Error message when you use the Add Printer Wizard: "Operation could not be completed"

View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q314876

Expand all | Collapse all

Error description

When you use the Add Printer Wizard to create a printer, either a local printer or a remote network printer, you may receive the following error message:

Operation could not be completed. The print spooler service is not running.

This error occurs because the Spooler service has not been started or has stopped working. This article helps you fix the problem.

To have us fix this problem for you, go to the “Fix it for me” section. If you would rather fix this problem yourself, go to the “Let me fix it myself” section.

Back to the top

Fix it for me

To fix these problems automatically, click the Fix this problem button or link. Then click Run now in the Automated Troubleshooting Services page and follow the steps in this wizard.

Fix this problem
Microsoft Automated Troubleshooting Services: Printing problems and printing errors

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/printing_problems

Now go to the "Did this fix the problem?" section.

Back to the top

Let me fix it myself

To start the Spooler service, follow these steps:

Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
Double-click Administrative Tools, and then click Services.
Double-click the Printer Spooler service, and then change the startup type to Automatic. This sets the Spooler service to start automatically when you restart the computer.
If you want to start the spooler service immediately, click Start under the Service Status field.

Now go to the "Did this fix the problem?" section.

Back to the top

Did this fix the problem?

Check whether you can create a printer. If you can create a printer, you are finished with this article. If you cannot create a printer, you can contact support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus) .
We would appreciate your feedback. To provide feedback or to report any issues with this solution, please leave a comment on the "Fix it for me" blog (http://blogs.technet.com/fixit4me/) , or send us an e-mail (mailto:fixit4me@microsoft.com?Subject=KB314876 - Error Message Add Printer Wizard) message.

Back to the top

Status

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

Back to the top

More information

You can also start the Spooler service by typing net start spooler in the Run dialog box. For the Microsoft Windows 2000 version of this article, refer to the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

158042 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/158042/ ) "Operation could not be completed" when using Add Printer Wizard

For more information about how to troubleshoot issues with printing, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

314085 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314085/ ) Advanced troubleshooting for when you cannot print in Windows XP

Back to the top