// DOCUMENT STUCK IN THE PRINT QUEUE

Document stuck in the print queue?

Nothing will print, and one document sits in the queue saying Printing, Error or Deleting forever. That one stuck document is holding up everything behind it. Here’s how to clear it, from a one-click cancel to emptying the queue by hand. Rated 4.9 on Google.

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By the 365 Techies team · Reviewed 18 October 2026

/01 — START HERE

Document stuck in the print queue? Start here

Windows prints one document at a time, in order. If the one at the front gets stuck — the printer went offline halfway through, ran out of paper, or choked on a big file — everything behind it waits, and nothing comes out at all.

Most of the time, cancelling the stuck document is enough. On Windows 11, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, click your printer, then Open print queue. Click the three dots and choose Cancel all, or right-click the stuck document and choose Cancel. Then switch the printer off for ten seconds and on again.

If the document still sits there saying Deleting, or comes back, Windows’ printing service itself is stuck, and the fixes below clear it.

Watch: clear a stuck print queue

Windows 11’s own Cancel all, filmed start to finish, then what to try if it’s still stuck.

1 min 14 s · a spoken guide with captions · filmed on a clean copy of Windows 11 with a made-up printer · Watch on YouTube

Free tools in the film: 365 PC Manager (free, for Windows)

What the video says

Printer stuck, and nothing comes out? One stuck document holds up everything behind it. Here’s how to clear it. Press the Windows key and I, to open Settings. Choose Bluetooth and devices, then Printers and scanners. Click your printer, then Open print queue. Here are three documents, all stuck. Choose Cancel all, and say yes. The queue is empty, so try printing again. Still stuck? Switch the printer off for ten seconds, then on again, and restart the PC. That restarts Windows’ printing service too. If a document still won’t go, restart the Print Spooler. Press Windows and R, type services.msc, find Print Spooler, right-click it, and choose Restart. Or let our free app spot it. 365 PC Manager shows what’s stuck in the queue, and Clear stuck documents cancels only those. Download it free at 365techies.co.uk.

// FIX IT WITH ME · STEP BY STEP

Clear the queue, step by step

The steps from this guide, one at a time, in the order that fixes the most cases fastest. Tell it what happened and it shows the next step. Nothing here leaves your device.Last reviewed 18 October 2026

Checking which Windows you have…STEP 1 OF 5

01Cancel it in the print queue

Open Settings, Bluetooth & devices, Printers & scanners, choose your printer, then Open print queue, and choose Cancel all.
Is it printing now?
02Switch the printer off and on

Leave the printer off for ten seconds so it drops any half-received job, then switch it on again.
Is it printing now?
03Restart the PC

A full restart restarts Windows’ printing service and clears most stuck jobs.
Is it printing now?
04Restart the Print Spooler

Press Windows key + R, type services.msc, find Print Spooler, right-click it and choose Restart.
Is it printing now?
05Empty the queue by hand

Stop Print Spooler, delete everything inside C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS (not the folder), then start Print Spooler again and print a test page.
Is it printing now?

Rather have it done for you? Remote help from £20, or in person across Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, Ringwood and the New Forest, with no call-out fee.

At a glance

Why nothing prints	One stuck document at the front of the queue holds up everything behind it.
First fix	Open the print queue and choose Cancel all, then switch the printer off and on.
Says ‘Deleting’ forever?	Restart the PC, or restart the Print Spooler service.
Last resort	Stop the Print Spooler and empty C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS.
Will I lose anything?	Only the stuck print jobs. Your documents are untouched; print them again.
Free check	The Printers tool in our free 365 PC Manager app shows stuck documents and cancels just those.

// NEED THIS FIXED RIGHT NOW?

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/02 — WHY IT HAPPENS

Why print jobs get stuck

The printer dropped off mid-job — switched off, asleep, or lost the Wi-Fi.
Paper, ink or a jam stopped it, and the job didn’t recover when you sorted it.
A big or unusual file — a long PDF, a photo, a web page — was more than the driver could handle.
The Print Spooler got stuck. That is the Windows service that holds the queue. When it hangs, it can’t let go of the job.

