C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\SPOOL\*.* = delete!!!

[randyQ]

Is it safe to delete everything in the C:\WinNT\System32\Spool directory? I am having spooler issues that I can not resolve. I've heard that a file in that folder can become too large, causing spooler crashes. I am about to try SP3, but I would still like to know if I can delete the contents of the Spool folder.

 

[Eguy]

randyQ;

I would say no. I just looked in my C:\WinNT\System32\Spool directory and there was not one file there I would even consider deleting (mostly dll's). What is in this folder that concerns you?

Ed Please let me know if the suggestion(s) I provide are helpful to you.
Sometimes you're the windshield... Sometimes you're the bug.

 

[randyQ]

I have just been reading on M$ knowledge base that for certain situations, sometimes you can delete the files from this directory. Unfortunately, I can't find anyhting on M$ KB that matches my exact problem, so I was afraid to mess with the folder contents without consultation.

 

[JimInKS]

You should be able to delete files in:
C:\WinNT\System32\Spool\printers

The files should have funky names like 00006.spl and 00006.shd. These are the actual spool files that are being printed. Occasionally you might get a bogus file in here that will crash the print spooler. The only way to clear it is to manually delete it.

 

[butchrecon]

JimInKS is correct. If you are having spooler issues then remove the files in the winnt\system32\Spool\pritners folder. But dont remove the files and folders under spool. They are neded for printing for the most part. they can be removed to correct extreame issues. What are the spooler issues you are having? James Collins
Field Service Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.

 

[randyQ]

Last year, the spooler was causing all the programs to crash. This year, the programs are working fine, but whenever a print job is sent, the printer only gets about half a page worth of data before the spooler crashes. When I go into my Printer CPL, I can just click on the printer and the spooler crashes. The machine is a Win2000 Dell Optiplex GX110 w/128 RAM and P3 667. The only solution I have ever found was a complete format and reinstall. However, the problem always comes back after a short time.

 

[butchrecon]

Have you tried replacing the RAM? Print jobs do take memory space before printing. Faulty RAM can cause instability which leads to system crashing. Another thing could be the hard drive (swap file sapce-see RAM explanation.) James Collins
Field Service Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.

 

[randyQ]

We have the same problem on all 40 of these machines. They were doing it before the RAM upgrade, and they continued to do it after the upgrade to 128. As for the swap file, I will try that. I'll post back if it works. Thanks.

 

[THEGOAT]

I have spooler problems on a regular basis and get away with an auto restart of the spooler service on error. I usually find a message like this in the event log;-

"The timeout waiting for the performance data collection function "Spooler" in the "C:\WINNT\System32\winspool.drv" Library to finish has expired. There may be a problem with this extensible counter or the service it is collecting data from or the system may have been very busy when this call was attempted."

We get it on SP2 and SP3 Win2k PCs. Is this the kind of issues that you guys have?