[Et Al]

Somehow, my OS (w2k-pro) lost my printer and can't find it anymore. It disappeared from my list of printers (it was the only one), so I tried to use the 'Add Printer' to add it back in, but I get the error message:

###

(Control Panel > Printers > Add Printer)

"Printer operation cannot continue due to lack of resources. The print subsystem is unavailable."

###

What happened? Why is my OS unable to 'Add Printer'? The printer software and drivers are all still there. My printer is fully operational and ready to go, but my OS won't 'talk' to it.

Help !

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This is a common bug in Windows 2000. For some reason or another, the 'Print Spooler' service will just randomly stop.

There are two ways to fix this:

1) Reboot
2) Go to Start -> Run and type in Services.msc. Find a service called "Print Spooler", double click it and hit the button that looks like the "play" button on a VCR.

That should clear you up. (*note: method 2 is in case a reboot either doesn't work or can't be done for some reason)

Edited by Guse, 13 October 2005 - 06:41 PM.

[Guse]

This is a common bug in Windows 2000. For some reason or another, the 'Print Spooler' service will just randomly stop.

There are two ways to fix this:

1) Reboot
2) Go to Start -> Run and type in Services.msc. Find a service called "Print Spooler", double click it and hit the button that looks like the "play" button on a VCR.

That should clear you up. (*note: method 2 is in case a reboot either doesn't work or can't be done for some reason)

Edited by Guse, 13 October 2005 - 06:41 PM.

[Et Al]

THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH !!!

I had rebooted before I saw your answer, but your first suggested solution to reboot worked. This was the first time ever (in years) that this had ever happened to me.

After some scouring the network (and MS) for clues, I found this buried at the microsoft.support.com site which offered a solution as well. I hope this can help someone else.:

###

http://support.micro...kb;en-us;811348

RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, configure the Print Spooler service to use the Local System account. To do so:
1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Administrative Tools.
2. Double-click Services.
3. Double-click Print Spooler in the list to open the property pages for the service.
4. Click the Log On tab.
5. Under Log on as:, make sure that the Local System Account option is selected.
6. Make sure that the Allow service to interact with desktop check box is selected.
7. On the General tab, click to select the Print Spooler service, click Stop to stop the service, and then click Start to restart the service.
8. Click OK two times, and then close all the dialog boxes.

You should now be able to add a new printer. For additional information about how to troubleshoot printer problems in Windows 2000, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge

Base: 260142 (http://support.micro....com/kb/260142/)
How to troubleshoot Windows 2000 printing problems

[Et Al]

THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH !!!

I had rebooted before I saw your answer, but your first suggested solution to reboot worked. This was the first time ever (in years) that this had ever happened to me.

After some scouring the network (and MS) for clues, I found this buried at the microsoft.support.com site which offered a solution as well. I hope this can help someone else.:

###

http://support.micro...kb;en-us;811348

RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, configure the Print Spooler service to use the Local System account. To do so:
1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Administrative Tools.
2. Double-click Services.
3. Double-click Print Spooler in the list to open the property pages for the service.
4. Click the Log On tab.
5. Under Log on as:, make sure that the Local System Account option is selected.
6. Make sure that the Allow service to interact with desktop check box is selected.
7. On the General tab, click to select the Print Spooler service, click Stop to stop the service, and then click Start to restart the service.
8. Click OK two times, and then close all the dialog boxes.

You should now be able to add a new printer. For additional information about how to troubleshoot printer problems in Windows 2000, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge

Base: 260142 (http://support.micro....com/kb/260142/)
How to troubleshoot Windows 2000 printing problems

[Guse]

http://support.micro...kb;en-us;811348

RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, configure the Print Spooler service to use the Local System account. To do so:
1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Administrative Tools.
2. Double-click Services.
3. Double-click Print Spooler in the list to open the property pages for the service.
4. Click the Log On tab.
5. Under Log on as:, make sure that the Local System Account option is selected.
6. Make sure that the Allow service to interact with desktop check box is selected.
7. On the General tab, click to select the Print Spooler service, click Stop to stop the service, and then click Start to restart the service.
8. Click OK two times, and then close all the dialog boxes.

That's a real long way of stating my step 2.

[Et Al]

You're right.