Fix Print Spooler Error for Brother Printers (Windows)
Verified fix guide · Updated July 2026 · By the PrinterCareUSA remote support team
A stuck Brother printer queue is frustrating, but it's usually a Windows Print Spooler service failure, not a printer hardware issue. Your jobs are trapped in software limbo while the spooler sits idle or crashes repeatedly. The good news: this is fixable in minutes with the right steps.
We'll walk you through clearing the corrupted queue, restarting the spooler service, and preventing this from happening again. If you're not comfortable with command line tools, a remote technician can handle this for $49.
How to fix it — step by step
- Cancel all pending print jobs from your Brother printer. On your Brother printer's control panel, press Menu > Settings > Device Status or Job Queue, then select Cancel All Jobs or Clear Queue. If the printer is networked, log into the web interface at the printer's IP address (found on the network configuration page) and clear jobs from the Job Queue tab. This stops new jobs from processing while we fix the spooler.
- Open Services and stop the Print Spooler. Press Windows Key + R, type services.msc and hit Enter. Scroll down to Print Spooler, right-click it, and select Stop. If it won't stop or shows an error, proceed to Step 3 to force-clear the queue folder. Wait 5 seconds after stopping before moving forward.
- Delete corrupted spool files from Windows. Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS. Select all files (Ctrl+A) and delete them—ignore any 'file in use' warnings and skip those files. If you can't access the folder, right-click it > Properties > Security > Edit, give your user account Full Control, and try again. This clears the corrupted job queue.
- Restart the Print Spooler service. Return to Services (services.msc), right-click Print Spooler, and select Start. Verify the status changes to Running. Set the startup type to Automatic by right-clicking > Properties > Startup type > Automatic > Apply > OK. This ensures the spooler restarts with Windows.
- Remove and re-add your Brother printer (Windows). Go to Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners, find your Brother printer, click it, and select Remove device. Restart Windows. After restart, go to Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners > Add a printer or scanner, find your Brother device, and add it. This forces Windows to rebuild the printer connection without old queue data.
- Clear the CUPS queue on macOS (if applicable). If you're on a Mac, open System Settings > Printers & Scanners, select your Brother printer, and click the Options & Supplies button. Click Supplies, then go to Maintenance tab and select Delete All Jobs. If that option isn't available, open Terminal and type: cancel -a (this clears all pending jobs system-wide).
- Check for Brother driver updates. Visit the official Brother support website, search for your exact printer model, and download the latest driver package. Uninstall the current driver from Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features, restart Windows, then install the new driver. Outdated drivers often cause spooler conflicts.
- Test with a small print job. Send a single page to print from Notepad (File > Print > Your Brother Printer > Print). If it prints successfully, run a full test with a document from a different application (Word, PDF reader). Monitor the spooler in Services to confirm it stays Running. If jobs stick again, the issue may be hardware-related or require remote diagnosis.
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Frequently asked questions
Why does my Brother printer queue keep getting stuck even after I restart Windows?
A corrupted spool file often persists in C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS because Windows locks it. Manually deleting this folder (Step 3) removes the corrupted data. If it happens repeatedly after that, your Brother driver may be outdated or conflicting—update it first, then check Windows Update for spooler-related patches.
Can I just delete the print jobs from Devices and Printers instead of clearing the spool folder?
No, deleting from the Settings interface only removes the queue display but leaves corrupted files in the spool folder, so the spooler still crashes when it tries to process them. You must delete the physical spool files in C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS for a real fix. This is why this problem usually returns without Step 3.
What if the Print Spooler service won't start after I restart it?
This usually means Windows file permissions are corrupted or antivirus software is blocking it. Right-click services.msc and run as Administrator, then try starting the spooler again. If it still fails, temporarily disable antivirus, restart the spooler, then re-enable antivirus. If the problem persists, your Windows installation may need repair—contact support for a remote diagnosis.
Does this fix work for network Brother printers or just USB-connected ones?
The spooler service steps work for both USB and network printers on the Windows computer. For network printers, also clear the job queue directly from the printer's web interface or control panel (Step 1) since it has its own separate queue. USB printers rely entirely on your Windows spooler, so clearing that queue alone usually solves it.