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Event ID 3 — Printer Connections Status

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Applies To: Windows Server 2008

Printer Connections relates to printer connections deployed to users or computers using Group Policy.

Event Details

Product: Windows Operating System
ID: 3
Source: Microsoft-Windows-SpoolerWin32SPL
Version: 6.0
Symbolic Name: MSG_CSRSPL_REGISTRY_FAILED
Message: The print spooler failed to reopen an existing printer connection because it could not read the configuration information from the registry key %1\%2. This can occur if the key name or values are malformed or missing.

Resolve

Retry printing or restart the print spooler

Windows Printing encountered an error; however, it may either retry printing or work around the problem. If printing is not working correctly, possible resolutions include:

  • Retry printing.

  • Examine the error code returned by this event.

  • Restart the print spooler, using the following procedure.

    Warning: Restarting the print spooler causes all print jobs to be restarted. Additionally, you might need to reset or turn off and then back on some printers after restarting the print spooler. On an active print server, perform this procedure outside of normal business hours or during scheduled maintenance time, if possible. Before performing this procedure, take all printers offline and wait for all print jobs to be completed, or pause all printers and wait for all Active print jobs to be completed.

    1. In the Administrative Tools folder, open the Services snap-in.

    2. Locate the Print Spooler service in the list of services, and confirm that its status is Started. If its status is not Started, select the service and then click Start on the Action menu.

      Note: You can also do this from an elevated Command Prompt window by typing the following command: net stop spooler && net start spooler

    In some instances, you might receive Error 1068 – "The dependency service or group failed to start" – when attempting to start the Print Spooler service. This can happen if the Print Spooler service relies on other services that are not running. To resolve this issue, use the following procedure:

    1. In the Services snap-in, right-click Print Spooler and then click Properties.
    2. Click the Dependencies tab. The first box lists all of the system services that must be running for Print Spooler service to start. These are the dependencies.
    3. Make a note of each service, click OK, and then start each service that the Print Spooler service depends on, if the service is not already started. If a particular service is not already started, right-click it, click Properties, and then confirm that the Startup type is Automatic.

Verify

Perform the following tasks to verify that you resolved the problem:

  • Confirm that the appropriate print queues are present on the computer and that the printer settings are correct.
  • If Windows was attempting to remove a print queue from the computer, confirm that the queue was deleted or in the process of being deleted. Some print queues cannot be completely deleted until the print spooler or computer is restarted.
  • Print the document again. If the print server logs spooler information events, look for Print Spooler Event 10 after printing, and then examine the document to confirm that it printed correctly.

Printer Connections Status

Printing Infrastructure