Print spooler service not starting after removal of malware

1

I have a user whom I have removed a "fake antivirus" on her machine but now her print spooler service is unable to start. I have attempted to restart the service to no avail. Is there a way to repair/reinstall the service from a xp cd?

Walter

Posted 2011-07-01T13:18:41.337

Reputation: 11

Answers

1

First, are there any specific errors you could list from the event logs? What kind of printer do you have, because HP has a tool that may help as it can fix some problems automatically (not sure if it will run otherwise).

Now that the computer is clean (hopefully you ran multiple removal tools), I would do a system restore.

I would also do sfc /scannow at a command prompt to make sure all the files are intact.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&softwareitem=mp-66038-3

KCotreau

Posted 2011-07-01T13:18:41.337

Reputation: 24 985

I think that utility is for HP printers, have you used it on systems without a HP printer?..."The HP Printing Diagnostic Utility is created to diagnose and fix many common issues preventing printing from the computer. It works for many HP printing devices. " – Moab – 2011-07-01T14:06:37.320

@Moab I did mention that I was not sure if it would run with other printers, but that makes me wonder, what if you just installed a dummy printer on LPT1. It would not necessarily fix anything HP-related, but it might still check, and fix any Windows issues. – KCotreau – 2011-07-01T14:16:01.330

@Moab By the way, I just thought I would say that you and grawity are probably my favorite posters here. You guys seem to know what you are talking about. – KCotreau – 2011-07-01T14:27:55.057

grawity is smart, I just fake it well. ;-> Let me know if you test the HP utility on a system with another brand printer, would like to know if it checks for that before it runs. – Moab – 2011-07-01T14:55:35.257

@Moab I don't have any physical non-HP printers. I could do that LPT1 test with a non-HP, but then why, when I could just try it making a fake HP one for LPT1 in the first place? :) – KCotreau – 2011-07-01T15:16:18.873

I was just wondering if it would work for legitimate purposes when a member has a non HP printer, I will try it later today on a system I have with a Canon Printer. – Moab – 2011-07-01T16:42:37.260

@Moab Definitely post back your results. Thanks. – KCotreau – 2011-07-01T17:03:20.940

It installs, but will only show HP printers when selecting printers to diagnose, so it cannot be used with non HP printers. :-< – Moab – 2011-07-01T19:22:23.167

@Moab Thanks for the update. So he could still install it with a dummy HP printer since it also checks for Windows printing issues. – KCotreau – 2011-07-01T21:41:09.713

-1

Google FTW. The answeris, "Yes man!"

http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/print-spooler-wont-start-t544782.html

Edit: I added the post here.

  1. Put your XP CD in the CD Drive.

  2. Start > Run > EXPAND /r "TheCDDriveLetter"\i386\SPOOLSV.EX_ C:\Windows\System32

  3. Start > Run SPOOLSV.EXE /install

surfasb

Posted 2011-07-01T13:18:41.337

Reputation: 21 453

Please post the contents of the link or fix you found, as we get link rot here, just posting a link as an answer is frowned upon here. – Moab – 2011-07-01T14:04:40.333

I'm so use to just pasting the link to give credit, rather than cut and pasting it all, but I give. – surfasb – 2011-07-01T19:44:26.480

Giving credit is fine, but this is not a forum, more of an ongoing wiki with community editing to improve questions or answers, and links eventually become broken, so we try to post as much info as we can. If there is a duplicate question already posted (see related on the side bar), don't answer but vote to close as duplicate. Please read the FAQ...http://superuser.com/faq

– Moab – 2011-07-01T20:11:11.817

@Moab: This is true. – surfasb – 2011-07-01T20:18:07.867