Printer que cloggs up - how to clear it out

[ScreeminChikin]

I have a win2k pro machine that is giving me printer fits. It will print from outlook but wont print from word, photoshop, or paint. Also, I keep finding all the stuff that wont print gets stacked up in the print que. I try to "cancel all jobs" and a couple say "deleting" but never go away. Rebooting doesnt clear it out either. How can I clear it out, and why will only certain apps print? This is a new machine (about a week old) and the printer is a new Lexmark multi-function. I worked fine until a couple days ago. It would print from any app. The scanner functions still work fine too.

 

[DRZIN]

If the printer in question came with a SIMM or DIMM you may want to check those, sounds like the printer is having a memory issue and cannot spool large files (JPEGs etc)

just an idea !

 

[DaveRS575]

Here are a few troubleshooting tips: Is this happening to just one printer or many on your network? Has this problem been ongoing or did it just start happening? If it is the only one: What kind of printer is it? Does it have the latest drivers installed? Is this a RAW port or some other? Is it using TCP/IP? Is Boot/P enabled or disabled on the printer? Can you print a test sheet from the properties page as admin?

You can terminate jobs easily by shutting of the Printer Spooler service and purging the print jobs. A "reset" rather than a power down reboot won't necessarily clear the queue. Also chek to see that the users have appropriate permissions to the spooler directory.

Let us knwo the outcome....

Dave

 

[ScreeminChikin]

there are no extra memory modules on this one. It wont even print small documents from word, but will print email messages just fine. Any idea ho to clear out that print que?

 

[ScreeminChikin]

Thanks Dave. This computer is actually a users home computer that is not connected to the network at all. Its a USB printer and it all worked fine for several days then started doing this. How do I turn off the spooler and clear out the que? I have powered down the machine & printer totally, let it sit for a bit and fire it back up, print que stays clogged up. I have tried both as local admin & regular user.

 

[DaveRS575]

If it's running Win2K go into control panel, go to administrative tools, services, and look for the "Print Spooler" service. You won't be able to print anymore jobs until the deleted ones are actually deleted (gone from the queue) Stop the service. Then restart it. (If you can't find it, you may be able to shut down the PC (full power down) to achieve the same result.

Also, try going into the printer properties and sending a test page. You may just need to re-install the drivers for the printer, or you may have a bad port or cable. You can try a different USP port to eliminate the port as being the problem. What kind of printer is it? Is anything else on the USP Daisy chain? (e.g. keyboard, mouse, external drive, backup device, etc?)

 

[DaveRS575]

Almost forgot...you can kill the process too if you need to.. The image name is "Spoolsv.exe" in task manager.

 

[ScreeminChikin]

Thanks Dave. Thats what I was looking for. I have already tried reinstalling the printer drivers and there are no other USB devices on that machine. I tried doind full power down but the jobs that would not delete were still in the queue on reboot. I will try stopping the service and clearing it out. Thanks.

 

[DaveRS575]

that should work. Surprising that the queue does not clear when you power off though. Hmmm.. You may need to go to the spooler directory and delete the temporary files there as well.. Have lokk at that too if the service stop does not work. You might need to stop the service, then delete the files as the spooler service will report them as being "in use" when you go to delete them.

Let me know how it works out for ya.

 

[ScreeminChikin]

OK, last stupid question. Where IS the spooler directory?

 

[DaveRS575]

It is usually located in c:\winnt\system32\spool
unless otherwise directed....

 

[DaveRS575]

And just so you know... the only stupid question is the one you didn't ask when you didn't know and should have...

Some people say.. There is no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid people... haha..

 

[ScreeminChikin]

Ya I know, but I kind of figure thats something I should know. But I don't so I feel stupid. Printer issues have never been my strong point though. Thanks for all the help Dave. I will let you know how I make out on it.

 

[DaveRS575]

No problem at all.. Let me know what you discover!

 

[monst]

First I would need to know if you are connected by parallel cable or network if parallel then disconnect the cable and switch of the printer this should flush the jobs out. If connected to network then just switching off should flush jobs. When printing from word or other apps check paper size this should be A4 or whatever you are loading into your printer this may be causing the jobs not to print and then queuing them in the spooler.

 

[ScreeminChikin]

Actually it is a USB printer. And turning off the printer would not flush the spooler. Even powering down the system left jobs in there that would not delete. I did get it working though. I never could get the spooler to quit clogging up so I just bypassed the spooler altogether and it works just fine.