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Windows 10 Spool folder keeps filling up

Anonymous
2021-06-08T12:29:45+00:00

I have a user who has been having problems printing. When selecting the Print function (in programs like Excel & Adobe PDF) his computer will freeze. While looking into this issue I discovered that the C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS folder was filled with 171,000+ .FP files. I checked my folder to compare and I have 16 files in mine (I have 5 years of work on this other employee). The files on my computer are also .TMP files, not .FP files. I noticed that most of his files were created during times that our office was closed, even weekends. I deleted everything in that folder but it is already starting to fill it again with those same files. I have no idea what is causing this or how to fix it.

Any ideas would be appreciated. If more information is needed just let me know. Thanks!

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Performance and system failures

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-06-10T11:10:40+00:00

    That is not really the issue. This is not about the size of a file while printing. No one is printing at all and amount of files in the spool folder continues to grow. Every few minutes or so new files appear in that spool folder. No one is printing, no one is even working on the computer so why is that folder still adding files? To the point where in less then 24 hours the file had once again grown to contain over 1,300 files during hours when our office was closed. I need to figure out what is constantly adding files and why. I am concerned that the folder will continue to grow as I did previously and as it is now, to the point where we have to clear out the folder weekly to avoid issues. Like I posted above, I have been working here 5 years longer then this employee and I had 16 current files in my spool folder, he had over 171, 000. That is staggering and no way correct. I have run anti-virus and malware scans and came up empty, not sure what to try next. If you need a picture of that folder so you can see how often files are added, just let me know.

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-06-08T13:56:15+00:00

    Hi, FakeNamePE

    How are you? Welcome to the Microsoft community!

    My name is Juliana, I'm an independent advisor, I'm here to help you in the best possible way.

    1. Click the Windows + R keys
    2. In Run type: services.msc and OK
    3. Locate the Spooler service and double click on it.
    4. Click Stop the service and click OK
    5. Go to Start Menu and type in the search bar: WINDIR%\system32\spool\printers
    6. Delete all files that are in this folder.
    7. Go back to Windows Services again and look for Spooler.
    8. Double-click on Spooler and click Start.
    9. Click Ok check if the service is in automatic

    Do the test

    Waiting for News ^^

    Hope this helps!

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-06-09T12:15:34+00:00

    He has been able to print without issue, which is great but now I am concerned about file size. That folder is again filling at an insane rate. In the time since I cleared out that folder yesterday, windows has added over 1,000 new files. I am currently remoted into that PC just to watch and the folder is growing without any user input. There is no way this is normal, do you have any ideas?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2021-06-09T13:33:39+00:00

    The spool file size can become very large when you print a document that contains a lot of data, for more information visit the link below:

    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/w...

    If that still doesn't work, we'll create a new user and test it.

    A question: Is this only happening with the user of this pc or at all?

    I'm waiting for news

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-06-08T14:19:20+00:00

    Sorry, I should have detailed the steps I took yesterday. That is exactly what I did yesterday, it cleared out the current folder but since the minute it finished running Windows has already starting filling that folder again. There was 850 files in there since 5pm yesterday. Even at times I am 100% sure no one was in the office.

    I just finished another attempt at what you suggested. It immediately started filling with .SHD and .SPL files. I have not even tried to print yet.

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