Fix ERROR_STOPPED_ON_SYMLINK (0x000002A9) on Windows printers

What stops your printer install cold

You plug in a printer, Windows starts installing, and then you get hit with ERROR_STOPPED_ON_SYMLINK (0x000002A9). The message says something about a symbolic link. Most people panic and think they broke Windows. You haven't.

This error happens when Windows tries to load printer driver files and hits a shortcut — a symbolic link — that points to a file or folder that doesn't exist anymore. It's like leaving a fork in the road that leads to a cliff. The system stops dead because it can't follow where the link goes.

I've seen this most often after someone manually deleted printer driver folders from C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers or after an old printer software uninstall left junk behind. It can also show up if you've got leftover driver packages from a failed Windows Update.

Below I'll walk you through the three most common causes and how to fix each one. Start with the first fix — that's what works nine times out of ten. Only move to the second or third if you still get the error.

Cause 1: Broken symlink in the driver store (most common fix)

The most common trigger is a symbolic link inside C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\x64\3 or the corresponding 32-bit folder that points to a file that's been deleted. The driver store has a folder for each architecture (x64, x86) and version (3 is the most common). In there, you'll sometimes find .lnk shortcut files that aren't real files — they're symlinks Windows uses for backward compatibility. When those links break, the install stops.

Step-by-step fix

1. Open File Explorer as admin. Press Windows key + X, then click Windows Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin). If you use File Explorer, right-click the Start button and choose File Explorer, then right-click it in the taskbar and choose Run as administrator.
2. Browse to the driver folder. In the address bar of File Explorer, paste this path and press Enter:
   C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\x64\3
3. Check for symlinks. Look for any file icons that have a shortcut arrow overlay. These are symbolic links. Common culprits are files named something like UNIDRV.DLL or PSCRIPT5.DLL — but they'll have the shortcut arrow.
4. Delete the broken symlink. Right-click each symlink file that shows the shortcut arrow and choose Delete. Important: Only delete files that have the shortcut overlay. Don't delete normal DLL files. If you're unsure, skip it.
5. Also check the WOW64 folder. If you're on a 64-bit system, also check this path for the same broken symlinks:
   C:\Windows\SysWOW64\spool\drivers\x64\3
6. Restart the Print Spooler. Press Windows key + R, type services.msc, press Enter. Find Print Spooler, right-click it, choose Restart. After the restart, the service should show Running.
7. Try installing your printer again. Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners. Click Add device. If it works, you're done.

What you should see: After deleting the symlink and restarting the spooler, the printer install should proceed without the 0x000002A9 error. If you still get the error, move to Cause 2.

Cause 2: Corrupted or leftover driver package in Driver Store

Sometimes Windows keeps a backup copy of the driver in a staging area called the driver store. If that copy has broken symlinks inside its own package, the install fails before even copying files to the print spooler folder. This happens after a failed Windows Update or a botched driver uninstall.

Step-by-step fix

1. Open an elevated command prompt. Press Windows key + X, choose Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin).
2. List all printer drivers in the store. Type this command and press Enter:
   pnputil /enum-drivers | findstr /i "printer"
   You'll see a list of driver packages that have "printer" in their name. Note the Published Name (like oem0.inf) for any printer-related driver.
3. Delete the offending driver. For each printer driver you want to remove, run:
   pnputil /delete-driver oem0.inf /uninstall /force
   Replace oem0.inf with the actual published name. The /force flag removes it even if it's in use.
4. Reboot your PC. This clears any cached references to the old driver.
5. Download a fresh driver from the printer manufacturer's support site. Don't use the one Windows tries to install automatically. Run the installer as administrator.

What you should see: After running pnputil, the driver should disappear from the list. After the fresh install, the error should be gone. If not, move to Cause 3.

Cause 3: Malformed registry entry for the printer port

This one's rarer, but I've seen it on systems where a printer was installed using a network port (like WSD or TCP/IP) and then later the port mapping got corrupted. The symlink error can actually be a side effect of Windows trying to resolve a port that points to a non-existent path.

Step-by-step fix

Before you start: Back up your registry. Press Windows key + R, type regedit, press Enter. In Registry Editor, click File > Export, save a backup to your desktop. If something goes wrong, you can double-click that backup to restore it.

1. Open Registry Editor as admin (same method as above).
2. Navigate to this key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors
3. Check each subkey here. You'll see folders like Standard TCP/IP Port, WSD Port, USB Monitor, etc. Expand each one. Look for any subkey that contains a Driver value with a path that includes a symlink. Common pattern: a Driver value pointing to a file like %SystemRoot%\system32\spool\drivers\x64\3\somefile.dll that doesn't exist.
4. Fix the path. If you find a driver value with a bad path, take note of the correct DLL name. Then browse to C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\x64\3 and see if that DLL exists. If it doesn't, you'll need to either copy it from another working PC or reinstall the printer driver properly (which replaces it).
5. Alternative: delete the port entry. If the port is for a printer you no longer have, you can right-click the subkey under the monitor folder (not the monitor itself) and choose Delete. Then go to Devices & Printers in Control Panel, right-click any printers using that port, and choose Remove device.
6. Restart the Print Spooler again (same steps as Cause 1).

What you should see: After fixing the registry path or deleting the bad port, restart the spooler. Then try installing the printer again. The error should not appear.

Quick-reference summary table

Try Cause 1 first, every time. That handles the vast majority of these errors. If you're still stuck after Cause 3, your best bet is a full printer driver removal using the Print Management console (type printmanagement.msc in Run), then reboot and start fresh. That nukes everything and gives you a clean slate.