If you have ever used a printer, either at work or at home, it is very possible that you have come across the so-called print queue in the Windows services tray (specifically, in the icon that opens preferences and options of this device). Although it is also possible that at some point you have wondered what it consists of.
Basically a print queue is a list of printer output jobs , which are held in a reserved memory area. Provides information about the most current status of all print jobs, not only active, but also pending.
And it offers the user the possibility to control the different operations of the print queue, such as causing certain jobs, pausing them or resuming them in case of some kind of incident (such as, for example, a jammed paper or a missing from ink).
However, sometimes it may not work as we would like. And truth be told, it can end up giving you quite a bit of trouble. Which brings us to the next question: what to do when we see some related error message? The truth is that it is possible to fix it, and also easily. We explain how.
Changing the properties of the print queue
We must start by accessing the properties of the print queue of our printer . Although it is true that it is not possible to solve all problems just by changing or modifying options, it is a good place where we should always start.
Access by pressing the Windows key + R on the keyboard. In this way we will open the Run dialog box. We must write ‘services.msc’ and press the Enter key. Then we must click on Print Queue. This tool can also be accessed from Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services, and finally Print Queue.
Now we must click on the Stop and Start button. Of course, it is advisable to keep the window open, since we may have to carry out some more changes.
We can configure this option to start automatically, in such a way that the print queue will start every time our computer does it, so that no incoming print job will be lost. To achieve this, we just have to click on Startup type and select Automatic . Then we press Apply , so that the changes are saved.
It is also possible, and recommended, to modify the different recovery options that exist. We just have to click on the Recovery tab, and change the configuration opting to restart the service both in the first and second error, and specify not to perform any action for the option of subsequent failures. It is also recommended to reset the error count after 1 day, and restart the service after 1 minute. Finally, click on Apply , so that all the changes made are saved again.
Another option is to restart and try again , which means that we can try to print the document we want again. We may need to close this benefit and / or restart the computer, especially when it comes to getting the changes to take effect.
Restoring the default state of the printer
When the previous option has not fully worked, it is advisable to continue with the next step. This time we must delete the print queue . In fact, this often tends to fix the problem on its own. To do this, we must access the Services option, through the Windows key + R, type ‘services.msc’ and press Enter.
We select Print Spoller and click the Stop icon (if it is not stopped yet). Now we must go to ‘C: Windows system32 spool PRINTERS’, and open this file. We may need to log in with an administrator password, or show hidden files.
We proceed to eliminate all the content present in the folder , which will eliminate all the current printing blocks. We go back to the Services window, select Print queue and click Start.
