Spooler Error- Error #1068

For some people this is the most frustrating, infuriating PC Error that can come up. The reason for this is that it is one of the hardest to fix. I say that because there is no clear way described to fix it. Every PC will have it's own reason for it to show up.You see, the problem occurs when you install a new printer. If you have uninstalled your old printer, you might not have returned ALL the drivers for the printing service back to the defalt settings. If this is the case then it's an easy fix. Simply go into your start menu, click on printers and faxes. Once your in this area, two options will appear, "fix it for me" and "let me fix it myself". If you aren't fimilure with the operating systems, I do not recomend doing this yourself. If your opting the "fix it for me" option, then its as easy as following the directions on your screen. Click the "fix this problem" tab, and when the box appears, click on "run" in the file download box. Now there will be two options when you get this far. Run light, or Run full. I suggest run full, that way it removes everything that would normaly give you more problems in the future. If you opt for this option, it will restore your PC to the default settings, then you will have to re-install your new printer.If you opt to fix it yourself, Sounds easy right? Its not. Anything you do is going to leave room for error. All you can do is pay attention and try to cover all the bases.

DOING IT MYSELF

The first thing I need to tell you is BE CAREFUL. SERIOUS PROBLEMS WILL OCCUR IF YOU DO THIS WRONG! With that said, you need to back up your Registry before you begin, that way if the unforeseeable should happen, you can always restore your PC back to before you started. This is important. The steps to backing up your Registry are as follows:
1. Go to your start menu and click RUN, type %systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe and then click on ok.
2. The page should come up as WELCOME TO SYSTEM RESTORE. Now you want to click on CREATE A RESTORE POINT, and then click on NEXT.
3. Now you you want to create a name for your RESTORE POINT, and click CREATE.
4. Now that this is done, close and your problem should be solved.

Now what you need to do is start your PC in SAFE MODE. This is so you can remove the corrupt spool files. These are the steps to follow:
1. Restart your PC and start pressing the F8 ke located on the top of your keyboard. If your PC can use multiple operating systems at the same time, you can press F8 in the BOOT menu to achieve the desired effect.
2. Enter SAFE MODE in the WINDOWS ADVANCED OPTIONS, and press enter.
3. Now that you are in SAFE MODE, you need to delete the SPOOL PRINTER AND DRIVER FILES. To do this you need to start MICROSOFT WINDOWS EXPLORER so that you can files and folders found in these two folders: C:\Windows\Systems32\Spool\Printers
C:\Windows\Systems32\Spool\Drivers\w32x86

4. Now you need to edit your Registry. I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS! If you are not careful in doing this, it will be for nothing. If you do this incorrectly, you may need to reinstall your operating systems. This is bad. REMEMBER: YOU DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. I suggest you consult a professional. Now you need to start your Registry Editor. To do this, click the Start button, click the Run button, type regedit into the Open box, and then click OK.

Now you need to locate and expand the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86

View the list of subkeys. There should only be the following subkeys:
Drivers
Print Processors

If there are any subkeys other than the subkeys that are listed in step 2, follow these steps:

1. On the File menu, click Export.
2. In the File Name box, type what you want to use for this key and then click Save.

REMOVING THE PRINTER DRIVERS FROM YOUR REGISTRY

1. Start Registry Editor if it is not open. To do this, click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then expand the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers
The registry entries for the printer drivers that are installed on the computer are stored in the Version-x subkey where x is a number .
3. Export the Version-x subkey To do this, follow these steps:
1. On the File menu, click Export.
2. In the File Name box, type what you want to use for this key and then click Save.
4. Expand the Version-x subkey and delete the printer driver entries. To do this, right-click each printer driver subkey, and then Delete. Click Yes when asked to confirm.

Remove the potentially problematic print monitor subkeys, which may be interfering with the printer you want to use. These may have been installed by third-party printer setup programs. Use the following steps to keep the print monitors and registry entries that came with Windows and remove all others that may be causing issues.

1. Start Registry Editor if it is not open. To do this, click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then expand the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors

View the list of subkeys. There should only be the following subkeys for the default print monitors:
BJ Language Monitor
Local Port
PJL Language Monitor
Standard TCP/IP Port
USB Monitor
3. If there are any subkeys other than the subkeys that are listed in step 1, follow these steps:
1. On the File menu, click Export.
2. In the File Name box, type what you want to name this key and then click Save.
3. Delete all the subkeys other than the subkeys that are listed in step 2. Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm the deletion.
4. Exit Registry Editor.
5. Disconnect the printer cable from the computer, and then restart your PC. Now what you need to do is make sure that the print spooler service is running. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.
2. Expand Services and Applications, and then click Services.
3. In the details box, right-click the Print Spooler service, and then click Start.


I hope that this has been helpful to you, and as always, if you have questions or comments, please contact us, we'll get back to you.