Print Spooler Service Checks on the Host and Client PCs
Before blaming security settings, prove the printing machinery itself is running on both PCs. A stopped spooler, a stuck job or a crash-looping driver produces printer chaos that no registry value will cure.
✍️ Technical Anshu🪟 Windows 10 / 11⏱️ 7 minute read
🎥 The video includes the service checks in its troubleshooting run — this page isolates them as a standalone routine
Every shared-print conversation — including the security negotiation that fails with 0x0000011b — is carried by the Print Spooler service on both machines. If the host's spooler is stopped, clients cannot connect at all. If a client's spooler is crash-looping on a bad driver, the error you see may be a symptom, not the cause. Run these checks on both PCs before deeper fixes; they take five minutes and they decide which problem you actually have.
Spooler keeps stopping by itselfDriver or corrupt job is crashing it
👆 The healthy state to confirm in services.msc on host and client alike (recreated panel)
1
Check the Spooler on the Host First
Open services.msc on the host PC
Print Spooler must show Status Running and Startup type Automatic — if it is stopped, start it and watch whether it stays up
Print a test page locally. If the host cannot print to its own printer, stop here: this is a host printing fault, not a sharing or security problem
2
Check the Same Services on the Client
In services.msc on the client, confirm Print Spooler is Running and Automatic
Confirm its dependency chain is alive: Remote Procedure Call (RPC) and RPC Endpoint Mapper both Running — never change these two from their defaults
Restart the client's Print Spooler once and retry the connection, so a wedged service is ruled out
3
Clear a Stuck Job That Is Blocking the Queue
Stop the Print Spooler service
Delete leftover files inside C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS only
Start the spooler and send one fresh test page
A single corrupt job can hold a queue hostage for days and make every new attempt look like a connection error. Clear it before suspecting anything grander.
4
When the Spooler Keeps Crashing — Read It as a Driver Confession
If the spooler starts, then stops again when someone prints, the service is being crashed by a driver or a malformed job, most often on the host. Signs: the service dies at the same job, or right after a particular PC prints. The honest fix order: update or replace the printer driver on the machine whose print attempt kills it, remove the offending job, and only then return to the 0x0000011b trail. Security settings cannot compensate for a service that will not stay alive.
🔴 Do not set the RPC services to Manual or Disabled while experimenting. Remote Procedure Call is load-bearing for half of Windows, not just printing. The spooler is the only service in this routine you should ever need to restart.
🎥 Watch the Full Fix Step by Step
The video runs these checks as part of the full fix — keep this page as the five-minute pre-flight before any bigger change.
The spooler is running on both PCs and I still get 0x0000011b. What does that tell me?
It tells you the machinery is healthy and the refusal really is the security-level mismatch. Move on to comparing update levels on host and client — services are no longer the suspect.
Is it safe to restart the Print Spooler during office hours?
On a client PC, yes — it affects only that PC. On the host, a restart interrupts everyone's printing for a few seconds and clears in-flight jobs, so warn the room or wait for a quiet moment.
The spooler service is missing from the list entirely. Now what?
That suggests system file damage or an over-aggressive cleanup tool. Run the system file check from an admin prompt with sfc /scannow and let Windows repair its own components before returning to printer troubleshooting.
This guide is based on the Technical Anshu printer error 0x0000011b fix video • Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments — you will get a reply 🙏