printer spooler stops unexpectedly

  • Thread starter Thread starter becr
  • Start date Start date
B

becr

Printer does not show up in devices and error message says "Print spooler
service is not available." Event log shows this warning right about the time
we started to have problems:

Printer Driver Microsoft XPS Document Writer for Windows NT x86 Version-3
was added or updated. Files:- mxdwdrv.dll, unidrvui.dll, mxdwdui.gpd,
unidrv.hlp, mxdwdui.dll, mxdwdui.ini, stddtype.gdl, stdnames.gpd,
stdschem.gdl, stdschmx.gdl, unidrv.dll, unires.dll, XpsSvcs.dll.

Then a warning the next day:
Printer WebEx Document Loader was deleted.

Then started to get errors:
DCOM got error "The service did not respond to the start or control request
in a timely fashion. " attempting to start the service lxcf_device with
arguments "" in order to run the server:
{323CE21C-A448-40AA-BA74-7FCF1E44106F}

Further events in the log show when we tried to restart the service, show
that the printer spooler service would start and then unexpectedly quit a
minute or so later.

This is a Lexmark printer, also installed a Linksys wireless router at about
the same time. Was this a coincidence that we started to have problems with
the spooler after installing the router? Already tried a system restore and
Windows says nothing was changed. Any way to solve this without reinstalling
Windows?

thanks for your help!
 
Printer does not show up in devices and error message says "Print spooler
service is not available."  Event log shows this warning right about the time
we started to have problems:

Printer Driver Microsoft XPS Document Writer for Windows NT x86 Version-3
was added or updated. Files:- mxdwdrv.dll, unidrvui.dll, mxdwdui.gpd,
unidrv.hlp, mxdwdui.dll, mxdwdui.ini, stddtype.gdl, stdnames.gpd,
stdschem.gdl, stdschmx.gdl, unidrv.dll, unires.dll, XpsSvcs.dll.

Then a warning the next day:
Printer WebEx Document Loader was deleted.

Then started to get errors:
DCOM got error "The service did not respond to the start or control request
in a timely fashion. " attempting to start the service lxcf_device with
arguments "" in order to run the server:
{323CE21C-A448-40AA-BA74-7FCF1E44106F}

Further events in the log show when we tried to restart the service, show
that the printer spooler service would start and then unexpectedly quit a
minute or so later.

This is a Lexmark printer, also installed a Linksys wireless router at about
the same time.  Was this a coincidence that we started to have problemswith
the spooler after installing the router?  Already tried a system restore and
Windows says nothing was changed.  Any way to solve this without reinstalling
Windows?

thanks for your help!
Click to expand...

I do not have your problem and will never be able to reproduce it, but
did a little Googling for such things as lxcf_device and came across a
long MS article and another XP type forum that seems to have your
problem but doesn't appear to end in a resolution.

Lexmark is mentioned in both.

Microsoft says:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324757

The following sounds a lot like your problem:

http://www.techsupportforum.com/mic...rrors-show-up-frequently-my-event-viewer.html

There are more Google results to read about the lxcf_device that I did
not look at, so maybe some crafty Google searching may help you find a
happy ending.
 
Thanks for answering - I had found those 2 articles along with some others.
I ran the microsoft "fix-it" mentioned below on both "light" (which ran, but
didn't fix the problem) and on "full" - which partially ran and then stopped
and gave me the message:
"Found a problem: spoolss.dll is missing and a backup copy could not be
found. Please open a command prompt and type "sfc /scannow" (without the
quotes) then press Enter."

Any suggestions besides reinstalling windows? Can I just add that missing
dll file from my Windows XP program disk?

thanks!
 
Thanks for answering - I had found those 2 articles along with some others.  
I ran the microsoft "fix-it" mentioned below on both "light" (which ran, but
didn't fix the problem) and on "full" - which partially ran and then stopped
and gave me the message:
"Found a problem: spoolss.dll is missing and a backup copy could not be
found. Please open a command prompt and type "sfc /scannow" (without the
quotes) then press Enter."

Any suggestions besides reinstalling windows?  Can I just add that missing
dll file from my Windows XP program disk?

thanks!
Click to expand...

Look in \windows\system32 and see id spoolss.dll is really missing.

Use the Windows Search feature to try to find the spoolss.dll file on
your system and put it in the system32 folder if yours is missing.

There may be a copy on your HDD already in the servicepackfiles\i386
folder.

On your XP installation CD in the i386 folder is a file called
spoolss.dl_

The files on your installation CD with an underscore as the last
character are compressed and need to be expanded (this happens during
the XP installation), so you just can't copy it over.

You can copy the spoolss.dl_ file to your system32 folder and then
expand it by typing in:

expand spoolss.dl_ spoolss.dll

Make sure the spoolss.dll gets expanded and is in the system32 folder
and try again.
 
Thank you for answering!! I located the spoolerss.dll in the
servicepackfiles/i386. In which subfolder in system32 should I put it? or
should I just drag it over to the main folder and windows will know where to
put it? I am very nervous about messing with the system since I am a novice!
Thanks,
 
Thank you for answering!!  I located the spoolerss.dll in the
servicepackfiles/i386.  In which subfolder in system32 should I put it? or
should I just drag it over to the main folder and windows will know whereto
put it?  I am very nervous about messing with the system since I am a novice!
 Thanks,
Click to expand...

Do not "drag and drop" it - copy and paste it into:

C:\windows\system32

Where the other 1000+ dlls already out there will be happy to see it.

If you drag and drop it, that will remove it (that's what a drag does)
from the source location - best just copy and paste the copy where you
want.
 
My printer stopped working a couple of months ago. The error message says
it's a print spooler problem. It has also done this twice during the past
year and I reinstalled windows xp both times to fix it. So there must be
something about my computer that after a few months kills the print spooler
function (I guess it could be hardware or maybe NIS 2009?). In any case,
I've been reading comments in this newsgroup that maybe a complete reinstall
of windows may not be needed to fix the problem? I hope.

I did a search for spoolss.dll and found 3 instances on my computer, all in
the "C:\Windows\" folder as follows:

$NtServicePackUninstall$
version 5.1.2600.2180
created 4/19/2009

system32
version 5.1.2600.5512
created 8/23/2001

ServicePackfiles\i386
version 5.1.2600.5512
created 8/4/2004


Does any of the above info give any clues about a way to salvage my
computer?
Thanks,
Dick
 
It worked!! I copied the dll file into system32 and then ran fix-it from
article 324757 again just to be on the safe side, re-booted and the system
found the printer driver I had downloaded and presto - we are printing again!
Thanks for taking the time to answer! I appreciate it so much!
 
Back
Top