The Print Spooler is software built into the Windows operating system that temporarily stores print jobs in the computer’s memory until the printer is ready to print them. This service spools print jobs and handle interactions with the printer. If you turn off this service, you won’t be able to print or see your printers.
In some circumstances, you may need to stop and/or restart the service. In this post, we will show you three ways to enable or disable Print Spooler Service on Windows 11/10.
Enable or Disable Print Spooler Service
You can enable or disable print Spooler Service on Windows 11/10:
- Via Services
- Via Command Prompt
- Via System Configuration
Let’s see the description of each of the methods.
1] Enable or disable the Print Spooler Service via Services
Do the following:
- Press Windows key + R to invoke the Run dialog.
- In the Run dialog box, type
services.mscand hit Enter to open Services. - In the Services window, scroll and locate the Print Spooler service.
- Double-click on the entry to open its properties window.
- In the properties window, on the General tab, move to the second section titled Service status section and click the Start button in order to enable the service.
- To disable this specific service, click the Stop button.
Related: Print Spooler Service keeps stopping automatically
2] Enable or disable the Print Spooler Service via Command Prompt
Do the following:
- Invoke the Run dialog.
- In the Run dialog box, type
cmdand then press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER to open Command Prompt in admin/elevated mode. - In the command prompt window, type the command below and hit Enter to enable the Print Spooler service.
net start spooler
- To disable the service, type the command below and hit Enter.
net stop spooler
You can now exit CMD prompt.
3] Enable or disable the Print Spooler Service via System Configuration
Do the following:
- Invoke the Run dialog.
- In the Run dialog box, type
msconfigand hit Enter to open System Configuration utility. - In the launched console, switch to the Services tab, the middle one, and locate the Print Spooler service.
- To enable Print Spooler service, check the box, and then click the Apply button.
- To disable Print Spooler service, uncheck the box and then click the Apply button.
A reboot of the machine is very necessary for this method because the changes will be accomplished accurately after rebooting.
How do I enable Print Spooler?
You can enable Print Spoler via the Services Manager app in Windows 11/10. The Services Manager app let users manage Microsoft and third-party services. You can start and stop services via the Services Manager app. If the Print Spooler Service is stopped or not running on your system, you will not be able to use your printer. To enable or start Print Spooler Service, open the Services Manager app and locate Print Spooler. Once you find it, right-click on it and select Start. We have explained different ways to enable and disable Print Spooler Service on Windows 11/10 in this article.
What happens if I disable Print Spooler?
Print Spooler is responsible for managing the print jobs sent from your system to the printer. If you disable the Print Spooler Service, you will not be able to carry out print jobs on your system. Sometimes, you may have to disable Print Spooler. For example, if your printer is not working properly or Windows is displaying an error message while printing. In this case, clearing the print queue may help. But for this, first, you have to disable Print Spooler, then clear the print queue, and then start the Print Spooler again.
Where can I find Print Spooler?
You will find the Print Spooler service in the Services Manager app. Open the Services Manager app and scroll down to locate the Print Spooler service. Here, you can manage it by starting, stopping, or disabling it. You can also change its Startup Type (Automatic or Manual).
That’s it!
This post will be helpful if The Print Spooler Service is not running on your computer.
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