Unprinting a bad print job in XP

Internet Fixes has instructions on how to get rid of that print job that won’t let anything else print.  (This is also a great site for all sorts of help on problems.)

If the printer was not turned on, or it jammed, or one of a number of other problems cropped up, Windows XP may just keep insisting on trying to print that one bad job, and not allow anything else to go through. Sometimes web pages may have a stray code that fools the printer and causes it to flake out.

You can see the print job in the queue by going to Start | Printers And Faxes and double-clicking the appropriate printer. While the queue lists Printing as the status, the job never prints, and other print jobs begin to stack up behind it.

If you cancel the jammed print job, the Status column indicates that you’ve deleted it. However, it never completes the delete operation, and the jammed print job remains right where it is. Frustrating, right?

When you encounter a jammed print job, your first instinct may be to reboot the system, which may flush the jammed print job from the queue, or at least give you a chance to delete it when it boots up again. But there’s an easier way.

Follow these steps:

1. Open Control Panel, and double-click Administrative Tools.
2. Double-click Services.
3. Scroll through the list of running services, and select the Print Spooler service.
4. Click the Stop Service button on the toolbar.
5. 5. After waiting a moment, click the Start button on the toolbar.
6. 6. Close Services, and close Administrative Tools.

When you return to the print queue, the jammed print job should no longer be there. If it is, you should now be able to delete it normally. Keep in mind that you may have to manually update the queue by selecting Refresh from the View menu.