Printer spooler crash on HP OfficeJet Pro 9010 series

Quick answer

Stop the spooler service (net stop spooler), delete everything in C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS, restart the service (net start spooler), then uninstall HP Smart and reinstall the basic driver from HP's support site (not Windows Update).

Why this happens

The HP OfficeJet Pro 9010 series has a known conflict with the HP Smart app from the Microsoft Store. The app installs a universal print driver that doesn't play nice with Windows 10 22H2 or Windows 11. The spooler crashes when you send a print job, especially after a Windows update. I've seen this on at least 30 machines. The culprit is almost always the HP Smart app's background service (HPNetworkCommunicatorCom.exe) that corrupts the spooler cache.

Step-by-step fix

1. Kill the spooler and clear the queue. Open an admin Command Prompt. Run:

   net stop spooler

   Then delete everything inside C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS. Don't worry, these are just pending print jobs. Run:

   del /Q /F C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*.*

2. Restart the spooler. In the same prompt:

   net start spooler

   Test printing. If it works for a minute then crashes again, you've got the HP Smart app issue.
3. Uninstall HP Smart. Go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features. Find HP Smart. Uninstall it. Also uninstall any HP Driver Packs listed there.
4. Remove leftover drivers. Open Printers & scanners. Select your OfficeJet Pro 9010. Click Remove. If it won't remove, open an admin PowerShell and run:

   Get-Printer -Name "HP OfficeJet Pro 9010 series" | Remove-Printer

5. Install the correct driver. Go to HP support, search for your model, and download the "Basic Driver" (not the full feature pack with HP Smart). Install it. Don't let Windows Update override it—turn off automatic driver updates temporarily if needed.
6. Set spooler to auto-start. Just in case, check the service: services.msc, find Print Spooler, set Startup type to Automatic, and restart it.

Alternative fixes if the main one fails

• Registry key fix for error 0x00000709. If you get "This operation could not be completed" when setting default printer, open Regedit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows, and delete the Device string value (back it up first). Then set your default printer again.
• Disable HPNetworkCommunicatorCom.exe. If the spooler still crashes after you uninstall HP Smart, check Task Manager for a process called HPNetworkCommunicatorCom.exe. End it. Then delete the executable from C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\HPNetworkCommunicator or C:\Program Files\HP\HPNetworkCommunicator. This binary is the real culprit—it sends telemetry and locks up the spooler.
• Run the spooler as a separate process. This is a band-aid, but it works sometimes. In an admin prompt:

  reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Spooler" /v "SeparateSpooler" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

  Then restart the spooler. This isolates the spooler from other processes. It fixes the crash but might slow down printing.

Prevention tip

Never install HP Smart from the Microsoft Store. Ever. Use the basic driver only. I've seen the app reinstall itself after Windows feature updates. Block it with a GPO or rename HPNetworkCommunicatorCom.exe to .bak after each driver update. Also disable automatic driver updates via Device Installation Settings — set it to "No (your device might not work as expected)". This stops Windows from pushing the universal driver again.

If you manage multiple machines, push the basic driver via Group Policy and exclude the HP Smart app from Company Portal or SCCM. It'll save you a bunch of tickets.