How to Clear Printer Queue in Windows
Method 1 of 2:
Clearing the Queue
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Click the Startmenu. It's usually at the bottom-left corner of the screen.
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Click Settings.
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Click Devices. It's the second icon at the top of the window. -
Click Printers & scanners. It's in the left column. -
Click the printer. Connected printers appear in the right panel under 'Printers & scanners.' Two buttons will appear beneath the printer's name. -
Click Open queue. A list of pending print jobs will appear. -
Right-click a document you want to remove from the queue. A context menu will appear. -
Click Cancel. This removes the document from the queue. -
Repeat for other documents you want to cancel.- To cancel all documents at once, click the Printer menu at the top-left corner of the window, then select Cancel All Documents.
- If the files stay in the queue even after you've canceled them, try restarting the computer.
- If clearing the queue does not resolve your print queue issues, see Restarting the Print Spooler Service.
Method 2 of 2:
Restarting the Print Spooler Service
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Open the Windows Search bar. It's either a magnifying glass or a circle to the right of the Startbutton.
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Type services.msc and press ↵ Enter. This opens the 'Services' window. -
Scroll down and right-click Print Spooler. It's in the right panel. A context menu will appear. -
Click Stop. Now that the queue is stopped, you can clear the documents. -
Go back to the Windows Search bar. Don't close the Services window, as you'll need it again in a few moments. Just click the search icon (or the search bar, if it's permanently in your taskbar). -
Type %systemroot%System32spoolprinters and press ↵ Enter. A folder will appear. -
Select all files in the folder. To do this, click a blank area inside the folder, then press Ctrl+A. -
Press the Del key on the keyboard. This clears the print queue, and you can close this folder window. -
Return to the 'Services' window. You can do this by clicking Services in the taskbar, or by pressing Alt+Tab ↹ until you get back to it. -
Scroll down and right-click Print Spooler again. -
Click Start. The print queue should now be completely clear.
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