Printer Spooler Stops on Windows 11 24H2

1. A stuck print job is the most common cause

What's actually happening here is that a previous print job got corrupted mid-way. The spooler tries to process it, fails, and then restarts itself. This looks like the spooler is crashing randomly, but it's really the same bad job blocking everything.

You'll see the spooler stop, then restart, then stop again. The printer doesn't print anything new.

Fix: Clear the stuck job manually

1. Open Services (services.msc). Look for Print Spooler. Right-click and Stop.
2. Open File Explorer and go to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS. Delete everything in that folder. You might need admin rights – accept the prompt.
3. Go back to Services, right-click Print Spooler and Start.

The reason step 2 works is that the .spl and .shd files in that folder are the actual print jobs. The spooler reads them when it starts. If any file is broken, the spooler crashes immediately. Deleting them removes the problem.

If the folder is empty but the spooler still crashes, move to the next cause.

2. A corrupt printer driver – the hidden culprit

Drivers go bad more often than people admit. After a Windows update or a driver update that failed halfway, the driver files get mismatched. The spooler loads the driver, hits a bad instruction, and crashes.

I've seen this happen with HP LaserJet P1102w and Brother HL-L2350DW printers after the Windows 11 24H2 update. The manufacturer hadn't updated the driver yet.

Fix: Remove the printer and its driver completely, then reinstall

1. Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.
2. Select your printer, click Remove.
3. Now open Print server properties (type printmanagement.msc in Run). Go to the Drivers tab, find your printer's driver, and remove it too. If the option is greyed out, first stop the spooler (same steps as above), then remove the driver.
4. Restart your PC. Then add your printer again from Settings. Windows will download a fresh driver.

This sounds heavy but it's the only way to guarantee the corrupt driver is gone. Just removing the printer leaves the driver file in place, and the spooler will still crash.

3. A Windows Update bug that breaks the spooler service

Sometimes the spooler itself is fine, but a recent Windows Update patches something that the spooler depends on. The specific update KB5044285 for Windows 11 24H2 caused this for many people. The spooler would start, then after 5 seconds, crash with 'Spooler subsystem app has stopped working'.

Fix: Uninstall the problematic update

1. Open Settings > Windows Update > Update history > Uninstall updates.
2. Find KB5044285 (or the latest update installed around the time the problem started). Select it and click Uninstall.
3. Restart your computer. After that, pause updates for a few weeks so this doesn't reinstall immediately.

If you don't want to uninstall updates, you can also try running the Print Spooler service under a different account. But the update uninstall is more reliable.

Quick summary table

One last thing: if none of these work, check if your antivirus is blocking the spooler. Some aggressive settings in McAfee or Norton can stop the spooler from writing to the PRINTERS folder. Temporarily disable the antivirus, run the spooler, then re-enable it. That's rare, but it happens.