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  3. System32
  4. spool
  5. drivers
FolderRisk: Caution

drivers C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers

Printer drivers used by the print spooler (x64, color, etc.); manage them through printing tools, not by hand.

Updated on By AltF4 Formation

What it’s for

The print spooler stores the installed printer driver files here. When the Print Spooler service will not start or a printer fails, this folder and the state of its drivers are among the first things to check.

What it contains

  • One subfolder per architecture, for example x64, with the drivers’ DLLs and configuration files (type 3 drivers are in x64\3).
  • color: the ICC color profiles associated with printers.
  • Third-party and class driver files, depending on the installed printers.
  • Type 4 (v4) drivers are not here: their packages are kept in the driver store (DriverStore).

Risks and best practices

  • A driver that has vanished from the list but remains on disk, or the reverse, blocks the spooler. So remove drivers with Remove-PrinterDriver or the Print Management console, never file by file.
  • This folder is a known target of print spooler attacks: apply security updates and disable the spooler on servers that do not print.
  • To clear the queue, go to spool\PRINTERS, not here.

Useful commands

Fenêtre de terminal
# List the driver subfolders (architectures, color)
Get-ChildItem -Force "$env:windir\System32\spool\drivers" | Select-Object Name, LastWriteTime


# List installed printer drivers
Get-PrinterDriver | Select-Object Name, Manufacturer, DriverVersion, InfPath


# Remove a printer driver cleanly (run as administrator); test with -WhatIf first
Remove-PrinterDriver -Name "<driver name>" -WhatIf

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