Application Error in SPOOLSS.EXE When Printing

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This article was previously published under Q147347

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SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to print or configure the printer in Windows NT, you may receive the following error message:

An application error has occurred and an application error log is being generated.

SPOOLSS.EXE

Exception: access violation (0xc0000005), Address: <Hex address>

IN Windows 2000, you may receive the following error message:

An application error has occurred and an application error log is being generated.

SPOOLSV.EXE

Exception: access violation (0xc0000005), Address: <Hex address>

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This problem occurs if you have many .SHD and .SPL files in the spool directory. The global default location for all printer spool files is %SYSTEMROOT%\SYSTEM32\SPOOL\PRINTERS. If your spool directory is in a different location, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

123747 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/123747/EN-US/ ) Moving the Windows NT Default Paging and Spool File

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RESOLUTION

To correct this problem, stop the Spooler service, and remove the .SHD and .SPL files from your spool directory. In addition, remove any unused or old .TMP files from your Temp directory. The Spooler service can then be restarted.

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