Hi,

Since I've updated to Windows 8.1 my print spooler doesn't start, even though it is set to automatic.  I have created a shortcut to services within compmgmt.msc on my taskbar and have to start the service every time I want to print.  This shouldn't be necessary with a grown up operating system.  what is wrong?  What do I need to do to fix this once and for all?

Have you tried to clear the folder "%WINDIR%\system32\spool\printers"?

Then restart the service.

The printers folder is empty.  I know how to re-start the service - its just that this should happen without me haveing to intervene!

Check the System event log for the service failure.  The event will point to a faulting module.  Normally spooler service failure are due to drivers that corrupt the process memory.  In the cases below it's a print processor.

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/d875ab83-1b17-4a28-8738-e67249a2bdfd/cannot-print-after-update-to-81-printers-gone-print-spooler-keeps-stopping-cannot-add?forum=w8itprohardware

from this post:  Our issue seems to be related to Thomson Reuters Accounting software (Creative Solutions Professional) which runs several print services and which seem to have compatibility issues (perhaps) with the 8.1 upgrade. Just FYI in case it affects you.

I can see that the following error occurred during the boot process:

"The Print Spooler service terminated with the following error:
The endpoint is a duplicate."

It seems to me that I need to uninstall a printer but where can I find what printers are installed if they do not appear in "Devices and Printers" ?

PS:

This is a stand-alone PC.

I am not running any accounting software.

I am running an Epson Stylus Photo 1500W and Epson have confirmed that this is the latest driver, which they have running under Win 8.1

Could you copy the event you are seeing?

thanks

This appears in the next item:

The following boot-start or system-start driver(s) did not load:
dam
EhStorClass
KLIM6
klwfp
kneps

Followed by:

The UMDF reflector was unable to complete startup because the WUDFPf service was not found.  This service may be started later during boot, at which point Windows will attempt to start the device again.

Then:

The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device SWD\WPDBUSENUM\_??_USBSTOR#Disk&Ven_Generic-&Prod_Compact_Flash&Rev_1.01#058F63626476&1#{53f56307-b6bf-11d0-94f2-00a0c91efb8b}.

and:

The UMDF reflector was unable to complete startup because the WUDFPf service was not found.  This service may be started later during boot, at which point Windows will attempt to start the device again.

two more warnings then appear:

The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device SWD\WPDBUSENUM\_??_USBSTOR#Disk&Ven_Generic-&Prod_MS#MS-Pro&Rev_1.03#058F63626476&3#{53f56307-b6bf-11d0-94f2-00a0c91efb8b}.

The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device SWD\WPDBUSENUM\_??_USBSTOR#Disk&Ven_Generic-&Prod_SM#xD-Picture&Rev_1.02#058F63626476&2#{53f56307-b6bf-11d0-94f2-00a0c91efb8b}.

followed by

The UMDF reflector was unable to complete startup because the WUDFPf service was not found.  This service maybe started later during boot, at which point Windows will attempt to start the device again.

Are these helpful?

Not from the spooler context. Does the Epson device have some sort of storage component?

UMDF has something to do with your smart card reader.

I have checked direct with Epson and they have sent the following response:

"In response to your query, the printer does have a buffer but it does not store any data as the buffer is reset every time the printer is switched off and on. The spooler service should not be affected by this as a spooler service is a component of the Microsoft Window and is not reliant upon the printer to collaborate. A print spooler could indeed have an issue even without the printer installed on your system."

I still think this has something to do with a "duplicate device" which is not visible.  If so, how can I clear all print devices when they are not "installed"?

