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

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: 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.

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

Fix this problem
Microsoft Automated Troubleshooting Services 100003

Note This wizard is temporarily in English only. However, the automatic fix also works for other language versions of Windows.

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

To start the Spooler service, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Administrative Tools, and then click Services.
3. 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.
4. 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.

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

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