The service, designed to store the print jobs for a while until the printer is ready, can often lead to issues. But these are easy to fix and shouldn’t take more than a few minutes of your time.

What causes Print Spooler’s high CPU usage?

The Spooler service is by no means a resource-hungry process that should overwhelm your computer, and if that’s the case, it’s usually due to one of these issues:

Minor system glitches – If the completed tasks are still stored, the queue may get overwhelmed and lead to high CPU usage due to Print Spooler. Also, inevitable glitches cause it to create logs in the spooler.xml, which, too, could be the underlying cause. Outdated or incompatible drivers – Most users reported corrupt, inconsistent, or outdated drivers that led to spoolsv.exe high CPU usage. Third-party app conflicts – In a few cases, third-party apps responsible for printing jobs or managing the printer can trigger conflicts and lead the problem. Here, it’s best to uninstall the app.

Our solutions would also work for the following related issues:

Print Filter Pipeline host high CPU – Several users reported Print Filter Pipeline to be the reason behind the high CPU usage on the PC. Spooler SubSystem app high CPU – For many, Spooler SubSystem consumed the maximum CPU, close to 30% or even more, in the Task Manager.

How can I fix the Printer Spooler’s high CPU usage?

Before we head to the relatively complex solutions, here are a few quick ones to try:

Restart the computer. Please install the latest version of Windows 10 since it could be a bug in the current one, and a patch may be bundled with the next update. Scan your computer for malware using Windows Security. If it doesn’t find an issue, we recommend using an effective third-party antivirus to be sure.

If these didn’t work, head to the ones listed next.

1. Disable the Print Spooler service

First, if you don’t use a printer, the Print Spooler service need not be running. And disabling it will automatically fix the Print Spooler high CPU.

2. Update the printer drivers

In most cases, an incompatible printer driver led to the Print Spooler high CPU problem, and updating it did the trick. When you update the driver, it fixes all three issues: incompatibility, file corruption, or running an outdated version. Also, some users reported that installing just the driver package from the manufacturer’s website, without any supporting applications, for instance, HP Smart App, did the trick. Another easy way to update your drivers is by using a dedicated tool, like DriverFix, to scan your device and instantly choose the right driver directly from its database. SPONSORED

3. Clear the printing queue

4. Pause printing for individual printers

A simple way to fix high CPU usage by Print Spooler is to pause printing for all the old printers. Often, a printer you may have used in the past remains saved and consumes resources. However, increase the number of printers, and you will have a high CPU usage issue.

5. Uninstall third-party applications

Often, third-party apps installed on the PC may lead to high CPU usage by Print Spooler. Some users found DYMO Connect to be the problem, so if you have the app, uninstall it right away. Also, look for other programs installed around the same time the problem first appeared and remove them.

6. Uninstall the latest Windows update

A few late updates have been reported to cause the problem. So here, you have two options: installing the next available version or heading to the previous stable one. If another update has not been released yet or doesn’t carry a patch, you can quickly revert to the version that worked. By now, you should have fixed the high CPU by Print Spooler, and the PC’s performance should have improved considerably. And while you are at it, learn how to make Windows 10 faster than ever. If you have any other queries regarding the information listed here, drop a comment below.

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