How to Fix Spoolsv.exe Application Error

What is Spoolsv.exe?

The Spoolsv.exe executable file is responsible for handling the Windows printing process. Although this process is not crucial to run your Windows system, you must not terminate it until you think that it is causing problems on the system. In this article we will learn how to fix the Spoolsv.exe application error.

When the error occurs, you may receive an error message similar to the one given below.

“Spoolsv.exe - Application Error"

“The instruction at "0x77fcc2c0" referenced memory at "0x00000000".

“The memory could not be written."

Causes of Spoolsv.exe Errors

The most common cause of the error is an abundance of .SHD and .SPL files in the spool directory. These files are created by the spooler to save the spooled data of a print job. The .SPL file comprises drawing commands and the .SHD file comprises job settings information of the print job.

Spoolsv.exe crashes my PC

In addition to displaying the errors listed above, spoolsv problems may also result in high CPU usage; at times, showing up to 99% to 100% CPU usage. This occurs because when spool folder is full, the printer is unable to complete the print jobs, though it keeps trying. This process eats up the system CPU resources, and as a result your computer freezes.

How to fix spoolsv.exe application error

To fix spoolsv.exe application error, you will have to remove these files from the system. To do this, perform the following steps on your Windows XP computer:

  1. Open Control Panel, select Performance and Maintenance, select Administrative Tools and then select the Services option.
  2. In the Services management console, locate the Spooler services, right-click on it and select Stop.
  3. Next, open the C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Printers folder. (Here, we are assuming that your Windows is installed in the default C:\Windows folder)
  4. Delete .SHD and SPL files from this folder.
  5. Next, open the TMP folder and delete all old and unused files from this folder.
  6. Finally, restart the Spooler service from the Services management console.

Note: If you are unable to delete the files in Normal Mode, you may have to restart your computer in Safe Mode to delete the files. To start your PC in Safe Mode, press F8 at system restart and then select the Safe Mode option from Windows Advanced Options Menu.

Referred Link : http://www.instant-registry-fixes.org/how-to-fix-spoolsvexe-application-error/

Courtesy : Enas

  1. #1 by GarryBrown on March 14, 2013 - 9:28 am

    Thanks for the information. Also try Long Path Tool. It helped me with Error 1320 on Win 7. 🙂

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