Sounds like you might need to uninstall SP 3.
Here’s an excerpt from our client service database:
All of the installed printers have disappeared from Pat’s computer.
Error: Print spooler service is not running.
This has been a popular reported problem recently. Not sure what causes it but MS article 324757 fixes it.
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6/17/2009 8:01:26 AM
The article mentioned previously did not fix the problem this time. We found the print spooler error is caused by Windows XP SP3. We uninstalled SP3 and all of Pat’s previously installed printers were listed again.
We also changed her automatic update settings so SP3 is not installed automatically.
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Ummm, isn’t it a bad idea to run Windows XP without SP3 installed?
Where do I find SP3 to uninstall it?