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Why print spooler service stops frequently on workstations

Anonymous
2023-09-29T09:04:08+00:00

On our environment, we have a print management server that we use to manage all of our printer on our network. We patch our systems every month, the last week of the month. We started to have issues with printers since the May Update and ever since then, we have not been able to recover. Every time we get it sorted out and fixed, we patch the next month, and it breaks everything again. (Server version is 2016 and workstations are Windows 11)

Issue here since May is that when we patch the print server, the print spooler service of the workstations essentially stops and breaks. If the service is started again, it stops again, not letting the user print. In addition to that, workstations also lose the drivers from the print server.

Only way to temporarily fix this before we patch again, which it then breaks it again, is the following:

1, Delete all files in the following directories: 

   a.	C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers 

   b.	C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS 

   c.	C:\Windows\System32\spool\SERVERS 

   d.	C:\Windows\System32\spool\V4Dirs
  1. In elevated Command Prompt, run: dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
  2. In elevated Command Prompt, run: sfc /scannow
  3. Reboot
  4. Spooler now works and printers from print server can be added again

Rolling back from an update doesn't fix the issue, we have done it many time also in the past and next patch and let's say it did fix it for example, it will again break

We have done research online, but there is not much out there related to our issue. There are no reported issues to microsoft from those KBs that relate to print server and print spooler. We could be the first ones

reporting this issue that started since may; prior to may, everything was running smoothly. We were hoping for a KB to come out to fix this, but like I said, we didn't find anything online from Microsoft stating

that there is an issue related to ours.

Windows for business | Windows Server | User experience | Print, fax, and scan

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-10-09T02:10:58+00:00

    Hello Gabriel

    The steps you mentioned, which involve deleting files and running DISM and SFC scans, are generally intended to resolve issues related to corrupted system files and components. While they can fix problems caused by file corruption, they may not directly pinpoint the root cause of why the Print Spooler service becomes corrupted after server updates.

    You might consider the following additional steps：

    • Ensure that the printer drivers on both the server and workstations are up-to-date and compatible with the server's operating system and the Windows 11 workstations.
    • Review the server's update logs from the event viewer to see if there are any errors or warnings associated with the Print Spooler service or related components during or after the update process.

    Regards,

    Karlie

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