
Ever wondered what would happen if you make an erroneous print command and end up potentially wasting dozens or even hundreds of sheets of paper due to that momentary mistake? Fear not, delve into the following article because techtips.com will guide you through the process of instantly canceling print commands.
1. Cancelling Print Commands by Powering Off the Printer
No action on your computer is as swift as cutting off the power supply to the printer. This method truly stands as the fastest means to prevent your printer from executing incorrectly directed print tasks.
Printers typically feature a switch at the back, allowing you to quickly power off the machine by pressing this power button instead of needing to hunt for the plug to unplug it.

After powering off the printer, refrain from immediately turning it back on because some printer models still retain print commands even when the machine is off; you need to clear these print commands.
Open the Control Panel by double-clicking on the Control Panel icon on the screen or using the Windows search feature on the Taskbar with the keyword “Control Panel”.

Click on View devices and printers to open the Devices and printers window; if you find it difficult to locate, you should select Category as the View by mode.




Congratulations on completing the task of removing all print commands from your computer.
If your printer still refuses to cooperate after a power cycle, consider refreshing the Print Spooler software. Reloading the Print Spooler is a breeze, just follow these 3 simple steps.
Step 1: Launch the Run utility.
You can access the Run function in two ways. The quickest method is by pressing the Windows key + R, which instantly opens the Run dialog box.
The second method involves utilizing Windows search function with the keyword Run.

Step 2: Access the Services window.
Type services.msc in the Open field, then click OK to open the Services window.

Step 3: Restart the Print Spooler service.
Locate Print Spooler in the Services list. Right-click and select Restart.

The process may take a few minutes, so please wait for it to complete.

Your printer buffer has been Restarted, and you can resume printing as usual.
Remember: Although this method of shutting down the printer is quick, it can potentially damage your machine by abruptly cutting off power. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, avoid choosing this option.
Right-click on the Command Prompt icon appearing in Search, select Run as administrator.

The Command Prompt window has been opened with admin rights. Type the command 'net stop spooler' behind the blinking cursor and press Enter to execute the command.
If you see the following text below:
The Print Spooler service is stopping.
The Print Spooler service has been successfully stopped.
This means your print cancellation has been carried out successfully.

After completing the above steps, your current printer cannot function normally anymore because you have stopped the Printer Spooler while canceling the print job.
To resume printer functionality, you need to continue typing the command 'net start spooler' behind the blinking cursor and press Enter to execute the command.
Afterwards, you will receive the following notification:
The Print Spooler service is now starting.
The Print Spooler service has been successfully started.
Your printer is now back to working normally.

Thank you for following the article on Mytour. Above are the two quickest methods to delete and cancel print jobs instantly. Wishing you success in executing them.