Clearing a Print Job Stuck in a Local Print Queue

Sometimes a print job from a local or network printer will get stuck, and the only way to clear the virtual paper jam is to restart the print spooler. This can be done by using the following steps:

1. On the local machine (the computer where the document is stuck), type Services into the search bar 
2. Right click on the Services app and choose Run as administrator from the menu options
3. When prompted, enter your tech credentials (for example, techsb)
4. From the Services menu, scroll down to Print Spooler
5. Right-click Print Spooler and select Stop from the menu options
6. Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS and delete all files in the folder
7. In the Services window, restart the Print Spooler service by right-clicking Print Spooler and then selecting Start

Clearing a Print Job Stuck in the Network Print Queue

Sometimes a print job will get stuck in the network print queue - you will be able to see the print job in the queue from multiple computers, not just the one that sent the print job. In this case, the print spooler for the print server itself must be restarted. This can be carefully done with the following steps:

1. From the local machine, enter Remote Desktop Connection into the search bar
2. Launch Remote Desktop Connection and enter print-facstaff as the computer name
3. When prompted, enter your tech credentials
4. From the Services menu, scroll down to Print Spooler. DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING ELSE, as this could seriously impact printing campus-wide
5. Right-click Print Spooler and select Stop from the menu options
6. Wait a few moments, then restart the Print Spooler from the Services menu (right-click Print Spooler and select Start this time)