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JamesW
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Jun 14, 2007 11:55:05 GMT
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We are currently having problems with the print spooler hanging whenever various users try to print causing the pc to hang with minimal CPU usage. The only way to resolve the issue is to stop (This will time out saying that it hasn't responded) and start the spooler. We have also noticed that we get 2 new directories in the c:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86\3 directory called 'New' and 'Old'. The 'Old' directory has a directory called '1' in it. Apart from that they are both empty. This happens with various local and networked printers set up on the pc's. We cannot see any pattern to the disruption.
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Ed K.
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Jun 14, 2007 13:51:57 GMT
Unassigned
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Hi James,
This could happen due to a loss of connectivity and can occur for any of the following reasons:
1. The printer is turned off.
2. Bad connections between printer and the computer.
3. If there are any routers or switches on the way, the wires are not securely connected.
4. Verify that the printer, routers, and switches are turned on.
5. The network cable is unplugged.
6. The printer is connected through a Virtual Private Network (VPN) that blocks access to the local network.
7. Communication between the printer and the network is interrupted.
Sometimes you could fix it by following next steps:
Locate the HP/MAC address on the Print Network Configuration page of the printer.
Restore the HP/MAC address: Start >> Printers and Faxes >> Right-click on the printer and then select Properties >> Ports tab >> Scroll to the correct port listed for the printer and verify that it has a check mark next to it (Make sure that only one correct port has a check mark next to it) >> Configure Port >> In the Printer Name or IP Address text box, type the HP/MAC address >> OK >> General tab >> Print a Test Page...
Regards :-) Ed K. |
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JamesW
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Jun 15, 2007 03:29:12 GMT
N/A: Question Author
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Ed,
Thanks for the suggestions. Our problem is that this is affecting multiple pc's going to multiple printers over a corporate network. It is not limited to one floor or any particular department. We are not experiencing any other network connectivity issues. The one thing we have seen is that it seems to affect pc's that also have a local printer installed more than pc's that only have network printers connected.
James |
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Pat Flanagan
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Jun 15, 2007 13:41:38 GMT
Unassigned
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James,
What OS are the workstations running?
Pat |
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Pat Flanagan
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Jun 15, 2007 13:43:09 GMT
Unassigned
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And, are you seeing any errors or warnings in the event logs?
If so, please post which log, event ID, and source.
Thanks,
Pat |
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JamesW
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Jun 15, 2007 15:33:46 GMT
N/A: Question Author
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Pat,
All workstations are running Windows XP SP2. We have not seen anything in the event viewer that may indicate what is causing the issue. It is as if the spooler is waiting for a responce from something.
Thanks
James |
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Pat Flanagan
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Jun 15, 2007 16:03:01 GMT
Unassigned
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James,
Thanks. I'll do a bit of digging. Slow here today, so I have some spare time.
One thought on the "The only way to resolve the issue is to stop (This will time out saying that it hasn't responded) and start the spooler" issue.
Are you perhaps using Remote Desktop Connection to stop and restart the spooler service on the affected PCs? We used to have 2 laserjet 4100s that would hang, and the only way to get them printing again was to stop and restart the spooler. Turned out we had insufficient memory in the 4100s, but that's not really relevant. We used to get the hang on stopping and on starting the spooler service also.
Our network engineer did some research on this, and it turned out that this is a known issue through RDC. Doing it directly at the console of the affected PC is necessary to stop and start it without this symptom.
I'll get back later with what I find (or don't).
Pat |
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JamesW
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Jun 15, 2007 16:12:09 GMT
N/A: Question Author
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Pat,
Thanks for doing some digging. We are drawing a blank here. We do not use RDC to stop and start the spooler. We do connect remotely via the services window on our pc's to start and stop it. Once it is started again the pc responds normally without the need for a restart. We have a mixed set of printers ranging from older 1100's up to 5500's and 5550's along with a MFD and some plotters. All the network printers are hosted on 1 main server with a few on another. The problem is not limited to the one server or any one model of printer.
Thanks
James |
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Pat Flanagan
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Jun 15, 2007 17:15:13 GMT
Unassigned
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JamesW
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Jun 16, 2007 04:49:47 GMT
N/A: Question Author
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Thanks Pat,
I don't think the users are local admins, however, it has happened once or twice to our team as well who are domain admins. I will have a proper look at the three articles when I get in to work on Monday.
Thanks for your help.
James |
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JamesW
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Jun 19, 2007 03:36:58 GMT
N/A: Question Author
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Unfortunately those articles don't seem to really apply, as the problem is not happening all the time. The problem only occurs intermittently, e.g it happened to approx 20 pc's yesterday out of approx 400 in the building, and the pc's it affects are not always the same. |
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JamesW
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Jun 20, 2007 14:39:06 GMT
N/A: Question Author
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We have now logged a call with Microsoft Support concerning this issue. |
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Dan Robinson
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Jun 20, 2007 21:18:48 GMT
Unassigned
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Check your Print DRIVERS.
The spooler is likely NOT broken but instead you have a "crappy" driver that is causing the problem.
Take a fresh machine with no printers and add the printers that a "bad" machine has 1 by 1. After each, reboot and try to print. When you start having problems, the last driver probably caused it.
Dont forget that things like Office 2003 and Adobe PDF add drivers of their own to the system.
