Print Job Stuck in Queue? Here’s How to Expertly Fix It
Every printer user has had the experience of sending a command to their printer only to find the machine refusing it. Irrespective of all your efforts, the printer just won’t print. Annoyed users often ask questions like why is my print job stuck in queue? Well, there are many causes behind this problem. You may have an outdated printer driver that’s causing the print jobs to get stuck. At this time, it is also wise to see if you need a printer driver update. It is particularly so if you’ve just installed a Windows update. In this post, you’ll find answers to this problem. Use the troubleshooting techniques given to fix the document that’s stuck in the print queue.
Troubleshoot Print Jobs Stuck in Queue
Before troubleshooting the problem, clear all malware in your system. Also, clear the junk and safeguard your privacy by preserving the browser’s data collection practices. After that, follow these resolutions to deal with the situation.
Restart Your Printer
You may wonder why to restart the printer and not your computer. It’s because both your system and printer are likely to get glitches. When you find print jobs stuck in queue Windows 10, the problem lies with your printing device. So, rebooting it will remove slight issues. The process to restart depends on the printer model and brand (Epson, Canon, HP, Brother).
Generally, you only need to press and hold the power button till the printer shuts. Then press the button once more to launch it. If this does not give you the result, pull the plug away from the electric socket.
Clear Printer Queue in Windows 10
There’s a simple process to clear the printer queue in Windows 10. If you don’t follow this stepwise process, you’ll struggle with print jobs stuck in queue.
- Launch the ‘Control Panel.’
- Next, tap ‘Devices and Printers’ and choose the device with a stuck print job.
- A window with print jobs will come up. Here just choose the job you want to delete or cancel. Right-tap so that the dropdown opens and choose cancel document.
- To cancel the whole print queue, navigate to the ‘Printer‘ tab, right-tap, and opt for ‘Cancel all documents.’
Restart the Print Spooler Service
The print spooler service takes care of every print job on Windows 10 PCs. If this service is stuck, you can face printing issues, like printing jobs stuck. In such a case, restart the print spooler service. You can do so by using these points.
- Hit the keyboard shortcut of Windows + R, and input ‘services.msc.’
- Then, tap ‘OK.’
- The Windows Services Console will open.
- Go down and find the print spooler service.
- See its status.
- If it’s running, right-tap the Print Spooler Service and choose ‘Restart.’
- If the print spooler service isn’t started, you must start the service and modify its startup type to ‘Automatic.’
- Now, start your PC again and see if the problem is resolved.
End a Stuck Print Job using a Command Prompt
Apart from the method described above to start the print spooler, you can also stop and start it using the command prompt. Here are the steps to follow in order to remove the print job stuck in queue Windows 10 using the command prompt.
- Right-tap the ‘Start‘ button and hit ‘Search.’
- After that, input’ Command Prompt.’
- Right-tap Command Prompt‘ and then click ‘Run as administrator.’
- Now input ‘net stop spooler‘ and hit ‘Enter.’
- Open ‘File Explorer‘ from the taskbar.
- Tap’ Address bar‘ in its window.
- Input’ C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Printers’ and hit the ‘Enter’ button.
- Now tap and drag to highlight files.
- After that, right-tap the chosen files and click ‘Delete.’
- Input’ net start spooler‘ and hit ‘Enter.’
Reinstall the Printer Driver
If you repeatedly find all your print jobs stuck in a queue, the culprit may be a faulty or outdated driver. It’s best to update your printer driver and see if your problem is resolved. You can install the printer driver manually.
Printer manufacturers like Canon, HP, Brother, Epson, and Dell often release new printer drivers. These effectively fix technical glitches and enhance the performance of the printer. You can get the updated driver by navigating to your specific printer manufacturer’s website. go to the ‘Download‘ or ‘Support‘ section to get the latest driver and install it on your system.
Create a Batch File to use Indefinitely
You can also make a batch file and launch it when you want to troubleshoot print jobs stuck in queue. Open Notepad and follow these points.
- After opening the Notepad, add these lines to the document:
- Del percent system root percent System32spoolprinters* net stop spooler /Q /F /S
- Net Spooler start.
- After that choose ‘File‘ followed by ‘Save As.’
- Give any name to your file. But it must end in .bat.
- Select the ANSI encoding type.
- Now save the document.
Clear Print Jobs Stuck on Mac
It’s easy to cancel print jobs that are stuck in a queue on Mac. The most convenient approach is to find a printer spool and delete printing jobs from the Doc. The spool will not be visible till an active print job gets queued. So, look in the Mac Doc for the icon of the printer. Hover your cursor over the icon to see the printer’s name. Click it to open the printer utility. Now choose print jobs that you desire to remove from the queue. Tap the ‘X‘ buttons beside their name. It will cancel that job.
Final Thoughts
For regular printer users, repeatedly encountering print job stuck in queue in their specific printer model can be annoying. But now you are familiar with all the troubleshooting required for this purpose. If you need more assistance or are still unable to get your document out of the queue, it’s best to connect with professional printer support services. The experts will resolve this problem irrespective of the printer brand.