Spriglet #5: Clear the Print Spool in Windows XP By Force

Spriglet #5: Have a print job in Windows that just won’t go away? Here’s how to fix it:

®= right-click, © = click, © © = double-click

1. ® on My Computer and choose “Manage”
2. © on “Services” in the left pane
3. © © on “Print Spooler” in the right pane
4. © the “Stop” button
5. Leave this window open and hit Windows-E to bring up an Explorer window
6. Drill down to c:\windows\system32\printers\spool
7. Highlight and delete all of the files in here
8. Back on the Print Spooler Properties window, © Start
9. © Start, © Settings, © Printers and Faxes, © © the printer with the stuck job
10. Hit F5 to refresh. All of the print jobs should now be gone.

UPDATE: Check out the shorter batch file method in the comments below. Thanks, White Panther.

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