Table of Contents
In this article we will show you how To Clear Jobs from Print Queue. There are many reasons why a job you sent to your printer isn’t coming out. Most of the time, it’s a problem with the printer queue. When a device is turned off or removed while a document is being printed, the print job usually gets corrupted and gets stuck in the queue.
Most likely, you’ll forget about it and only remember when you try to print a new file but get the first one that took too long to print. Stuck print jobs are ones that won’t print and can’t be stopped either. It can be annoying to deal with these print jobs because they take up a spot in the print queue and stop other print jobs from running.
Still, this stuck print job problem can be fixed, just like most other Windows mistakes. When it comes to the print queue, printers can be very picky machines. Not only that, but you can’t remove the stuck print job from the queue or stop it, which is very annoying.
How To Clear Jobs from Print Queue on Windows
Force-Delete Printer Queue using the GUI
- Bring up the “Run” dialog by pressing “Windows key + R,” type “services.msc” in the box, and press “Enter.”
- Scroll down and right-click on “Print Spooler” within the list, then select “Stop.” This function will bring the printing queue to a halt.
- Press “Windows key + R” again, type “%systemroot%\System32\spool\printers\” followed by pressing “Ctrl + A” to select all files, if any, then tap “Delete” to remove them.
- Go back to the “Services” window that you left open, right-click on “Print Spooler” once again, then select “Start.”
- Close the “Services” window, and your print queue should now be clear.
Clear Printer Queue using Task Manager
- To open Task Manager, simultaneously press the “CTRL + ALT + Delete” keys.
- Once open, click the “Services” tab found between the “Processes” and “Performance” tabs.
- Scroll through all of the services until you find the “Spooler” service. Right-click it and select “Stop Service.”
- Launch “Windows File Explorer.” In the address bar, type “C:Windows\system32\spool\PRINTERS” and press “Enter.”
- You may experience a pop-up box prompting you to continue as administrator. Select “Continue.”
- DO NOT delete the “PRINTERS” folder! Select all entries within the folder by pressing “CTRL + A” followed by “Delete.”
- Once all entries get removed, head back to the “Task Manager -> Services” and right-click “Spooler.” This time, select “Start Service.”
- You can now exit out of Task Manager. Your queue should now be clear.
Force-Delete Printer Queue using Command Prompt
- Click the “Start” icon (Win 11) or the “Cortana search bar” (Win 10 and 8) in the lower-left area of your screen.
- Type “Command” in the box that appears.
- Right-click on “Command Prompt” and select “Run as Administrator.”
- Next, you’ll want to type “net stop spooler” and then press “Enter.” You’ll see the prompt “The Print Spool service is stopping” followed by “The Print Spooler service was stopped successfully.”
- At this point, type in “del %systemroot%\System32\spool\printers* /Q” and press “Enter.”
- To get the system rolling once again, type in “net start spooler” and press “Enter.” You’ll get prompted with “The Print Spooler service was started successfully.”
- You can now close the Command Prompt as your printer queue should now be clear.
How To Clear Jobs from Print Queue on Mac
Force Clear Printer Queue using Preferences
- Open the “Apple menu” and select “System Preferences.” Click on “Printers.”
- Select the printer that has the entries you wish to cancel/clear and choose “Open Print Queue.”
- Click the “X” icon next to each print job you wish to close.
- Confirm that your print queue is cleared of the deleted entries and exit the “Printer Utility.”
Force-Delete Printer Queue using the Mac Dock
- Hover the mouse cursor over the “Printer” icon. Click on the “name/IP address” that pops up for the printer you’re trying to clear. This process will open up the “Printer Utility.”
- Select the jobs you wish to remove from the queue and remove them by clicking the “X” alongside the names. This step cancels and clears the jobs you’ve selected.
- You can now exit the “Printer Utility” as your queue should be clear.
Force-Delete Printer Queue using Full Printer Reset
- Head to the “Apple” menu and choose “System Preferences.” Click on “Printers.”
- Press “Control + mouse click” on the left side’s printer list and select “Reset Print System…” Once there, you’ll get prompted for the admin password and a confirmation to wipe all printers, scanners, and faxes, including their queued jobs.
- Click “Reset” to delete all devices and print jobs, then you can add your printers, scanners, and faxes as usual.
FAQs
If you can’t get a print job out of the printing queue window by right-clicking it and clicking “Cancel,” you can try restarting your PC. This will sometimes get rid of things from the queue that are bad. Move on to the next steps if standard ways and restarting your computer don’t solve the problem.
You will see a link called “Devices and Printers” under “Hardware and Sound.” Click on it. Now, click on your printer button and then click on “See what’s printing.” Here, you can delete the file you want to get rid of or choose “Cancel all documents” to get rid of the whole printer history.