Windows 10: No printers installed - spooler dependency problem

This afternoon, all apps were unable to print, and the print dialog says no printers installed. This morning, printing worked ok. The same problem is with all apps; Word, Excel, Chrome, pdf reader, etc.
In Windows Settings, it still shows the printers that were previously installed and were working on this computer. When I try to look at a printer in settings, it says the local printer spooler is not running.

In Windows Services, the Printer Spooler is set to automatic start, but status is stopped. When I try to start it, it says "error 1068: the dependency service or group failed to start".

The printer troubleshooter says that the print spooler isn't running, and it is not fixed.

The RPC dependencies appear ok, but the http service WinQuic does not appear in the list of services.
Command "net start http" gives "System error 577 has occurred. Windows cannot verify the digital signature for this file."
I attempted to install KB4567512, but Windows says this is not applicable.
This is a Windows Surface, running Windows 10 version 1909.

How can I get the print spooler running again?

:)

 

No printers installed - spooler dependency problem

This afternoon, all apps were unable to print, and the print dialog says no printers installed. This morning, printing worked ok. The same problem is with all apps; Word, Excel, Chrome, pdf reader, etc.
In Windows Settings, it still shows the printers that were previously installed and were working on this computer. When I try to look at a printer in settings, it says the local printer spooler is not running.

In Windows Services, the Printer Spooler is set to automatic start, but status is stopped. When I try to start it, it says "error 1068: the dependency service or group failed to start".

The printer troubleshooter says that the print spooler isn't running, and it is not fixed.

The RPC dependencies appear ok, but the http service WinQuic does not appear in the list of services.
Command "net start http" gives "System error 577 has occurred. Windows cannot verify the digital signature for this file."
I attempted to install KB4567512, but Windows says this is not applicable.
This is a Windows Surface, running Windows 10 version 1909.

How can I get the print spooler running again?

 

No printers installed - spooler dependency problem

Hi @DaveM121 , thanks for your reply.

There are 8 items listed in the Printers & Scanners list in Settings: Fax, HP44C6B, Microsoft print to PDF, Microsoft XPS, OneNote Desktop, OneNote for Windows 10, PDF-XChange, Epson WF-7720. All 8 used to appear in the print dialog in apps, but now apps
show no available printers and just say "no installed printers". Since all 8 have disappeared, I guess this means it isn't a problem with any individual printer.

The physical printers (HP and Epson) are network printers. I tried reinstalling the Epson drivers. The installer found and identified the printer, but says the install failed.

The KB4567512 update that you linked to is the one that I tried, and Windows said "is not applicable to your computer".

From the error messages, it seems to be a problem that the print spooler is not running because it lacks a dependency, and the dependency it lacks http service WinQuic because it can't verify the digital signature for this file. Perhaps a certificate has
expired, or a background update corrupted a file, or something else?

 

Issue after installation with print spooler

Hello,

Thank you for keeping us posted.

I certainly understand your concern and will try my best to help you.

I really appreciate all your efforts in trying to fix this issue.

I would suggest you to try the steps given below and check if that helps.

Note: All the steps mentioned below holds good for windows 10 as well.

If print spooler keeps stopping in Windows 8.1,
I would suggest to follow the steps given below.

• 
  If the print spooler is not responding to your print commands and print is not happening when printer is fine physically (No paper jam or any error indications on printer hardware). These methods will help
  to clear the pending print jobs (print queue) and hanging spooler service.
  
• 
  Clear the print spooler files where the Operating Systems store printing jobs temporarily, deleting these file will allow the print spooler to start freshly and run smoothly next time.
  
• 
  Go to C -> Windows -> System32 -> Spool -> Printers and delete all files inside this folder. This is the location OS keeps the printing jobs before sending
  to printers. Once you delete these files, print queue will be cleared. The same location is applicable for latest Windows 8 and 8.1 too.
  

If the problem persists, follow the steps given below.

• 
  Go to services under Computer Management.
  
• 
  Double click Print Spooler service and go to
  Recovery tab. Here we can set what that service should do when it fails.
  
• 
  Select ‘Restart the Service’ in Subsequent Failures field. So, it will try restarting print spooler service whenever it fails.
  
• 
  Go to ‘Dependencies’
  tab and make sure all depending services are started. Luckily, only one dependency service for print spooler service which is
  Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service.
  
• 
  Check the RPC service in services and make sure it’s already started.
  

If the issue still persists, the last step would be to check for the printer drivers. If the printer drivers are not installed properly, I would suggest you to follow the steps given below and check if that helps.

• 
  Delete all unwanted printers from your computer.
  
• 
  Make sure all printers are installed with proper drivers.
  

Additional Information:

Please refer to the article given below and check if that helps.

Fix printer problems

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/...1&v2h=win7tab1&v3h=winvistatab1&v4h=winxptab1

Note: The above article will
help you identify and fix common printer problems in Windows. Printing problems can be caused by cables that aren’t connected properly, problems with wireless adapters or settings, damaged or incompatible printer drivers or missing updates.

I hope this information is helpful.

Please do let us know if you need any further assistance, we will be glad to assist you.

Thank you.