Clear Stuck Jobs from Printer Queue in Windows 10

If you have a local or network printer connected to your Windows 10 PC, you may need to  to pause printing or remove print jobs which have got stuck. Sometimes, Windows ignores the clear queue command available in the user interface of the printer management window. Here is a quick solution to get rid of the stuck print jobs.

Tip: You can open your printer's queue with one click. See the following article:

Open Printer Queue With a Shortcut in Windows 10

Windows uses a special service called "Print Spooler". It stores your print jobs in the folder C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS. The connected printer retrieves these jobs from the spooler and prints your documents. If a document gets stuck in the queue, it permanently appears in the user interface. Sometimes it helps to turn off the printer and turn it on back. This depends on the printer's driver and doesn't work reliably for all printer models. In Windows 10, you can manage the printer queue using Devices and Printers in the classic Control Panel or in Settings->Devices->Printers and Scanners. If you cannot remove a printing job from there, try the following.

To clear stuck jobs from your printer queue in Windows 10, do the following.

 

1. Open an elevated command prompt.
2. Type or copy-paste the following command:

   net stop spooler

   This command will stop the Spooler service. See the following articles for more information: How To Start, Stop or Restart a Service in Windows 10.

3. Now, type or copy-paste the following command:
   del /s /f /q C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*.*

   This will remove all files in the PRINTERS folder. Thanks to our reader Rick Onanian for this tip.

4. Alternatively, open File Explorer. Do not close the command prompt window.
5. Go to the folder:
   C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS
   Confirm the security prompt.
6. Delete all files and folders you see in the folder.
7. Return to the command prompt window and type the following command:

   net start spooler

You are done.

You might be interested in reading the following articles:

• Open Printer Queue in Windows 10
• Create Printers Folder Shortcut in Windows 10
• Windows 10 Rundll32 Commands – the complete list