Fix Print Spooler Error for Xerox Printers (Windows)
Verified fix guide · Updated July 2026 · By the PrinterCareUSA remote support team
When your Xerox printer stops responding and jobs pile up in the queue, the Windows Print Spooler service has likely crashed or become corrupted. This is frustrating because your printer appears offline even though it's powered on and connected.
The good news: you can fix this yourself by restarting the spooler service and clearing stuck files. Most users see their printer working again within minutes using the steps below.
How to fix it — step by step
- Clear the print queue from Settings. Open Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners. Find your Xerox printer, click it, then select "Open queue." Click the "Printer" menu at the top and select "Cancel All Documents." This removes stuck jobs from the software side without touching system files.
- Restart the Print Spooler service. Press Windows key + R, type services.msc, and press Enter. Scroll down to "Print Spooler," right-click it, and select "Restart." Wait 10 seconds for the service to fully restart. You should see the status change to "Running." This is the most common fix and resolves most queue freezes.
- Stop the spooler and delete queue files manually. If restart didn't work, return to services.msc, right-click Print Spooler, and select "Stop." Press Windows key + R, type %systemroot%\System32\spool\PRINTERS, and delete all files in that folder. Then go back to services.msc and restart the Print Spooler service again.
- Check your Xerox printer's web interface. Find your printer's IP address (check your router or the printer's network settings menu). Open a browser and go to http://[printer-ip-address]. Look under Job Queue or Queue Management—if jobs are stuck there too, clear them from the printer's admin panel. This ensures the printer itself isn't holding residual job data.
- Update or reinstall the Xerox printer driver. Go to Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners, right-click your Xerox printer, select "Remove device," and restart your computer. Visit the official Xerox support website, search for your printer model, and download the latest driver. Install it and reconnect your printer—corrupted drivers often cause spooler conflicts.
- Reset the Print Spooler to default settings. In services.msc, right-click Print Spooler and select "Properties." Set Startup type to "Automatic" and click "Apply." Check that the service is running under "Local System" account. Some software installations accidentally change these settings, causing the service to fail on startup.
- Disable and re-enable the printer connection. Go to Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners, find your Xerox printer, click it, and select "Remove device." Power off your printer completely for 30 seconds, power it back on, then re-add it through Printers & scanners > Add device. This forces Windows to rediscover the printer with fresh communication settings.
- Contact Xerox support if problems persist. If none of these steps work, the spooler corruption may be deeper or your printer may have a hardware communication issue. Xerox offers remote support (often $49 for single incidents) where technicians can diagnose the exact cause and apply advanced fixes. Visit Xerox's support portal and request a remote session for faster resolution.
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Frequently asked questions
Why does my Xerox printer's spooler keep stopping?
The Print Spooler service crashes most often due to driver conflicts, corrupted job files, or Windows updates that reset service settings. If it stops repeatedly, update your driver and disable any third-party printer management software that might be interfering. You can also set the service to auto-restart by accessing Task Scheduler and creating a recovery task.
Will clearing the spooler delete my documents?
Clearing the print queue deletes those specific print jobs from memory, not your original documents. Your files in Word, Excel, or email are completely safe. You'll need to reprint them once the spooler is working again, but they haven't been lost.
Do I need to do this on macOS too?
macOS handles printing differently than Windows. On Mac, go to System Preferences > Printers & Scanners, right-click your Xerox printer, and select "Delete." Then restart your computer and re-add the printer. If jobs are stuck, hold the Option key and right-click the printer to access the queue menu. The underlying principle is the same—clear stuck jobs and restart the print system.
What if the Print Spooler service won't restart?
This usually means a corrupted spooler file is preventing the service from starting. Manually delete files from the PRINTERS folder (step 3) before restarting. If you get permission errors, restart Windows in Safe Mode, then repeat the deletion and restart spooler. If it still fails, your Windows installation may need repair—consider running Windows Update or a system file check (sfc /scannow in Command Prompt as admin).