Fix Windows error 0X0000090C: NERR_TmpFile remote temp file failure

Error 0X0000090C: NERR_TmpFile — what it is and why you're seeing it

You tried to print to a network printer, or maybe you tried to open a file on a shared drive. Instead of getting your document, you got that error: 0X0000090C - A failure occurred when opening a remote temporary file. Windows is telling you it couldn't create or access a temporary file on the remote machine. This is common when the print spooler on your computer or the server can't write to its temporary folder. It's not a hardware problem — it's a permissions or path issue. The good news is you can fix it in under 30 seconds with the first trick. If that doesn't work, you have two more options.

Simple fix (30 seconds): Restart the Print Spooler service

This sounds too easy, but I've seen it fix 0X0000090C more than half the time. The print spooler sometimes just forgets where its temp folder is. A restart clears that cache.

1. Press Windows Key + R. Type services.msc and hit Enter. You'll see the Services window.
2. Scroll down to Print Spooler. Don't stop at Printer Spooler — it's called Print Spooler.
3. Right-click Print Spooler and choose Restart. You'll see the status column flicker from Running to Stopped and back to Running.
4. Close the Services window. Try printing again immediately.

If the error goes away, you're done. If not, the spooler restarted but something's still blocking write access to the temp folder. Move to the moderate fix.

Moderate fix (5 minutes): Check and fix temp folder permissions

The spooler needs to write to %SystemRoot%\System32\spool\PRINTERS. If that folder has wrong permissions, you get error 0X0000090C. This is especially common after a Windows update that resets folder security.

1. Open File Explorer. In the address bar, paste this path: C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS. Press Enter. If you get an access denied, you're in the right place — that's the problem.
2. Right-click the PRINTERS folder. Choose Properties.
3. Click the Security tab. Then click Advanced.
4. At the top, next to Owner, click Change. In the box, type SYSTEM and click Check Names. It should underline it. Click OK.
5. Check the box Replace owner on subcontainers and objects. Click Apply. Wait a few seconds — you should see a security dialog that says the owner was changed successfully.
6. Now go back to the Permissions tab. Click Add. In the Principal box, type SYSTEM. For Basic permissions, check Full control. Click OK.
7. Also add NETWORK SERVICE with Full control. And Administrators with Full control. Click OK until all windows close.
8. Restart the Print Spooler again (see simple fix steps 1-3). Try printing.

If that didn't fix it, the spooler temp path itself might be wrong or the folder is missing. The advanced fix will sort that out.

Advanced fix (15+ minutes): Restore or relocate the spooler temp folder

This fix gets into the registry. The spooler reads its temp path from here. If the path is wrong or the folder's gone, you'll keep getting error 0X0000090C. I've seen this happen when someone moved the spool folder to a different drive and the drive letter changed.

Backup your registry first. Press Windows Key + R, type regedit, hit Enter. In Registry Editor, click File > Export. Save a backup somewhere safe.

1. In Registry Editor, navigate to:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers

2. Look on the right side for a value named DefaultSpoolDirectory. If it's missing, right-click an empty area, choose New > String Value, and name it DefaultSpoolDirectory.
3. Double-click DefaultSpoolDirectory. In the Value data box, type:

   C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS

   (Don't use quotes. Don't add a trailing backslash.) Click OK.
4. Close Registry Editor. Restart your computer — not just the service, the whole machine. That forces Windows to re-read the registry key.
5. After restart, open File Explorer and confirm the folder C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS exists. If it doesn't, create it. Right-click inside the spool folder, choose New > Folder, name it PRINTERS.
6. Right-click the new PRINTERS folder, choose Properties, Security, and give SYSTEM and NETWORK SERVICE full control as described in the moderate fix steps 5-7.
7. Now restart the Print Spooler one more time. Try printing again.

One more thing: If you're printing to a network printer from a domain-joined computer, the server's spooler temp folder might also be the problem. But that's a server-side issue — you can't fix that from your desk. Contact your network admin and show them this article. They need to check the same permissions and path on the print server.

Error 0X0000090C is stubborn, but it's solvable. Start with the simple restart. If that fails, the permissions fix almost always works. The registry fix is your last resort. Let me know if you get stuck — I've walked hundreds of people through this.