Windows XP – Removing stuck print jobs

If you have a print job that is stuck in the printers que and you have tried to cancel it but could not because it shows Deleting but never does.

STEP 1

Remove any other pending print jobs in the printers que until you are left with just the problem ones. Just click on each print job and choose cancel!

If a print job in the que shows “deleting” but never completes the command;

Go to Start then choose Run
Type ” net stop spooler ” and press Enter
Wait for the DOS window to open then close.
Go to Start then Run & type “net start spooler” press Enter
If this does not work Go To Step2

STEP 2

If that does not cancel the print job:

Your Windows XP spool directory is located at

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\SPOOL\PRINTERS

On a Windows 2000 machine the path is usually

C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\SPOOL\PRINTERS

It will Usually will contain files looking like these:

FP00008
FP00008.SHD

There will be two files for each remaining print job. Just delete these and reboot your computer. Your print queue should now be cleared.

*** To delete the print files type ” del . ” in the correct directory and press Enter. * Make sure you are in the right path i.e., C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\SPOOL\PRINTERS

If that does not work Go To Step3

If you are printing over the network, and cannot get the print job to clear the que after the above steps:

Go to the computer that has the shared printer attached and perform Steps 1 & 2 above.

If that does not work then go to the computer where the Print Job was sent from and perform steps 1 & 2 on that computer.

Step 3

If all of this does not work then run a disk check on the computer that has the printer attached

Go to Start then choose Run
Type ” CMD ” and press Enter
Wait for the DOS window to open.
Type ” CHKDSK C: /R /F ” if C:\ is where your OS is installed!

Answer Y for yes and press enter
Reboot your computer and wait for the Disk Check to complete
Chkdsk is an acronym for check disk it is a Microsoft® utility designed to check the integrity of your data on the computer’s hard disk drive as well as find and fix errors which could corrupt your data or program files.

*On computers using Windows® XP and 2000, chkdsk is essentially a replacement for scandisk which was used on Windows® ’95, ’98 and ME versions.