{"id":1260,"date":"2013-10-22T10:46:55","date_gmt":"2013-10-22T05:16:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=1260"},"modified":"2019-05-12T02:56:35","modified_gmt":"2019-05-12T02:56:35","slug":"print-spooler-service-error-2-error-3-windows-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/print-spooler-service-error-2-error-3-windows-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Fix Print Spooler Service Error 2 and Error 3 in Windows"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When you open Devices and Printers applet, none of your printers may be listed. Running the Printer Troubleshooter may show that the Print Spooler service isn&#8217;t running, and attempts to start the Print Spooler service manually via Services MMC or using the Microsoft <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/mats\/printing_problems\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Printer Troubleshooter Fix-It<\/a> may turn out to be futile, showing up one of the following errors:<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Windows could not start the Print Spooler service on Local Computer.<\/p>\n<p>Error 2: The system cannot find the file specified.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived2\/spooler-err3-2.png\" width=\"512\" height=\"209\"><\/p>\n<p>-or-<\/p>\n<p class=\"err\">Windows could not start the Print Spooler service on Local Computer. <\/p>\n<p>Error 3: The system cannot find the path specified.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived2\/spooler-err3-1.png\" width=\"512\" height=\"209\"><\/p>\n<p>Obviously the first thing the user did was to run the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/mats\/printing_problems\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Printer Troubleshooter Fix-It<\/a>, and it did determine Spooler service wasn&#8217;t running, but was unable to fix it.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived2\/spooler-err3-3.png\" width=\"594\" height=\"344\"><\/p>\n<p>There could be two possible causes for this error. 1) Spooler service registry settings are incorrect and\/or 2) Some spooler modules missing (which <i>SFC \/Scannow<\/i> could fix). First I had the user send me the Spooler service registry settings, and it showed:<\/p>\n<pre>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\services\\Spooler<\/p><p>DisplayName REG_SZ @%systemroot%\\system32\\spoolsv.exe,-1<br>Group REG_SZ SpoolerGroup<br>Description REG_SZ @%systemroot%\\system32\\spoolsv.exe,-2<br>ObjectName REG_SZ LocalSystem<br>ErrorControl REG_DWORD 0x1<br>Start REG_DWORD 0x2<br>Type REG_DWORD 0x110<br>DependOnService REG_MULTI_SZ RPCSS<br>ServiceSidType REG_DWORD 0x1<br>RequiredPrivileges REG_MULTI_SZ SeTcbPrivilege\\0SeImpersonatePrivilege<br>\\0SeAuditPrivilege\\0SeChangeNotifyPrivilege\\0SeAssignPrimaryTokenPrivilege\\0SeLo<br>adDriverPrivilege<br>FailureActions REG_BINARY 80510100000000000000000003000000140000000100<br>000060EA00000100000060EA00000000000000000000<\/pre>\n<p>The <b>ImagePath<\/b> value was missing, which caused &quot;Error 3: The system cannot find the path specified.&quot;. In case the ImagePath value exists but contains incorrect data (pointing to a non-existent file), it results in &quot;Error 2: The system cannot find the file specified.&quot; when starting the Spooler service.<\/p>\n<p>The problem was <b>resolved<\/b> by creating a value named <b>ImagePath<\/b> (of type REG_EXPAND_SZ) and setting it the following value data:<\/p>\n<pre>%SystemRoot%\\System32\\spoolsv.exe<\/pre>\n<h2>Registry Fix for Print Spooler service<\/h2>\n<p>If you prefer running a REG fix rather than editing the registry manually, then download <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived2\/w7_spooler_svc.zip\">W7_Spooler_Svc.zip<\/a>. Unzip and run the enclosed REG file. This restores the default registry settings for the Print Spooler service in Windows 7, 8 and 8.1. For Windows 10, download the registry file <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived2\/w10_spooler_svc.zip\">W10_Spooler_Svc.zip<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you open Devices and Printers applet, none of your printers may be listed. Running the Printer Troubleshooter may show that the Print Spooler service isn&#8217;t running, and attempts to start the Print Spooler service manually via Services MMC or using the Microsoft Printer Troubleshooter Fix-It may turn out to be futile, showing up one &#8230; <a title=\"Fix Print Spooler Service Error 2 and Error 3 in Windows\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/print-spooler-service-error-2-error-3-windows-7\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Fix Print Spooler Service Error 2 and Error 3 in Windows\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[191],"class_list":["post-1260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows","tag-error-messages"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":78255,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/print-spooler-1297-privilege-error\/","url_meta":{"origin":1260,"position":0},"title":"Print Spooler Error 1297: Privilege does not exist","author":"Ramesh","date":"April 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"When you try to add a new printer or a scanner, the following error code may appear: Error 1297: A privilege that the service requires to function properly does not exist in the service account configuration. This happens if the Print Spooler service is unable to start. If you start\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Print Spooler service error 1297","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/spooler-1297-error.