problems. Moreover, in some cases, it even helps fix the security vulnerabilities that malware can exploit. 

Hence, in this article, we walk you through the best ways to reset and clear the Windows 10 printer spooler queue, beginning with understanding what a printer spooler is in the first place. 

What Is a Printer Spooler

Simply put, a printer spooler is an intermediary service for print jobs that creates a queue to hold and send documents to the printer one by one. It manages the print jobs, especially when more than one user is printing to a printer or the printer is slow. 

By creating a spool or queue, the printer spooler allows you to continue working without waiting for the whole printing process to complete. 

However, when print jobs get stuck, the communication between your printer and system breaks down (leading to issues like the printer not working), outdated or corrupted drivers prevent the print spooler service from working, or any glitch occurs in the print spooler, it becomes essential to reset the printer spooler and clear it. Let’s now walk through various methods of performing this action. 

How to Clear Print Spooler on Windows 10

You can reset the print spooler and clear it on your Windows 10 computer using a BAT file, Command Prompt, or by stopping and starting the print spooler in services. Below are all these methods explained in complete detail. 

Method 1: Use a BAT file to reset and clean the print spooler

A BAT or batch file is a plain text file that contains a series of commands to be performed by the cmd.exe (a command-line interpreter) in Windows to automate various tasks and repetitive processes, such as clearing the Windows 10 print spooler. Below is how to use it. 

• First, click on the Start button (Windows icon) on the taskbar, type Notepad in the on-screen search bar, and select it from the results.

• Second, copy and paste the following commands into a new text document in Notepad.

@echo off

echo Stopping the Print Spooler service…

net stop spooler

echo Deleting print spool files…

DEL /F /S /Q %systemroot%\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*

echo Starting the Print Spooler service…

net start spooler

echo Print Spooler reset and cleared.

pause

• Next, click on the File tab and then click on Save As.

• From the Save as type dropdown menu, choose All Files.

• In this step, rename the file to ResetPrintSpooler.bat (or any name you want, making sure it ends with .bat).

• Next, click on the Save button to save the newly created file.

• In this step, right-click the file you created in the previous step and select Run as administrator from the menu that appears.

• Click Yes to confirm your actions if a User Account Control (UAC) appears.

• A command prompt will now flash on your screen, quickly opening and closing to reset and clear the Windows 10 print spooler.

Also know: Printer Driver Download, Install, and Update For Windows 10, 11

Method 2: Use Command Prompt (CMD) to reset the print spooler

Command Prompt, abbreviated as CMD, is a text-based Windows interface that allows you to enter commands to execute various tasks and manage your system. Below is how to restart the print spooler with CMD. 

• In the first step, click on the Windows icon or Start button on the taskbar to access Windows search.

• Second, type Command Prompt or Cmd in the on-screen search bar and right-click on the first search result.

• Next, choose Run as administrator from the menu that appears to open an elevated Command Prompt window.

• Once the Administrator Command Prompt appears, copy and paste the following commands into the Command Prompt window one by one (press Enter after each command).

net stop spooler

DEL /F /S /Q %systemroot%\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*

net start spooler

• Lastly, exit the Command Prompt window after the above process is complete.

Method 3: Stop and start the print spooler services

You can reset the printer spooler and clear it by stopping and then starting the print spooler service. Here is how to do it. 

• First, use the Windows key+R key combination to access the Run utility.

• Second, type services.msc in the on-screen Run box and click OK.

• Once the Services window appears, scroll down to the Print Spooler service and click on it.

• Next, click on the Stop the service in the left panel of the Services window.

• In this step, open Windows File Explorer.

• Next, go to C:\Windows\System32\Spool\PRINTERS and press Enter.

• Select all items using the Control+A shortcut.

• Right-click any of the items selected in the previous step and then choose Delete from the on-screen menu.

• Lastly, navigate back to the Services window and start the print spooler to complete the process.

Also know: How to Fix Driver is Unavailable For Printer Problem in Windows 11/10

Windows 10 Print Spooler Cleared and Reset Successfully

The guide above explained various methods to reset the printer spooler and clear it on Windows 10 to solve various issues. You can reset and clean your spooler by following any of these ways, depending on your comfort and convenience. 

However, if you have other better ways of clearing the Windows 10 print spooler queue, have any confusion, questions, feedback, or suggestions about this article, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us through the comments section below.