Do you need to delete a printer with a stuck print job? Here is a quick and simple solution to do so.
Hardware
1. To avoid any conflict with the computer, turn off the printing device before moving to the software procedures. If this is a shared printer, it is a good idea to warn other users of your intentions since their incoming print jobs will have no where to go until the printer is installed and shared once more from the computer.
Software
1. Right click Computer from the Start Menu or My Computer on your desktop.
2. Click on Manage and wait for the Computer Management window.
3. In the resulting window, expand Services and Applications, then click on Services.
4. Scroll down the resulting list to find Print Spooler.
5. Right click on Print Spooler and click on Properties.
6. The Print Spooler Properties window will open.
7. Click on Stop to stop the print spooler and leave the window open.
8. Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the folder c:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS or click on Start then Run and then enter c:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS as the item to run.
9. Next, delete all the files (.shd, .spl and .tmp files) in the folder.
10. Next, close Windows Explorer and return to the Printer Spooler Properties dialog and click on Start.
11. While the spooler is restarting, turn on the printer.
12. You can now delete the printer that had the stuck print job from your computer.
Note: If the OS will install incorrect drivers, leave it off until the correct drivers are installed from the manufacturer’s website or media provided with the printer.
Stephan Pringle
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