Fix print queue showing wrong document name

Quick answer

Restart the Print Spooler service (services.msc → Print Spooler → Restart), then delete any stuck jobs. Or run net stop spooler then net start spooler in Command Prompt as admin.

Why this happens

This is common on Windows 10 and 11. You send a PDF called "Invoice_2024.pdf" to print, but the queue shows "Untitled.doc" or some old file name from yesterday. The real trigger is usually a corrupted print spooler file. The spooler keeps old job names in a cache that doesn't refresh when the document finishes printing. It can also happen when a printer driver crashes mid-job — the spooler freezes with the wrong name stuck in memory. I've seen this on HP LaserJet and Brother MFC printers mostly.

Don't bother reinstalling drivers first. That's a waste of time here.

Main fix: Restart the Print Spooler

Press Win + R, type services.msc, and hit Enter. The Services window opens.
Scroll down to Print Spooler. It's near the bottom of the list.
Right-click it and choose Stop. Wait 10 seconds. You'll see the status change to Stopped.
Now open File Explorer. Go to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS. Delete everything in that folder. Yes, everything — these are old spool files. It won't hurt anything.
Back in Services, right-click Print Spooler and pick Start. The status turns to Running.
Close Services. Check your print queue now. It should be empty. The wrong name is gone.

If that didn't fix it

Try a different approach. Open Command Prompt as admin (search for cmd, right-click, Run as administrator). Run these commands in order:

net stop spooler
del /Q /F /S %systemroot%\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*.*
net start spooler

After you run net start spooler, you should see 'The Print Spooler service was started successfully.' That's the confirmation.

Still showing wrong names? Then the driver is corrupted. Uninstall the printer completely. Go to Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners. Click your printer, choose Remove device. Reboot your PC. Then add the printer again using the latest driver from the manufacturer's site — not Windows Update, which often gives old versions.

Alternative fixes that sometimes work

Clear the print queue with a script: Save the commands above as a .bat file and run as admin. Handy for frequent issues.
Update the printer driver: Go to Device Manager, find your printer under Print queues, right-click → Update driver → Browse my computer → Let me pick. Pick the latest driver from the list.
Disable bi-directional support: In Printer Properties → Ports tab → uncheck 'Enable bidirectional support'. This stops the printer from sending back status updates that can confuse the spooler.

Prevention tip

Set your spooler to start printing immediately instead of spooling all pages first. In Printer Properties → Advanced tab, pick 'Start printing after last page is spooled'. This reduces the chance of the spooler caching old job names. Also, turn off 'Render print jobs on client computers' unless you're printing from a server — it adds unnecessary overhead.

One more thing: if you print from Microsoft Edge or Chrome, clear that browser's cache too. I've seen browser cache cause wrong names to show up in the queue on Windows 11 version 22H2.