220-1101 Question 462
Single answerMultiple prints pending in queueA user reports that a shared office laser printer is not printing their new document. When you check the printer on their Windows workstation, you see several old print jobs stuck in the queue with a status of "Error - Printing." Other users say the printer worked earlier in the day, and the printer is powered on and shows Ready. What is the BEST next step to restore printing as quickly as possible?
- A
Clear the stuck print jobs from the queue and restart the Print Spooler service if the jobs do not delete normally
- B
Replace the toner cartridge because queued jobs usually indicate low consumables
- C
Reinstall the word processing application because the document may be corrupted
- D
Assign the printer a new IP address so the workstation creates a fresh connection
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
In a real support scenario, multiple pending or errored jobs in a print queue usually indicate a stuck queue or Print Spooler problem rather than a hardware failure. Best practice is to cancel the stalled jobs first. If they do not clear, restart the Print Spooler service and then resend the print job. On Windows, this is a standard troubleshooting method because the spooler service handles print job storage and transmission to the printer. CompTIA A+ Core 1 commonly expects technicians to recognize symptoms such as stalled queues, paused print jobs, and spooler-related failures, and to choose the least disruptive corrective action before moving to more invasive steps like driver reinstallation or network reconfiguration.
- A. Correct.
This is the best answer. When multiple print jobs are pending or stuck with an error status, the fastest and most appropriate troubleshooting step is to clear the print queue. If jobs remain stuck, restarting the Windows Print Spooler service is a standard fix because the spooler manages queued print jobs. This directly addresses the symptom and is a common CompTIA A+ troubleshooting task.
- B. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. Low or empty toner can cause faded output or printer error messages, but it does not typically explain multiple old jobs stuck in the Windows queue while the printer itself shows Ready. Replacing toner would be premature without any consumables warning from the printer.
- C. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. A corrupted document could affect one specific print job, but the scenario describes several old jobs already stuck in the queue. That points to a queue or spooler issue rather than a problem limited to one application or one file.
- D. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. Changing the printer's IP address is not an appropriate first response and could create additional connectivity problems, especially for a shared printer already used by multiple users. Since the printer is online and reports Ready, the evidence more strongly suggests a queue management issue.