220-1101 Question 471
Single answerFrozen print queueA user reports that no documents are printing to a shared office laser printer from their Windows workstation. In Devices and Printers, several old jobs show a status of "Error - Printing," and newly submitted documents remain stuck behind them. Other users can print to the same printer successfully from their own computers. Which action should the technician take FIRST to resolve the frozen print queue on the affected workstation?
- A
Restart the Print Spooler service on the affected workstation and clear the stuck print jobs
- B
Replace the toner cartridge in the office laser printer
- C
Reinstall the printer's network interface card
- D
Update the printer firmware on the shared printer
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
This scenario points to a client-side print queue problem rather than a printer hardware or shared printer issue. A frozen queue on a Windows system is commonly resolved by canceling pending jobs and restarting the Print Spooler service. If jobs cannot be removed normally, technicians may stop the spooler, clear files from the spool directory, and then restart the service. This aligns with standard Windows print troubleshooting practices documented by Microsoft for print spooler and queue-related issues. The key clue is that other users can print successfully, which rules out most printer-side failures such as toner, firmware, or printer NIC problems.
- A. Correct.
This is correct. Because other users can print successfully, the printer itself and the network path to it are likely functioning. The problem is isolated to the affected Windows workstation, where the local print queue is frozen. Restarting the Print Spooler service and clearing the stuck jobs is the standard first troubleshooting step for a jammed or corrupted print queue.
- B. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. Low or empty toner can affect print quality or stop printing for all users, but the scenario states that other users can print successfully. That indicates the printer is operational, so replacing toner would not address the frozen queue on just one workstation.
- C. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. A failed or misbehaving network interface card on the printer would typically affect connectivity for multiple users, not just one workstation. Since other users are printing normally, replacing printer hardware is unnecessary and does not match the symptoms.
- D. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. Firmware updates can resolve certain printer bugs, but they are not the first step for a workstation-specific frozen print queue. In this case, the issue is much more likely related to the local spooler service or corrupted queued jobs on the user's PC.