Fixes an issue in which a memory leak occurs in the Spoolsv.exe process. This issue occurs after you run an application that collects print job information by using the WMI ExecNotificationQuery method in Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

Security updates released on and after July 6, 2021 contain protections for a remote code execution vulnerability in the Windows Print Spooler service (spoolsv.exe) known as “PrintNightmare”, documented in CVE-2021-34527.

When you connect to more than 200 network printers that are hosted on a print server from a client computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, the Print Spooler (Spoolsv.exe) process stops responding.

We've added this issue to our memory dump diagnostic which can confirm. Consider the following scenario: You have a print server that is running Windows Server 2008. The print server has many print queues and print ports. In this scenario, the CPU usage of the print spooler service (Spoolsv.exe) occasionally spikes for a while.

Fixes an issue in which the Print Spooler service does not work correctly in Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 7, or Windows Server 2008 R2.

Fix an issue in which a crash occurs in the spoolsv.exe process in Windows Server 2008 SP2.

The steps below help you quickly clear the queue, reset the spooler, remove conflicting drivers, and restore normal printing. Clearing stuck jobs helps the spooler restart cleanly. Conflicting drivers are a common cause of spooler crashes. Uninstall unnecessary, old, or duplicate printer drivers.

In this scenario, the print driver installation is not completed successfully. This issue occurs because of a deadlock in Spoolsv.exe. A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article.

To request the hotfix package that applies to both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, just select the product that is listed on the page. No prerequisites are required. You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix. This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

Print spooler files are deleted unexpectedly before an application finishes using them in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.