/03 — THE FIXES

Clear the queue, in order

Cancel it in the print queue. Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners > your printer > Open print queue, then Cancel all. On Windows 10 it’s Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners.
Switch the printer off and on. Leave it off for ten seconds, so it drops any half-received job.
Restart the PC. A full restart restarts Windows’ printing service and clears most stuck jobs.
Restart the Print Spooler. Press Windows key + R, type services.msc and press Enter. Find Print Spooler, right-click it and choose Restart.
Empty the queue by hand. In the same Services window, right-click Print Spooler and choose Stop. Open C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS (Windows asks for permission; say Continue), delete everything inside it — not the folder itself — then go back and Start Print Spooler.

Then print a test page. The files you deleted were only the stuck print jobs, never your documents.

/04 — THE COMMAND WAY

Prefer to type it? Three commands

Step 5 can be done in one go. Click Start, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator, then type these three lines, pressing Enter after each:

net stop spooler
del /Q /F /S "%systemroot%\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*"
net start spooler

The first stops the printing service, the second deletes the stuck jobs, and the third starts it again.

/05 — STILL NOT PRINTING?

Queue clear but still not printing?

If the queue is empty and new documents get stuck again, the printer itself is usually offline or its driver needs reinstalling. Our guides cover the common causes: printer disappeared after a Windows update, printer keeps disconnecting, and every printer problem, by symptom.

/06 — THE QUICK WAY

Let our free app check it for you

FREE · WINDOWS 10 & 11 · NO SIGN-UP

Printers: what’s stuck, and one button to clear it

It lists every printer as Windows sees it, shows any documents stuck in the queue with a button that cancels only those, and tells you if Windows’ printing service has stopped. It only reads, until you press a button.

In the app: My PC, then Printers.

Download 365 PC Manager free ↓What else it checks

Made by us, a family IT firm in Bournemouth since 1995, and digitally signed by 365 Techies Ltd.

The real app on sample PCs · 9 seconds, no sound

/07 — WHEN TO CALL US

When to call us

If documents keep getting stuck, or the Print Spooler keeps stopping on its own, it’s usually a printer driver that needs replacing properly. Ring 01202 775566 or text 07520 615332, Monday to Friday, 9 to 5. With your permission we connect to your Windows PC and sort it while you watch: usually the same day, remote help from £20, and no fix, no fee.

FAMILY-RUN SINCE 1995 · ★ 4.9 ON GOOGLE · 200+ COMPUTERS UNDER OUR CARE · NO FIX, NO FEE · SAME-DAY REMOTE SUPPORT

// GOOD QUESTIONS

Frequently asked

Why does it say Deleting but never goes?

Windows’ printing service, the Print Spooler, has got stuck holding the job. Restarting the PC or the Print Spooler usually lets it go; emptying the spool folder always does.

Will clearing the print queue delete my document?

No. The queue only holds a copy made for the printer. Your document is wherever you saved it; just print it again.

Is it safe to delete the files in spool\PRINTERS?

Yes, with the Print Spooler stopped first. They are only waiting print jobs. Don’t delete the PRINTERS folder itself or anything else in System32.

Why does it keep happening?

Usually a printer that drops off the Wi-Fi mid-job, or a driver that struggles with some files. Giving the printer a fixed connection and reinstalling its driver from the maker’s website normally stops it.

What if the Print Spooler keeps stopping?

That points to a faulty printer driver. Removing the printer, deleting its driver and installing the maker’s current one fixes most cases. We can do that remotely.

Does this work on Windows 10?

Yes. The Print Spooler and the spool folder are the same; on Windows 10 the printers are under Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners.

Can you clear it remotely?

Yes. With your permission we connect to your Windows PC and get it printing while you watch, often the same day. Remote help is from £20 and no fix, no fee. Ring 01202 775566.

// Still stuck?

Still stuck? We’ll clear it.

We connect to your Windows PC and get it printing again while you watch, often the same day. No fix, no fee. Call 01202 775566 or text 07520 615332.

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