How to Quickly Clear Printer Queue in Windows and Mac

You have been printing some important documents. All of a sudden the print queue got stuck and you cannot print anymore. It can be really frustrating when you have an important assignment to complete.

Whatever the reason is, you can easily clear the printer queue with the various methods discussed in this article.

But, before you move on to the methods mentioned here, you can try restarting the printer by unplugging the printer cable and plugging it back again.

Why Is Your Printer Queue Not Clearing?

The printer queue is not cleared due to various reasons. However, you can go through the most common ones as listed below.

How to Clear Your Printer Queue on Windows

There are various methods to clear the printer queue. However, these are the specific fixes for the windows devices only. If you are using a different system like Mac, you can skip this section and move on directly to the next section.

Clear Printer Queue Using Windows Services

Another way to clear the printer queue is to use windows services. This method basically includes stopping the printer spooler, clearing the printer queue and then starting the printer again. For that, you can do the following.

1. Press Windows + R key and type services.msc.
2. Click on Ok.
3. In the Services window, scroll down to the Printer Spooler option.
4. Right-click on it and select the Stop option.
   
5. Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS and delete all files in that folder.
6. Now, re-open the Services window. 
7. Right-click the Print Spooler and click on the Start option.
   

Clear Using Command Prompt

You can also use the command prompt to clear the printer queue. Here’s how you can do it.

1. Open the command prompt and select Run as administrator option.
2. Type the following commands in order:
   • net stop spooler
   • del %systemroot%\System32\spool\printers\* /Q /F /S
   • net start spooler
     

Clear Using the BAT File

The bat file creates a shortcut that executes the code automatically when it is run. You can easily create a bat file that clears the printer queue with these steps.

1. Open Notepad or any other text editor.
2. Type the following commands in order
   • net stop spooler
   • del %systemroot%\System32\spool\printers* /Q /F /S
   • net start spooler
3. Save it with the .bat file extension and select All Files option in the Save as type option.
4. Whenever you want to clear the print queue, you can open that particular file and the queue will be cleared.

Clear Using Windows Settings

You can use the in-built Settings app in Windows to clear the printer queue. These are the steps to exactly do that.

1. Press Windows + I to open the Settings app.
2. Click on Devices and select the Printers & Scanners option from the left pane.
3. On the right, select your printer from the list and click on Open queue.
   
4. Select every document on the list one by one.
5. Right-click and select the Cancel option for every one of them.
   

Update the Printer Device Driver

It is important to update the device driver frequently to keep your device working smoothly. To update your printer device driver, you can follow these steps

1. Press Windows key + R and enter devmgmt.mscand click on OK.
2. Under Print Queues, select your printer from the dropdown menu.
3. Right-click and select the Update driver.
   
4. You can choose Search automatically for drivers option to search the drivers online.

After updating the driver, close the window, restart the PC and see if it works.

How to Clear Your Printer Queue on Mac

This section covers specific fixes for Mac users. There are only a few fixes available for Mac but they are very effective and will get the job done for you. Here’s how you clear the printer queue on Mac.

Using Terminal

You can use the in-built Terminal tool to clear the printer queue. Here’s how to do it.

1. Click on Finder.
2. Navigate to Application > Utilities.
3. Open Terminal.
4. Type the command cancel -a.

Clear Using Preferences

With this method, you can cancel all the jobs and empty the printer queue. Here’s how you do it.

1. Click on the Apple icon.
2. Select the System Preferences option.
3. Click on Printers & Scanners.
4. Choose your printer and click on the Open Print Queue button.
5. Select each print job from the list and cancel them.

Related Questions

My Printer Spooler Keeps on Stopping. How Do I Fix It?

Your printer spooler keeps on stopping likely because your printer spooler service is not set to Automatic. You can set it in Services > Printer Spooler > Properties > Startup type.

Furthermore, you can use the Printer Troubleshooter feature for windows.

Why Is My Printer Not Working?

Your printer could be not working simply because the ink/paper is finished or you chose the wrong printer. Furthermore, it can also be due to an outdated device driver or the print queue jammed because of a document that failed to print.