Printing guide
Print Queue Stuck: Clearing Jobs on Windows Workstations and Print Servers
One stalled job can stop an entire queue, and on a print server that means the whole office stops printing. Clearing it is routine. Preventing it from recurring usually means dealing with the driver that caused it.
Step-by-step
Cancel the job from the queue
Open the printer's queue, right-click the stuck job and choose Cancel, or use Printer → Cancel All Documents. On a print server, do this in Print Management or the server's queue, not on a client computer.
Restart the Print Spooler service
If jobs remain listed as Deleting, open
services.msc, locate Print Spooler and restart it. On a print server, warn users first; restarting the spooler briefly interrupts every queue on that server.Remove stranded spool files
If jobs persist after a restart, stop the Print Spooler service, delete the files in
%SystemRoot%\System32\spool\PRINTERS, and start the service again. Remove only the contents of that folder, never the folder itself. This permanently discards all pending jobs, so tell users to resend anything they need.Identify the problem driver
If the spooler crashes or queues jam repeatedly, check the System event log for spooler errors that name a driver or printer. In Print Management, a frequently failing driver can be set to run in isolation so that it no longer takes down the whole spooler.
Standardize drivers
Mixing drivers for the same device across queues and clients is a common source of instability. Use one current, manufacturer-supplied driver version per model, and remove old drivers that are no longer in use.
Driver installation and security
Since the PrintNightmare security updates in 2021, Windows by default requires administrator rights to install printer drivers through Point and Print. Users who previously added printers themselves may now see prompts or failures. The correct response is to deploy printers and their drivers centrally, through Group Policy, Intune or your print management tool, rather than to relax this protection.
When to escalate
Escalate if the spooler on a print server crashes repeatedly, if event logs show a driver failing after updates, or if users across the office cannot add printers. These are configuration issues that should be fixed once, centrally.