Hi,My computer suddendly would not print saying that the spooler service was not running, so I went into services.msc and saw that the print spooler was stopped and was set to manual instead of automatic. Also, the Description shows weird symbols ·þÎñÃèÊöI googled it and I haven't really seen a straight answer why it changed or why it stopped the service.I did find a way to change the description in the registry, if you go to 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Se rvices\Spooler' and then manually change the Description field.I would like to know how/why this happened since I want to make sure this doesn't happen again.I was printing just fine the day before but this happened the next morning after applying windows updates. I haven't updated, changed or installed any printers' drivers.Any info will be much appreciate it.thanks,

Hi Anjo6677,· Are you able to start the print spooler service?· Which updates you have installed prior to this issue?It’s not necessary that the issue have occurred due to updates. This issue may occur due to virus or malware as well.Let’s follow these methods & check if the issue persists.Method 1If you are still getting the error, you may run the “Fix it” tool from this link & check if it helps.You cannot add a printer and you receive printer spooler error messages in Windows XPIf it doesn’t help, follow the section ‘Let me fix it myself’ from the above link.Method 2a) I would also recommend you to run an online virus scan from the link given below & check if the issue persists. http://onecare.live.com/site/en-nz/default.htm?mkt=en-nzAdditionally, make sure that you have the latest update for the antivirus software installed on your machine, so that it works properly.b)You may also download & run Microsoft Security Essentials on your machine & check if it removes the virus. Hope the information helps. Please post back and let us know.RegardsDebleena SMicrosoft Answers Support EngineerVisit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

Hi Debleena S,to answer your questions:- yes, Im able to start the spooler service, I already set it to Automatic and restarted the computer and it's running fine.- My computer has the latest updates. it's my work computer that it's updated by the company once a week.- I already ran the antivirus and also antirootkit tools.. everything comes clean.. which makes me believe it's not a virus.- method 1 doesnt apply because Im able to add printers and remove them. most of them are network printers.-method 2, like I mentioned before, I did run antyspyware(malwarebytes), antivirus (mcafee), antirootkits(kasperski) and everything seems clean. I havent tried miscrosoft essentials but since it's a 'business' computer, then we do have a webfilter with antivirus as well.I should probably add that everything is working fine, it's just the Description of the spooler service that made me wonder why it happened. I have another computer with the same updates and same configuration (same image) but with no so many printers as mine, and this second one does not have those symbols in the description.Im just wondering if this one has to do more with one of the printers' drivers that could've modified the description of it.one last thing, i checked the spoolsv.exe version in both computers and both have the same one.Hope some info can be provided about this since it seems this problem has happened to others but not really a good reason how or why.thanks,

I got the same issue yesterday. I have Norton running in my box all the time and the scan returns clean.My spoolsv.exe is versioned as 6.1.7600.16661, dated 8/21/2010 12:32AM and with size of 316,928.Can anyone tell me wether it looks like a genuine version or has beem tampered by spyware? Thanks.

Hi SillyShen,We have McAfee enterprise antivirus and the version for spoolsv.exe in my XP machine is: 5.1.2600.6024 and the size is 57.5 KB (58,880 bytes).Im not sure if you're running a different OS but I got to the conclusion that it has to do with one of the many printers' drivers that I installed. I have so many that Im not sure which it is but they're all HP LaserJet.If you get any info, please let me know. it seems no one has a technical answer but just assumptions like me :)Cheers,

If you want to scan your spoolsv.exe file (or any single file), I would upload it to these two sites where 40+ reputable scanning softwares will examine it:http://www.virustotal.com/ (about 40+ scanners)http://virusscan.jotti.org/en (about 20+ scanners)The Services you see in the Services Applet get the Description they display from the registry. Each Service has a section in the registry.THe default Print Spooler Service Description is:Loads files to memory for later printing.If your Print Spooler is malfunctioning, of course you should fix it. If your Print Spooler Service is working okay and the Description display contents are merely annoying (I think it would annoy me) somehow the Description got changed, so change it back. It could have been from an old malicious software infection, some added/deleted printer, etc. There is no reason to mess with that information though, but who knows what software has been installed on machines these days. If your system is on a network, who knows what might have happened.Before making any changes to your registry by hand or with third party tools, be sure to make a backup of the registry first.There is no undo or quit without saving option in regedit.Here is a link to a popular registry backup tool:http://www.snapfiles.com/get/erunt.htmlAfter backing up your registry do this:Click Start, Run and in the box enter:regeditClick OK to open the Registry Editor.Navigate to where the Services are, which would be here:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ServicesThen locate and select (highlight) the Spooler Service which would be here:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SpoolerIn the right hand side pane, double click the Description value and change it to say whatever you want (or use the default words).Exit the Registry Editor.In this case, the effect of the registry edit is immediate and no restart is required, but restart anyway to be sure the changes "stick".Just because Norton ran clean doesn't mean your system is not infected. It just means that Norton didn't find anything it knows about.Not all scanning softwares know about everything, so it is prudent to use more than one.If you suspect your system may have a malicious software infection, I would also do this:Download, install, update and do a full scan with these free malware detection programs:Malwarebytes (MBAM): http://malwarebytes.org/SUPERAntiSpyware: (SAS): http://www.superantispyware.com/They can be uninstalled later if desired. Do, or do not. There is no try.I decided to save up points for a new puppy instead of a pony!

If you want to scan your spoolsv.exe file (or any single file), I would upload it to these two site where 40+ reputable scanning softwares will examine it:http://www.virustotal.com/ (about 40+ scanners)http://virusscan.jotti.org/en (about 20+ scanners)The Services you see in the Services Applet get the Description they display from the registry. Each Service has a section in the registry.THe default Print Spooler Service Description is:Loads files to memory for later printing.If your Print Spooler is malfunctioning, of course you should fix it. If your Print Spooler Service is working okay and the Description values is merely annoying (I think it would annoy me) somehow the Description got changed, so change it back. It could have been from an old malicious software infection, some added/deleted printer, etc. There is no reason to mess with that information though, but who knows what software has been installed on machines these days. If your system is on a network, who knows what might have happened.Before making any changes to your registry by hand or with third party tools, be sure to make a backup of the registry first.There is no undo or quit without saving option in regedit.Here is a link to a popular registry backup tool:http://www.snapfiles.com/get/erunt.htmlClick Start, Run and in the box enter:regeditClick OK to open the Registry Editor.Navigate to where the Services are, which would be here:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ServicesThen locate and select (highlight) the Spooler Service which would be here:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SpoolerIn the right hand side pane, double click the Description value and change it to say whatever you want (or use the default words).Exit the Registry Editor.In this case, the effect of the registry edit is immediate and no restart is required, but restart anyway to be sure the changes "stick".Just because Norton ran clean doesn't mean your system is not infected. It just means that Norton didn't find anything it knows about.Not all scanning softwares know about everything, so it is prudent to use more than one.If you suspect your system may have a malicious software infection, I would also do this:Download, install, update and do a full scan with these free malware detection programs:Malwarebytes (MBAM): http://malwarebytes.org/SUPERAntiSpyware: (SAS): http://www.superantispyware.com/They can be uninstalled later if desired. Do, or do not. There is no try.I decided to save up points for a new puppy instead of a pony!