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Windows XP and Printers

Move the Spool Folder

SUMMARY: Move Windows XP's printer Spool folder to a different drive or directory.

Normally, Windows XP spools print jobs to a directory C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\PRINTERS. This way, you can continue working on other software while Windows XP handles the print job. Also, by spooling information to this directory, in case there is a printer error, you can (theoretically) reprint the file as soon as the printer error is fixed.

If you have two different partitions or hard drives, you may wish to move the spooled print jobs to a different directory. If you wish to do this:

1. Click "Start" then "Printers and Faxes".

2. When the "Printers and Faxes" window appears, choose "File" then "Server Properties".

3. When the "Server Properties" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, select the "Advanced" tab.

4. Next to "Spool Folder", choose the desired directory name where you want spooled print jobs to appear.

5. Click "OK" to close the dialog box.