Printers can have many issues. One of the most frustrating is when a job won’t print or gets stuck in the printing queue. This page shows users how to forcefully clear the queue, so that they may continue printing other documents.

  • How to view and cancel a print job in Windows.

How to clear the printer queue

  • Press the Windows key, type Services, and then press Enter.
  • Scroll down the list until you find Print Spooler.

Clearing the printer queue is not the same as canceling a print job.

  • Right-click the Print Spooler line and select Stop from the drop-down menu that appears.

  • Next, press the Windows key+E to open a File Explorer window.

  • Type: %windir%\System32\spool\PRINTERS into the address bar at the top of the menu.

  • Delete all files in this folder.

  • Your printer queue should now be empty.

  • How to access the print queue.
  • How to view and cancel a print job in Windows.
  • How to pause a print job in Windows.
  • How to fix spool 32 printer error.
  • How to print a web page.
  • See our printer definition for further information and related links.
  • Printer help and support.