How to Fix Fix Print Spooler Error 1068 — Dependency Service Failed to Start on Windows
Print Spooler won't start with Error 1068? "The dependency service or group failed to start"? Printing completely broken? Fix Print Spooler dependency errors on Windows 10 and 11.
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Main Troubleshooting Guide
How to Fix Printer Not Working →Complete symptoms, causes, and step-by-step solutions
Symptoms
You might be experiencing this problem if you notice:
- •Print Spooler service fails to start with "Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start"
- •All printers show as offline and nothing prints
- •Restarting Print Spooler in Services.msc immediately fails
- •Event ID 7003 in Event Viewer: "The Print Spooler service depends on the..."
- •Print Spooler was working but broke after Windows Update
- •Other services also failing to start with the same error 1068
Common Causes
- ⚠RPC (Remote Procedure Call) service not running — Print Spooler depends on it
- ⚠DCOM Server Process Launcher service stopped or disabled
- ⚠RPC Endpoint Mapper service not running
- ⚠HTTP service dependency corrupted or disabled
- ⚠Registry corruption in the Print Spooler service dependency chain
- ⚠Malware or third-party software disabled a critical dependency service
Solutions
Solution 1: Start Print Spooler Dependencies
- 1Open Services.msc as Administrator
- 2Find and verify these services are running (Print Spooler depends on them):
- 31. "Remote Procedure Call (RPC)" — MUST be running (Automatic)
- 42. "DCOM Server Process Launcher" — MUST be running (Automatic)
- 53. "RPC Endpoint Mapper" — MUST be running (Automatic)
- 6Start any that are stopped
- 7Then find "Print Spooler" → right-click → Start
- 8If it starts successfully, set Startup type to Automatic
Solution 2: Fix via Command Line
- 1Open Command Prompt as Administrator
- 2Start dependency services in order:
- 3net start RpcSs
- 4net start DcomLaunch
- 5net start RpcEptMapper
- 6net start Spooler
- 7If any service fails to start, check its registry entry:
- 8HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\[ServiceName]
- 9Verify "Start" DWORD is 2 (Automatic) not 4 (Disabled)
- 10After all services are running, test printing
Solution 3: Repair Corrupted Dependencies
- 1If dependency services won't start:
- 2Run: sfc /scannow to repair corrupted system files
- 3Run: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
- 4Check the Print Spooler dependency list in Registry:
- 5HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Spooler
- 6Look at "DependOnService" — should list "RPCSS" and "http"
- 7If "http" is listed and HTTP service is problematic:
- 8Remove "http" from the DependOnService multi-string value
- 9Restart and test Print Spooler
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Fix Fix Print Spooler Error 1068 — Dependency Service Failed to Start Automatically
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