Windows XP forum: spoolsv.exe problems

hi mark,

no it's definitely spoolsv.exe. I don't run p2p programs. the problem does not happen as much when the printer is off no. i have tried killing the spooler within computer management and the problem goes away, but i obviously need this to be active to be able to print. having scrawled through various forums it appears to be quite a common problem but i can't seem to find the right answer!

I'm not sure if it will work, but you could set the Spool service to manual instead of automatic. That way, whenever your printer is on and you have something to print, spoolsv.exe should start, just for that print.

To set it, goto Start > Run, type in services.msc and click OK. in the window, scroll down to Print Spooler, highlight it, and right click then select Properties. Under Startup type: set it to manual.

However, I have never tried this myself so Idon't know if it will be sufficient.

Have you approached HP about this? It's their printer after all, and they may have worked on a solution.

Mark

I'm having the same problem. Found this posted on another forum. Since I'm not a computer guy, not sure what to do with it. May be it will help you.

If the Print Spooler service is corrupted on a Windows XP computer, you could experience any of the following:
- The Print Spooler service is stopped and does not start when you restart the computer.
- When you attempt use the Add Printer Wizard, you receive a message similar to Operation cannot be completed.
- When you try to start the Print Spooler service, you receive an error similar to Error 5: Access Denied.
- You cannot print when you double-click the Printers and Faxes icon in Control Panel.
- There are no printer icons visible when you double-click the Printers and Faxes icon in Control Panel.
I have scripted FixSpoolsv.bat to list the available Print Spooler executables on your computer, from newest to oldest, bypassing the current %SystemRoot%\System32\spoolsv.exe file. To run FixSpoolsv.bat, open a CMD.EXE window and type FixSpoolsv.
To use one of the previous versions of Spoolsv.exe:
01. Restart the computer.
02. When the BIOS information is displayed, press F8.
03. Select Safe Mode from the Windows Advanced Options and press Enter.
04. Select the operating system that you want to start in Safe Mode and press Enter.
05. Open a CMD.EXE window.
06. Delete the %SystemRoot%\System32\spoolsv.exe file.
07. Copy the previous version to %SystemRoot%\System32\spoolsv.exe and to %SystemRoot%\SYSTEM32\DLLCACHE\spoolsv.exe.
If none of the previous versions work:
01. Restart the computer.
02. When the BIOS information is displayed, press F8.
03. Select Safe Mode from the Windows Advanced Options and press Enter.
04. Select the operating system that you want to start in Safe Mode and press Enter.
05. Open a CMD.EXE window.
06. Delete the %SystemRoot%\System32\spoolsv.exe file.
07. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM, holding down the SHIFT key to prevent the Windows XP installation from starting.
08. Type the following commands and press Enter, where <CD-ROM Drive:> is the CD-ROM drive letter:
Expand <CD-ROM Drive:>\i386\spoolsv.ex_ %SystemRoot%\System32\spoolsv.exe
Expand <CD-ROM Drive:>\i386\spoolsv.ex_ %SystemRoot%\SYSTEM32\DLLCACHE\spoolsv.exe
FixSpoolsv.bat contains:
@echo off
setlocal ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION
set f1=find /i /V "%SystemRoot%\System32\spoolsv.exe"
if exist "%TEMP%\FixSpoolSv.TM1" del /q "%TEMP%\FixSpoolSv.TM1"
if exist "%TEMP%\Dte2YMD.vbs" goto FX2
@echo Dim Arguments, sd>"%TEMP%\Dte2YMD.vbs"
@echo Set Arguments = Wscript.Arguments>>"%TEMP%\Dte2YMD.vbs"
@echo sd = Arguments(0)>>"%TEMP%\Dte2YMD.vbs"
@echo yyyy = DatePart("yyyy", sd)>>"%TEMP%\Dte2YMD.vbs"
@echo m = Right(100+DatePart("m", sd),2)>>"%TEMP%\Dte2YMD.vbs"
@echo d = Right(100+DatePart("d", sd),2)>>"%TEMP%\Dte2YMD.vbs"
@echo Wscript.Echo yyyy ^& " " ^& m ^& " " ^& d>>"%TEMP%\Dte2YMD.vbs"
:FX2
for /f "Tokens=*" %%x in ('dir /b /s /a spoolsv.ex*^|%f1%') do (
for /f "Tokens=1-3" %%a in ('cscript //nologo "%TEMP%\Dte2YMD.vbs" %%~tx') do (
set YY=%%a
set MM=%%b
set DD=%%c
)
@echo !YY!!MM!!DD!,"%%x">>"%TEMP%\FixSpoolSv.TM1"
)
if not exist "%TEMP%\FixSpoolSv.TM1" goto err
sort /R "%TEMP%\FixSpoolSv.TM1" /O "%TEMP%\FixSpoolSv.TM2"
del /q "%TEMP%\FixSpoolSv.TM1"
for /f "Tokens=1* Delims=," %%i in ('type "%TEMP%\FixSpoolSv.TM2"') do (
@echo %%i %%j
)
del /q "%TEMP%\FixSpoolSv.TM2"
endlocal
goto :EOF
:err
@echo No copies of spoolsv.exe or spoolsv.ex_ found.
endlocal

I've gone to the Computer Management - > Services and searched for printer spooler or spooler or anything of that nature and the file is completely gone. How do I get spoolsv.exe downloaded w/o downloading any spyware or anything else? I need help asap! My boyfriend and I both have online classes and I need to install my printers cd asap for these classes. :o( Please helllllp

Now I'm most concerned with trying to do a system restore/recovery. This laptop isn't letting me do it from the control panel or from pressing f11 when I am powering the computer up. I even tried by pressing ESC before windows started and it shows the start up menu & shows that I should press F11 to do system restore. When I press system restore, it loads windows normally. I want to restore this computer like it was when I bought it. I had an engineer friend remove ThinkPoint Trojan virus, but when he did he "reformatted" the computer & added windows trial and a microsoft trial and was supposed to give me all of the above from what I had previously. I just wnat to restore it back to factory settings because windows came standard, and it's not letting me. Any suggestions?

where you say in your subject line this is Windows 7 Ultimate Compaq laptop.

This is the Windows XP forum.

Mark

All of the helpers in these forums are volunteers and visit when we can to offer help and assistance in the forums.

We don't offer private help for a number of reasons, not least of which is that information and guidance is shared for others to read if they are experiencing similar problems.

Mark

See if sfc /scannow puts it back. Otherwise do a repair install of Windows XP.
Might be a lengthy process to get everything working again. Sorry, asap might just be 2 days or more.

Kees