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/spooler-1297-error.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/spooler-1297-error.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/spooler-1297-error.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1191,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/fix-spooler-service-error-1068-dependency-failed\/","url_meta":{"origin":1260,"position":1},"title":"Print Spooler Error 1068 &#8220;The dependency service or group failed to start&#8221;","author":"Ramesh","date":"March 3, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"When you attempt to start the Print Spooler service (via services.msc), one of the following error messages may appear, and the Print Spooler service fails to start: Could not start the Print Spooler service on Local Computer. Error 1075: The dependency service does not exist or has been marked for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"spooler 1068 dependency","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/03\/spooler-error-1068-dependency.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/03\/spooler-error-1068-dependency.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/03\/spooler-error-1068-dependency.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1364,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/print-spooler-error-1053-windows-7\/","url_meta":{"origin":1260,"position":2},"title":"Fix Print Spooler Error 1053 in Windows 7","author":"Ramesh","date":"April 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"When you start the Print Spooler service in Windows 7, error 1053 may occur:Windows could not start the Print Spooler on Local Computer.Error 1053: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.To resolve the problem, use these steps:1. Open Services MMC (services.msc)2. Double-click\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 7&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 7","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-7\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived2\/w7-spooler-error-1053.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1185,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/fix-devices-and-printers-completely-empty-windows-7\/","url_meta":{"origin":1260,"position":3},"title":"Fix Devices and Printers Folder is Completely Blank in Windows 7","author":"Ramesh","date":"October 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"When you open Devices and Printers applet, it may show up as an empty folder although the devices are correctly connected and their drivers are intact. This can be due to several reasons, and the possible causes (with appropriate fixes) are discussed in this post. We've observed that Devices and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 7&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 7","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-7\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived\/w7-dev-empty-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived\/w7-dev-empty-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived\/w7-dev-empty-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5884,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/cancel-stuck-print-job-queue-clearing-spool-folder\/","url_meta":{"origin":1260,"position":4},"title":"How to Cancel or Delete a Stuck Print Job and Clear Paper Jam","author":"Ramesh","date":"November 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Everyone would have experienced this. When printing documents, the printer may get stuck in the middle for some reason or the other. This also causes the print job to get stuck in the queue, and canceling the jobs via Printer properties doesn't help. Even if you switch off your printer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"cancel all print job documents","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/spooler-print-jobs-queue-cancel.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/spooler-print-jobs-queue-cancel.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/spooler-print-jobs-queue-cancel.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/spooler-print-jobs-queue-cancel.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28995,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/printer-error-0x00000bc4-0x00000709-windows-11-22h2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1260,"position":5},"title":"Fix: Printer Error 0x00000bc4 or 0x00000709 in Windows 11 22H2","author":"Ramesh","date":"October 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"After updating Windows 11 to version 22H2, your network printers may stop working. Also, the error code 0x00000bc4 (Desc: ERROR_PRINTER_NOT_FOUND) or 0x00000709 (Desc: ERROR_INVALID_PRINTER_NAME) appears when adding a new network printer. Operation could not be completed (error 0x00000bc4). No Printers Were Found. The printer name is invalid. Cause Windows 11\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 11&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 11","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-11\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"0x00000bc4 22h2 - printer gpo rpc connection","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/rpc-printer-gpo-w11.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/rpc-printer-gpo-w11.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/rpc-printer-gpo-w11.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/rpc-printer-gpo-w11.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1260\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}