Auto Retry Failed Print Jobs via Registry

When a printer encounters an error, Windows often halts the print job, requiring manual intervention to restart or clear the queue. By modifying specific values in the Windows Registry Editor (regedit), you can configure the Windows Print Spooler service to automatically retry failed print jobs and define how many attempts it makes before marking the job as permanently failed.

Step 1: Open the Registry Editor

  1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog.
  2. Type regedit and press Enter.
  3. Click Yes if prompted by User Account Control (UAC).

Step 2: Navigate to the Print Registry Key

In the address bar of the Registry Editor, paste the following path and press Enter:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print

Step 3: Configure Retry Values

You need to create or modify two DWORD values within the Print key to control retry behavior:

  1. Set Retry Attempts:
    • Right-click an empty area in the right-hand pane, select New, and click DWORD (32-bit) Value.
    • Name the new value JobRetryAttempts.
    • Double-click JobRetryAttempts, select the Decimal base option, and enter the number of times you want Windows to retry the print job (for example, 5).
    • Click OK.
  2. Set Retry Interval:
    • Right-click an empty area in the right-hand pane, select New, and click DWORD (32-bit) Value.
    • Name the new value JobRetryInterval.
    • Double-click JobRetryInterval, select the Decimal base option, and enter the wait time between retry attempts in minutes (for example, 2 for a two-minute interval).
    • Click OK.

Step 4: Restart the Print Spooler Service

The changes will not take effect until the Print Spooler service is restarted.

  1. Press Windows Key + R, type cmd, and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open the Command Prompt as Administrator.

  2. Run the following command to stop the spooler:

    net stop spooler

  3. Run the following command to restart the spooler:

    net start spooler

Once restarted, the Windows Print Spooler will automatically attempt to reprint failed jobs based on the configured attempt count and time interval.