Question Xp/printer issues

[Shock2k3]

My father is having issues on his old xp pc. He won't update to anything new because he's attached to the old os/programs. Figured I could post to try and help him out, but I'm not an expert. Any help is appreciated!

Hp dv6000 laptop
Windows xp sp3

It gets hung up during startup and sometimes grinds to a halt during use. He somehow figured out that ending the print spool (spoolsv.exe) program gets it through startup (gets stuck with desktop background image loaded, but can't finish loading icons, taskbar etc). I went into admin tools and stopped the print spool manually. Then I went into c/windows/system32/spool/print to close the two files that were loaded (just typed the location off top of my head, not with the comp atm) and restarted the spool in admin tools. That clears up the issue with start up and it runs great.. but as soon as you print it's back. Also I tried 5 printers at his office, using adobe and ms word. All have the same issue.
Let me know what info you guys need and I'll get back to the comp in the next couple days. For now he's just using his own fix of task manager to close the program when it locks up.
Thank you!

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

how old/new are the printers?

Sounds like it's just because he's using too old of an OS.

XP is extremely outdated and is no longer supported by any major software developers and external hardware manufacturers, along with not being supported by Microsoft anymore with their own drivers and especially security updates.

As sucky as it sounds, it's time to upgrade the laptop he's using to something that can run Windows 10.

Doesn't need to be brand spanking new, and doesn't need to be something that costs a lot of money, just something that'll run well enough for him to use it for what he uses it for and that will run Windows 10 smoothly enough.

I recommend at least 4GB of RAM, and a more modern dual core CPU at least (like an i3 that's preferably 4th gen or newer)

 

[Shock2k3]

Its not a money issue as much as him learning the new programs. The issue just started a week ago and it's the same printers that he's had forever. Newest one is a brother mfc-l5850 oldest one is a brother mfc-9420. Hope I got the product names right haha. I can post a full list of printers tomorrow when I go by his office. Either way compatability has never been an issue.
At 65 he's closer to retiring than updating all his hardware.

 

[ImWolf]

One simple "fix" you and your father might try is to install the unofficial "Harkaz SP4" updates. These include all updates for Windows XP that MS should have made available but did not, and make the system current up to about June of 2019.

I installed these updates on my old XP machine and suddenly many little nags were resolved.

You can investigate the updates and get the D/L files here:

https://ryanvm.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=133918#133918

 

[Shock2k3]

Sp4? That's interesting! Thanks for the tip, I'll have to check it out for sure.