Fix: Printer is paused and can’t resume it in Windows 11/10

While printing some documents on your Windows devices, the printer device may appear to be paused and the printing process may be stuck in the middle of the course. Now usually, with a single tap, the printer shall start to work again. But, what if you can’t resume it at all? Don’t worry. There are some easy fixes that you can easily enact these fixes to solve the problem.

Fix 1 – Open and Clear printer queue

You can open the printer settings and pause the printing queue and clear out all the printing operations.

1. At first, press the Windows key+I keys together.

2. Next, on the left-hand side, click on the “Bluetooth & devices“.

3. Then, on the right-hand side, tap on the “Printers & scanners“.

 

Printer And Scanner Min

 

4. You will see the full list of installed printers on the right-hand side of the Settings.

Choose the printer you are currently using.



 

Choose The Printer From The List Min

 

5. Here, tap on “Open print queue“.

 

Open Print Queue Min

6 – Click on three horizontal dots located to the right of your printer.

7 – Now, click on Resume all.

 

Print Queue Min

 

Note: – If this does not work

Click on three horizontal dots, and then , click on the “Cancel All ” to clear the printing operation.

 

Cancel All Print Min

 

9. You will receive a prompt. Just tap on “Yes” to clear all the printing tasks.

This will clear the stalled printing queue.

10. Coming back to the Settings page, click on “Print a test page” to test whether the printer is working correctly or not.

 

Print Test Pae Min

 

This shall print a test page. You won’t experience the pause/resume issue with the printer anymore.

Fix 2 – Restart the printer spooler service

You can try stop-starting

1. At first, click on the Windows icon and type “services“.

2. Then, tap on the “Services” from the search results.

 

Services Search Min

 

3. When the Services window appears, go to the “Print Spooler” service.

4. Here, right-click on the “Print Spooler” service and tap on “Stop” to stop the service.

 

Stop Print Spooler Min

 

5. Further, right-click on the service once again and click on “Start” to start the service immediately.

 

Print Spooler Start Min

 

This way, restarting the Print Spooler service should fix the pause/resume issue you are facing with your own printer.

Fix 3 – Check the printer is actually paused

You can check whether the printer is actually paused or not.

1. At first, press the Windows key+R keys together.

2. Then, type this URI command and click on “OK“.

control printers

 

Control Printers New Min

 

3. Once the Devices and Printers open up, you will notice the list of printers.

 

Printer List Min

 

4. Then, right-click on the printer and then uncheck the “Pause Printing” option.

This way, you can resume the printing operation on your computer.

Fix 4 – Resume the printer manually

[For HP Printer users only]

In the HP Printers, you can tweak the printer not to go to the ‘pause mode’.

1. In your printer console, check whether the “Pause” option is turned ON in the settings.

2. Now, in the front console of the printer you will find the physical “Pause” button.

3. Press and release the “Pause” button.

This will make sure the printer doesn’t go to the Pause mode automatically.

This alone should fix the pause/resume problem you are facing. But if this doesn’t work, you have to tweak your printer settings a little further.

4. Now, open your computer. You will see the printer icon on the corner of the taskbar. Simply, double-click on the printer to modify the settings.

 

Printer In The Taskbar Dc Min

 

5. After opening the printer settings, you will see the list of documents that are printing.

You will notice some of the tasks are in a ‘paused’ state.

 

Paused Min

 

6. Just right-click on the “Paused” printing task and then click on “Resume” to continue the printing process.

 

Resume Min

 



This way, you can take care of this error.

 

Fix 5 – Uninstall and re-install the Printer

If nothing is working, uninstalling and reinstalling the printer device should fix the issue.

1. At first, press the Windows key+X keys together.

2. Then, tap on the “Device Manager“.

 

Device Manager Min

 

3. When the Device Manager opens up, expand the “Print queue” section.

4. Now, right-click on the printer and tap on “Uninstall device“.

 

Uninstall Printer Min

 

5. Confirm the uninstallation process with a click on “Uninstall“.



 

Uninstall Min

 

Then, close the Device Manager window.

Restart your computer.

Upon restarting the default printer driver should be automatically loaded. If that doesn’t solve your issue, you can download and install the latest printer driver anytime you want.