Printer Status Window Interface has stopped working and print spooler

Question

When printing a document I get "Printer Status Window Interface has stopped working" and nothing prints. I am using Windows Vista and a Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 966.

I have checked for updates to my Dell printer driver and "no updates found".

I have tried Windows Fix-It for printers and "no problems found".

I go into Start, Control Panel, Systems and Maintenance, Administrative Tools, Services, Print Spooler, Properties, General...Startup Type is Automatic, Service Status is Stopped...I change Service Status to "Start", then click OK. I reboot the computer, and documents in the queue print out. When I then select a new document to print, I get "Printer Status Window Interface has stopped working".

Thanks for your help...

Answer 1

Hello quackxx,

Before you contact Dell Technical Support, have a look at the below links. Give it a shot and see if it works:

http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19314084/19625557.aspx

http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19322590/19658936.aspx#19658936

You can also try to post the question at the Dell Community:

http://en.community.dell.com/forums

Also make sure that you have deleted all the print jobs.

Create a new user account and check if you are able to print.

To create a new user profile, follow these steps:

Note: To create a new profile, you must first create a new user account. When the account is created, a profile will also be created.

 1. Open User Accounts by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking User Accounts and Family Safety and then clicking User Accounts.

 2. Click Manage another account.  If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

 3. Click Create a new account.

 4. Type the name you want to give the user account, click an account type, and then click Create Account.

Note: Do not give the existing user name for the new user account.

Check out this article that will give you information on ‘How to Fix a corrupted user profile’:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/Fix-a-corrupted-user-profile

However, we are unable to tell you what the charge is for the Dell Technical Support. It would be based on your warranty. If your computer is under warranty you might not be charged. This will be based on your service tag.

Thanks,

Irfan H, Microsoft Answers Support Engineer. Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

Answer 2

Hello ElaBUG,

·         Have you tried to roll back the printer driver?

Since System Restore worked on the computer that would have loaded the earlier version of printer driver that in my opinion has worked on your computer.

To roll back a driver in Windows means to return the driver to the version that was last installed for the device. Rolling back a driver is an easy way to return a driver to a working version when a driver update fails to fix a problem or maybe even causes a new problem.

1.      Open Device Manager. To do this, click Start, type Device Manager in the Start Search box, and then click Device Manager in the Programs list.

2.      Right-click the device for which the previous version of the driver is desired and then click Properties.

3.      Click the Drivers tab.

4.      Click Roll Back Driver.

Thanks,

Irfan H, Microsoft Answers Support Engineer. Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

Answer 3

Thanks for your suggestions Irfan.

I have spent 3 days working with Microsoft Support. We uninstalled/reinstalled the printer, we did something with the USB hubs, we tried a different user account, we tried different printer drivers (even used the original drivers I got with the printer), we ran numerous diagnostics, we tried differest usb ports, we tried to use a different cable, plus a bunch of other stuff I didn't understand. There were times we thought we got the printer to work, then it would display the dreaded error message. So we finally did a System Restore to about a month ago and disabled automatic updates from Dell. The printer worked for about a day, then the dreaded error message...

I bought this system Dell XPS420, Dell Monitor, Windows Vista Ultimate, Dell Photo AIO 966 in December 2007, so it is out of warranty. I have no faith that contacting Dell Support will help since Windows Support couldn't get things fixed after 3 days...

Do you know of some kind of work-around that will force this printer to print? I am running a small business and have deadlines to meet...

Frustrated Quackxx

Answer 4

Thanks for replying Irfan,

The printer is connected directly to the computer, NOT wireless.

I don't remember making any recent changes to the computer.

The Spooler Service is set to Automatic. I checked out the link for "Pudgyone"...the fix seems to be just for wireless printer connections.

I have followed the steps for checking for updated drives, and none were found.

What is the charge for contacting Dell Technical Support?

Thanks again

Answer 5

Hello quackxx,

• How have you connected the printer to the computer?
• Do you remember making any recent changes to the computer that might have caused this issue?
• Have you set the Spooler service to ‘Automatic’?

Make sure that you set the spooler service to ‘Automatic’ so that you don’t have to manually start the service.

You can also refer the below link from the Dell Community that talks about the same issue. Check out the answer by ‘Pudgyone’ that has worked for many users:

http://en.community.dell.com/forums/t/19258335.aspx

Step 1: Check if there are any updated drivers for the printer from windows update:  

1. Open Windows Update by clicking the Start button, clicking All Programs, and then clicking Windows Update.
2. In the left pane, click Check for updates.

If this does not work, I suggest that you contact Dell for further assistance with the driver. Here is a link to contact Dell Technical Support:

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dellcare/contact\_us?c=us&l=en&s=gen&redirect=1

Thanks,

Irfan H, Microsoft Answers Support Engineer. Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.