How to resolve an issue with a print job that freezes upon “cancel”
Preliminary: the Admin should verify that there are not other pending print jobs in the other printer queue prior to proceeding with the following steps
Step 1: Start – Run – type in services.msc – Print Spooler service, right-click on it and choose restart.
Step 2: Now that the print spooler service is stopped, we have to go into the Windows folder where all of the print jobs are spooled and delete them. Navigate to the following directory: “C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\PRINTERS.” Delete everything inside this folder. Be careful not to delete the folder itself. This will remove all print jobs currently in the print queue.
Step 3: Start the Print Spooler Service. Refresh the Print Job queue by pressing F5. All stuck print queues should now be cleared.
To redirect a print job, transfer the print queue to another printer to process the pending jobs in the queue.
Note: there’s a script that I have written to perform this task automatically, clearing any stuck print jobs with the duration of 3600 seconds (1 hour) or more. Let me know if you’d like to have it, and such request isn’t too far into the future where I’ve already erased on my silly notes.