The bad driver could very well be on your print server and when you connect to the print server, it pulls down the bad driver (or bad setting). |
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JamesW
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Jun 25, 2007 07:42:30 GMT
N/A: Question Author
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As we have Care Packs for our HP printers would it be advisable to contact HP and see if they can help as well?
Thanks |
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Pat Flanagan
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Jun 25, 2007 12:13:32 GMT
Unassigned
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bcrose623
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Aug 1, 2007 10:44:36 GMT
Unassigned
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i am also having this issue. I am running a Windows 2000 print server and my workstations are XP with SP2. I am getting random users who have there local print spooler stopped. When I look at the event view it shows that the spooler service stops after the 3 time of shutting down. There are no warning and the only error that a user would get and not all the time is the following error. Windows-Application Error "the instruction at "0x75bc7140" referenced memory at "0x000000ab". The memory could not be read". Click OK to terminate program or cancel to debug the program. but no program is debugged. I am seeing less and less of this message. |
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Din
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Aug 13, 2007 02:04:33 GMT
Unassigned
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Hi Please try removing some files from Desktop. It may help in speeding the print job.
Din |
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Heens Filip
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Apr 21, 2008 12:20:06 GMT
Unassigned
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Is the problem solve?
I'm having the same problem on some PC's in the network here.
Sometimes it works and then suddenly the printspooler crashes...
There is no "special action" needed before the crash, the printspooler just stops working... after a restart of the printserverice everything works fine again for some time... |
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nchan
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Jun 10, 2008 15:00:00 GMT
Unassigned
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Has anyone found an answer or fix for this. Searching the web comes up with people with the same problem, but never an answer or solution. We are currently have a Server 2003 R2 that works just fine, but all clients print spoolers randomly stop on XP SP2. We have tried countless drivers along with other stuff listed here, just not finding the answer.
If someone has come across the fix, i would be forever grateful for them to post it. Thanks. |
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Mike999
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Jun 11, 2008 21:53:31 GMT
Unassigned
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Did you install a HP Laserjet 4015P to your network recently? I am experiencing the same problems with anyone connecting to this new printer. I remove the printer from the computer and everything functions normally. I suspect a bad driver. |
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Frank_Visa
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Aug 21, 2008 14:59:37 GMT
Unassigned
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We found no pattern either. We actually showed a crash of the spooler in the event viewer, but after updating win32spl.dll, we are now getting random print spooler hangings, but no crashes anymore. The result is the same. No printers and the spooler must be stopped and started.
We have a ticket with MS and they also suggest (which I haven't yet done):
***PLEASE TAKE THE BACKUP OF THE KEY FIRST: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print***
1. Start Registry Editor.
2. Locate the Local Port value under the following key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\Local Port
3. Double-click the Driver subkey, and then edit the value. Change the string value to Localspl.dll, and then click OK.
4. Check the following registry key for third-party monitors. Remove any non-default monitors:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors
The default port monitors are:
AppleTalk Printing Devices (When Services for Macintosh is installed)
BJ Language Monitor
Local Port
PJL Language Monitor
Standard TCP/IP Port
USB Monitor
Windows NT Fax Monitor
** LPR Port
NOTE: Do not remove LPR Port Monitor unless advised by a Microsoft Support Professional.
5. Check the following registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers\Version-3
- Remove any non-default print monitors from each key.
- For each driver look for Monitor Entry on the right pane.
- If there is non-default print monitor, delete the VALUE DATA not the VALUE i.e. Monitor Entry.
6. Change the third-party print processor to WinPrint.
7. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
8. Double-click Printers, right-click the printer, and then click Properties.
9. On the Advanced tab, click Print Processor.
10. In the Print Processor box, click WinPrint.
11. Click OK two times.
Alternative Way to Set the Print Processor to WinPrint for all the printers: CMD > wmic printer set PrintProcessor = WinPrint (ONLY APPLIES TO WINDOWS SERVER 2003)
12. Check the following registry key for third-party print processors. Remove any non-default print processors:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Print Processors
The default print processor is:
WinPrint
To find out what printer is using the print processor, use the Microsoft Product Support Reporting Tool (MPS_REPORTS) tool to open MachineName_PRINTDRIVERS.TXT, and then search for the third-party print processor and for the queues that are using the print processor.
Support Reporting tool from the link below:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/b/b/1/bb139fcb-4aac-4fe5-a579-30b0bd915706/MPSRPT_SETUPPerf.EXE
14) Remove all the .spl, .shd and .bud files from the spooler folder: C:\Winnt\System32\Spool\Printers
15) Remove the version 2 drivers in case you donât have any windows NT machine in the network from the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows x64\Drivers\Version-2
16) Please take a 2nd chance adplus dump with the following command next time the issue occurs:
cscript adplus.vbs -crash -p PID -o ânodumponfirst c:\adplus"
After you edit the registry, restart the print spooler. To do so, start Microsoft Management Console (MMC) and add the Computer Management or the Services snap-in. Right-click Print Spooler Service, and then click Start. |
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JamesW
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Oct 20, 2008 07:58:28 GMT
N/A: Question Author
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A final update on this, eventually. We ended up getting Microsoft involved and after them trying numerous solutions, without success, we decided that the best option was to delete all our print queues, and drivers, and then recreated them using the latest drivers. This seemed to resolve the issue, ultimately, but we still did not pinpoint the cause. We did end up rolling back some of the drivers due to PCL errors with latest drivers. |
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