Spool.exe Printing Problem?

[iamsjn]

I'm at the end of my rope here. I keep getting this printer error:

"spoolsv.exe has generated errors and will be closed by Windows
You will need to restart the program."

If I try to add a printer (an old HP Deskjet 340), I get this message:

"Printer operation cannot continue due to lack of resources. The printer
subsystem is unavailable"

I'm running:
Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 4 on an Intel PIII 450 with 256 megs ram.

Anybody run into this spool.exe error?

[Budfred]

I think I had something like that a long time ago and "solved" it by enabling print direct to printer....

[Whyzman]

Or, it might be a damaged printer driver:

http://www.jsifaq.com/SUBJ/tip4900/rh4900.htm

[Sylvander]

SPOOLING
When an application sends a job to a printer, then the Windows GDI first converts the data into an Enhanced Meta-File [EMF] and the Windows Spooler programme [“C:\Windows\System\Spool32.exe” in my copy of Win98] “spools” or records [it was once put on a spool of tape] the EMF file to the HDD as a file with an “.emf” extension.
There must be enough “System Memory” [RAM + swap-file] available [for all the prog’s running] or some programme [perhaps the spooler by chance] cannot be given the space in memory to run.
My guess is that memory space has run short and the spooler [having no free RAM] has tried to write to a memory space reserved for another prog and has automatically been shut down by Windows.
Assuming that the spooler was functioning, then there must be enough free space on the HDD to accept the file.

Once the data has been spooled as an EMF to the HDD, the printer driver reads it and converts it into a language that the printer understands and can use to generate the printout.
This is sent to the printer’ memory store and the printer uses this data to generate the print.

CORRECTING SPECIFIC PRINTER PROBLEMS
You cannot print to a local or network printer
·Trying printing to a file.
·If you can print to a file, try copying the file to the printer port (for local printers).

To copy a file to a printer port
·At the MS-DOS prompt, type
copy /b filename lpt1: [If connected to parallel port LPT1]
The switch /b directs the system to print a binary file.

If copying the file to the printer port prints the document correctly, the problem is in the communication between Windows and the printer. Check the following (and consult your printer’s documentation as needed for further information):
·Check the printer, making sure it is plugged in, turned on, and online.
·Check the printer’s self-test program.
·Check the printer connection and printer cable.
·Check the printer configuration.

To check the printer driver in the Printers Folder.
1.Right-click the printer’s icon, click Properties, and then click Details.
2.In the Details properties, verify that the driver name is correct.
3.Click the Paper tab, and then click the “About” button. Verify that the driver version is the same as the one listed in the manual from the printer manufacturer.
·Try printing using another printer driver. For example, use the Generic/Text Only or Generic Laser Printer driver. If this works, check the driver version, and either reinstall or upgrade the driver.
Try printing from the MS-DOS command prompt to determine whether the description for the printer driver in the Registry is invalid.

To fix the Registry description for the printer driver
·Remove the current printer driver and reinstall it.
If you still cannot print, an application might be conflicting with the printer driver.

You cannot print because of an application conflict
·Try printing from a different application.
·If successful, check the failing application’s configuration, and reinstall the application if needed.
If you still cannot print, determine whether you have a spooling problem.

You cannot print because of spooler problems
To determine whether you have a spooling problem, print directly to the port.

To disable all spooling and print directly to the port
1.In the Printers Folder, right-click the printer’s icon, click Properties, and then click Details.
2.In the Details properties, click Spool Settings.
3.In the Spool Settings dialog box, click Print Directly To the Printer.
If you can print there is a spooling problem; do the following to correct it:
·Use scandisk to check disk integrity and disk space.
·Disable EMF spooling and enable RAW spooling, as described below, and then retry printing.
EMF spooling is enabled by default for all non-PostScript printers.

To disable EMF spooling in the Printers Folder
1.Right-click the printer icon, and then click Properties.
2.Click the Detail tab, and then click Spool Settings.
3.In the Spool Settings dialog box, select RAW in the Spool Data Format list, and then click OK.

To troubleshoot a computer that stalls while printing to a local printer
1.Start the computer in Safe Mode, and then retry printing.
2.Check the printer driver version and reinstall the printer driver if needed.
3.Check the video driver, and reinstall the video driver if needed.
4.Check for adequate free disk space on the TEMP drive.
5.Delete residual spool files, and then retry printing. (See “To Clear Residual Spool Files” below.)

To clear residual spool files
1.Delete spool jobs by deleting .SPL files in the Windows\SPOOL\PRINTERS directory.
For RAW print jobs, .SPL files contain the actual printer data. For EMF print jobs, the .SPL files contain a list of EMFs that reside in the TEMP directory.
2.Check the TEMP directory and delete all .TMP files. All EMFs have filenames similar to EMFxxxxx.TMP.
3.Shut down and restart the computer, and then try printing again. Windows cleans up corrupted .SPL files and their corresponding EMFs when you restart the computer.

[DaPunisher]

You can also try to stop and restart the Spooler service.

Right Click "MY Computer"

Click "Manage"

Expand "Services and Applications"

Click on Services

Click on Print Spooler

Click "Stop" (wait for it to stop)

Then click START

This can also clear up problems like files in que that won't delete.

I hope this helps ;)