Windows XP Home hangs just before finishing loading

Zander,

I did as you suggest, and Print Spooler shows up as Disabled already in services.msc. I still have the system on Selective Startup with only Print Spooler unchecked, so I guess that disables it. In that state, I can reboot without getting a blue screen.

My question is, assuming the Print Spooler is defective, can I replace it?

 

I know you said there is no printer connected but is there one installed? In other words, have you ever had a printer installed and installed drivers for it? If so, open the control panel>printers and other hardware>printers and faxes. Right click on the printer that's installed and choose properties. Somewhere in there you can turn off spooling. If there's more than one printer installed do it for all.

If there is one installed and spooling is turned on, perhaps that's your problem. It may be hanging up trying to start the spooling service (being the service is disabled. Just a thought.)

The print spooler isn't a mechanical device. It's what you might call a virtual spooler. With it on, before the printer prints the document it "spools" it. This all takes place in memory, not on any mechanical spool.

The advantage of it being on is while the printer is printing you can send it more documents to print. They are put on this virtual spool in the order you send them to the printer and the printer will print them in the same order. Once they're spooled you can close the app that your printing from regardless of whether it's finished printing or not.

If you turn off spooling the printer prints the document as it receives it from the program you're printing from. You have to wait until it's done to print another or to close the program.

I've attached a pic of the spool settings from a Canon I850 printer I have to give you some idea of what to look for. The top arrow points to the line that turns spooling on, the bottom arrow points at the one that would turn it off.