Spooler SubSystem App has encountered a problem

Code:

Spooler SubSystem App has encountered a problem and needs to close.  We are sorry for the inconvenience

I’m running Windows XP SP3

I’ve use Winpatrol winpatrol . com and have done for probably 7 years it just informs me when something potentially dodgy is about to happen on my PC

All of a sudden I’ve got a problem when I start my machine

I get a window popup WinPatrol new program Alert

Code:

A new auto Startup Prpgram has been detected 
This program will run each time you login or restart



Do you approve the addition of this Program?

no icon
%systemroot%\system32\dumprep 0 –u
No Description found
Company name not included in this program

I read that is a MS reporting thing but I still haven’t let it get added to my startup
I just leave that and I get another popup dialogue box

Code:

Spooler SubSystem App has encountered a problem and needs to close.  We are sorry for the inconvenience.

every so often this message pops up so something is trying to start it automatically.

I keep my machine quite tidy malware – and cookies etc. I ran SUPERAntiSpyware and it found nothing.

Things I’ve tried
SFC /SCANNOW
Run - programs – accessories -system tools - Disk Cleanup
Uninstalled a few little used software using uninstall
I’ve run CCleaner
I’ve run SUPERAntiSpyware over all my disks (took ages)
I’ve deleted all the files in the following folders
c:\windows\system32\spool\3\*.*
c:\windows\system32\spool\3\epsonstylus_dx4400407f
rebooted lots of times
unplugged printer – rebooted removed the power from PC etc.

The odd thing is that if I get a command prompt up and run

Code:

net stop spooler
it says “the print spooler service is not started
if I run  “net start spooler”
it pauses a while and comes up with 
The print Spooler service is starting.
The print Spooler service was started successfully. 
then I run net stop spooler again it says 
The print Spooler service is stopping.
The print Spooler service was stopped successfully. 

so it seems to be working in the dos box.

I’ve sort of reached the end of my knowledge could someone make a suggestions as to what I might try or check next?

I'd appreciate any help or Advice you might offer

EDIT more...
when the spooler error pop us it says click here for more info - below is the more info:

Code:

szAppName : spoolsv.exe     szAppVer : 5.1.2600.5512     szModName : lsptvc.dll
szModVer : 1.0.0.1     offset : 000041f0 


C:\DOCUME~1\Nomax5\LOCALS~1\Temp\WER69f3.dir00\spoolsv.exe.mdmp
C:\DOCUME~1\Nomax5\LOCALS~1\Temp\WER69f3.dir00\appcompat.txt

 

You need the spooler app to be running in order to print.

Your system will try to start it automatically when you boot it up, so the fact that the spooler is running is not, by itself, a sign that you have malware.

Is your printer working?

 

hi and sorry for the delay in responding I was rebooting etc.

No The printer is not working anymore.

if I try to print it says there is no printer
if I try to add a printer I get the message
"Operation could not be completed The Print Spooler service is not running"

if I unplug the printer - reboot then plug the printer in
I get part way through the install and the message
"Spooler SubSystem App has encountered a problem"

and it stops

I've tried reinstalling the printer and doing the latest drivers but it encounters a problem each time.

 

Have you tried updating your printer drivers? (Have you added any new hardware recently?) D'oh, your message said you did try reinstalling.

Have you tried starting from scratch with your printer drivers: http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/CleanPrinterDrivers.htm

I have had a lot of problems with my Vista machine (not XP, so my experience is not directly relevant or helpful to you) and that spooler system subapp message--three separate episodes in the last three months. It is definitely not a malware issue, my machine is clean. Every time I have been able to get my printer working eventually, but the message you are describing is usually a sign to me that I have to try a bunch of stuff with my machine. Most recently I used the above link, and then installed one of our network's printer (I am still trying to get my local printer working).

In my case--don't know if this helps you--the problem appears to be with registry entries each time and the cure seems to involve regedit, which is scary but is detailed in the link above.

 

Thats the odd thing I've not changed the hardware in months. I've not done a windows update in ages (I have it on manual)

Usually something triggers a problem but I can't think what could have triggered this one. nothing much has changed on my machine for months, it just happened when I turned my PC on one day.

The only thing I can think of is some file has got corrupted or there is a conflict in the registry or something ... I'm stumped

I'll go through the doc you've linked and see if it will help

 

Ahh there is a different problem

When I press the windows key and "E" to get explorer up I get a strange message.

"Windows cannot find '(null)'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again. to search for a file, Click the Start button, and then click search"
it happens everytime I press Windows Key E but not when I right click Start and explore.

I am now wondering if I have a disk problem

 

You need to allow dumprep to be run at startup, as it is part of Windows' fault logging system. If this does not fix your problem, post back.

 

I tried that collins I went to system properties - error reporting and enabled error reporting.

I just got an extra message pop up with that on.

Also I tried to start 1st page editor which I've used daily for years and windows closed it down to protect my computer

So I had to disable it in DEP to get it to work. I guess its just the spooler problem but I'm now getting a little worried

 

I still have this problem - I thought I could live without a printer but I'm sick of carrying the printer to another machine to print stuff

Summary of the problem
when I start my machine I get the "Spooler SubSystem App has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience." pop up

it has a "for more information Click here link which displays:

Code:

szAppName : spoolsv.exe     szAppVer : 5.1.2600.5512     szModName : lsptvc.dll
szModVer : 1.0.0.1     offset : 000041f0     

C:\DOCUME~1\Nomax5\LOCALS~1\Temp\WERc4f3.dir00\spoolsv.exe.mdmp
C:\DOCUME~1\Nomax5\LOCALS~1\Temp\WERc4f3.dir00\appcompat.txt

it tries a couple more times then gives up

I'm willing to try anything to fix it... but I really don't want to reinstall windows and all my software.

I have another machine running xp and the printer works fine on that one... are there some files I could drag from sys32 or something - fiddle with the registry?

any help greatly appreciated

 

* SOLVED *

Thanks for all your help and advice everyone, I spent 4 hours yeasterday and in the end I used XP restore back to a save point to solve the problem.

I clicked each restore point to see if any software had been installed (none had)
I tried different restore points going further back until the problem disappeared so I went right back to Jan 1st 2009

I don't know what caused the problem but I think I probably compounded the problem trying to fix it.

But its all fixed now..

thanks again.