Print Spooler Won't Start Error 1068 – Fix It for Good

You're in the middle of printing something important, and suddenly nothing happens. You open the print queue, it's empty. You check the Services console, and the Print Spooler shows "Stopped." You try to start it, and boom: Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start. This is a classic one. I've seen it happen after Windows updates, or when someone accidentally disabled a key Windows service trying to "optimize" their system. A client last month had this after a Windows 10 feature update borked the RPC service. The fix is straightforward once you know where to look.

Root Cause

The Print Spooler service depends on other services to work. If any of these dependencies are missing, disabled, or corrupted, the spooler won't start. The two biggest culprits are:

• Remote Procedure Call (RPC) – This handles communication between printers and the spooler.
• Print Spooler's internal dependencies – Like the Spooler group or the HTTP service for network printers.

Usually it's the RPC service that's stopped or set to manual when it should be automatic. But sometimes it's a missing registry key or a corrupted dependency list.

Fix #1 – Check the Core Dependencies

This is the first thing I try. It works 80% of the time.

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, hit Enter.
2. Find Print Spooler. Right-click it, go to Properties.
3. Look at the Dependencies tab. It'll list services needed to run. Common ones: RPC Endpoint Mapper, Remote Procedure Call (RPC), HTTP.
4. For each listed service, open it by name. For example, find Remote Procedure Call (RPC) in the services list.
5. Right-click that service, go to Properties. Check its Startup type – it must be Automatic (not Automatic (Delayed Start) – manual stops it). Also make sure its status is Running.
6. If it's not running, click Start. If it's disabled, change startup to Automatic, apply, then start it.
7. Repeat for all services listed under Print Spooler's dependencies.
8. Now go back to Print Spooler. Set its startup type to Automatic (not delayed). Click Start.

If it starts now, you're done. If not, move to the next fix.

Fix #2 – Fix Registry Dependencies

Sometimes the dependency list in the registry gets corrupted. This happens a lot after third-party software like antivirus or printer cleanup tools mess with the system.

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, hit Enter. (Yes, be careful – don't change anything else.)
2. Go to this key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Spooler
3. On the right side, look for DependOnService. Double-click it.
4. You'll see a list like:
   RPCSS
http
5. If there's missing or extra text, fix it. The standard value for most systems is just:
   RPCSS (that's it, one line). Some network printers add http – that's fine too.
6. If the key is missing, you can create it. Right-click in the right pane, choose New > Multi-String Value, name it DependOnService, set value to RPCSS.
7. Close regedit, restart the Print Spooler service.

I've seen this fix a stubborn case where the dependency list had garbage characters from a bad uninstall.

Fix #3 – Rebuild the Spooler from Scratch

If the above doesn't work, the spooler itself might be corrupted. This is rare but happens.

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator (Win + X > Terminal (Admin)).
2. Run these commands one by one:
   

   net stop spooler

   
   

   del /f /s /q %systemroot%\System32\spool\printers\*

   
   

   net start spooler

3. If the spooler starts, good. If not, you might need to reinstall the printer drivers completely.

What to Check If It Still Fails

If you've done all three fixes and still get Error 1068, odds are it's not a spooler problem. Check for:

• Missing system files – Run sfc /scannow in Command Prompt (Admin). This fixes corrupted Windows files.
• Third-party software – Antivirus apps (especially McAfee, Norton) sometimes block the spooler. Temporarily disable them and try again.
• Windows update damage – If this started after an update, try uninstalling the latest update via Settings > Windows Update > Update history > Uninstall updates.
• Malware – Run a full scan with Windows Defender. I've seen ransomware kill the RPC service.

One last thing: if you're on a network with domain printers, check with your IT admin. Sometimes group policy blocks the spooler intentionally. That's rare but happens.

Bottom line: Error 1068 is almost always a dependency problem. Fix those services, and you'll be printing again in 10 minutes.