The error you previously stated was regarding a Duplicate End point.  That's not a printer so removing vendor software may not resolve the issue.  The Endpoint is set by RPC.  I assume you have attempted to start the spooler service after the machine has started.  If you get the Duplicate error at this point something is blocking the RPC endpoint creation.  I've seen posts where the spooler is working but sharing fails due to duplicate endpoint mapping. http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-hardware/printer-sharing-error-0x000006cc-windows-7/8ef2cc98-927f-46cd-a1cc-e1178fa3b692?page=1

Bruce's site explains how to edit the registry to remove the driver components.  The location will be different if you have a 64bit machine.

http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/CleanPrinterDrivers.htm

I am running windows 8.1 on an AMD FX-6100 6 core processor

I can start the spooler service manually and it will continue to run until I reboot the systrem.  What I want is to be able to have the service start automatically, without any intervention on my part.

What does sc.exe return for the service?

C:\>sc qc spooler
[SC] QueryServiceConfig SUCCESS

SERVICE_NAME: spooler
        TYPE               : 110  WIN32_OWN_PROCESS (interactive)
        START_TYPE         : 2   AUTO_START
        ERROR_CONTROL      : 1   NORMAL
        BINARY_PATH_NAME   : C:\Windows\System32\spoolsv.exe
        LOAD_ORDER_GROUP   : SpoolerGroup
        TAG                : 0
        DISPLAY_NAME       : Print Spooler
        DEPENDENCIES       : RPCSS
                           : http
        SERVICE_START_NAME : LocalSystem

This is exactly what I got:

C:\Users\Martin>sc qc spooler

[SC] QueryServiceConfig SUCCESS

 

SERVICE_NAME: spooler

     Type                             : 110 WIN32_OWN_PROCESS (interactive)

     START_TYPE                  : 2  AUTO_START

     ERROR_CONTROL          : 1  NORMAL

     BINARY_PATH_NAME      : C:\WINDOWS\System32\Spoolsv.exe

     LOAD_ORDER_GROUP   : SpoolerGroup

     TAG                                : 0

     DISPLAY_NAME              : Print Spooler

     DEPENDENCIES             : RPCSS

                                           :  http

     SERVICE_START_NAME  : LocalSystem

 

C:\Users\Martin

PS:

This is a stand-alone PC.

I am not running any accounting software.

I am running an Epson Stylus Photo 1500W and Epson have confirmed that this is the latest driver, which they have running under Win 8.1

You may have some conflict in the driver stack.

DIsconnect the printer  and then uninstall the driver, then plug it back in and see if windows update can install the driver properly

Make sure Remote Procedure Call service is set to Automatically start.  Someone else reported that this was set to manual on their 8.1 upgrade.  There are many services that rely on RPC.  I'd expect you would be seeing other odd remote issues.

Having had this problem myself and having spent 8hrs with 3 different Global Escalation Engineers after complaining to Steve Balmer & Bill Gates, I have found a temporary solution to the spoolersv.exe problem.

Part of the problem is the multitude of environmental temp & tmp folders - any file left in one can cause this problem! The solution is to use regedit to change Environment in [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Environment], [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Environment], [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-18\Environment], [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-19\Environment], [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-20\Environment] and [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-156684348-2512871704-1280440115-1001\Environment] to point to c:\temp. I then created a standard batch file, which has to be run in an Administrator Command Prompt, which stops Spooler service, removes the files from c:\temp, checks for the presence of spool.exe.org, removes the faulty spoolsv.exe, renames spool.exe.org spoolsv.exe and then restarts Spooler service.

This works every time on my machine and takes as long as the file run time to cure the problem.

I cannot upload the files to this forum,unless someone can help in this respect, but please contact me for copies of the files.

Why the multitude of temp files are needed only the original builders back to Win 1 know! I have suggested that ALL Microsoft help staff are given copies of these files so that, at least temporarily, this problem can be sorted easily.

I use HP mostly but I have an old Brother MFC rig too. The Brother is network connected and the HP printer is USB attached to my server. I have not had problems printing from anything.

I am using Server 2012 R2 for the appliance.

I wonder if here is some issue with the desktop variant of Windows that is making life difficult

I suggest using  a spare disk and install the OS fresh and see if the issue of printing is reproducable