Print Spooler Won't Start: Request Help PC Gurus (no I will not get a Mac, thank-you)

[Zelmo]

Hello there -

I recently deleted a printer driver from a printer that hasn't been used on this computer for several years. The old driver was a Lexmark and apparently Lexmark makes the printer spooler service dependent on their own drivers.

In any event, the old driver is gone and I cannot restart the print spooler service. Error message is: Cannot start print spooler on local computer. Error 1068: Dependency of service or group failed to start.

Until I remove this dependency, I cannot start my print spooler and reload new drivers. Any help appreciated much.

[OlAndrew]

Ummmm...what's your machine type, operating system, patch level, etc?

[ChmpgnSupernover]

If you google your problem you get a few solutions that look to be worth trying. Sorry I can't give better help than that but print spoolers certianly aren't my thing

[BMF Effects]

There is a Google solution to this problem, I ran into the same issue awhile back. You have to clear the spooler and reset it. Sorry I couldn't provide the specifics but it is fixable.

[Zelmo]

Ummmm...what's your machine type, operating system, patch level, etc?
Yeah, sorry: Dell Latitude, D820, Win XP Pro, SP3 if that info is needed.

[Zelmo]

Problem fixed. Thanks to all for your input.

I forgot that I saved the old Lexmark driver exe files, but just renamed them to be non-executable. Simple solution was just to rename them back and reboot - print spooler started. Easy.

The other option was to modify the registry to make the spooler not dependent on a separate file. I chose to do the first fix for convenience sake.

Thanks once again everyone!