The printer queue feature of a printer is one innovation that has entirely revolutionized printing. With this feature, users will only need to forward print jobs and no longer wait in line literally.
Print jobs are lined by the printer firmware automatically and print documents one after the other. However, print jobs vary in complexity, so that if the printer infrastructure cannot cope up the printer crashes and stops printing. All print jobs in the printer queue stuck and productivity suffers.
To resume printing, the user must clear the queue first, like giving the printer a fresh new start. But, how to clear printer queue is a simple process but follows certain protocols. This setup is applicable if the system is served by Windows which is not specific but practically all Windows OS;
- To clear the printer queue, proceed to Start, Control Panel and look for the Administrative Tools, then double click on the Services icon.
- While in it scroll down to the Print Spooler service, right click on it and tap Stop. You need to logged in as Administrator to avail of the Print Spooler service. Take note that during this process, no one will be able to print anything on any of the printers hosted by this particular server.
- The next step is to enter the following directory C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\PRINTERS. Or type %windir%\System32\spool\PRINTERS into the address bar in Explorer that is if the C Drive is not the default Windows partition. And delete all the files in this folder.
- After all the files have been cleared, return to the Services Console, right click and choose Start for the Print Spooler Service.
After which, printing can now commence without any problem.
If you are doing printer queue stuck clearing process on a server, be certain that there are no other print jobs processed in line for any other printers on the server since doing so will also delete those print jobs.
That’s about it be ready when faced on how to clear printer queue, remember the process is simple and easy to execute.
