How to fix SPLwow64.exe system error in Windows?

splwow64.exe is the Windows print driver host that lets programs load printer drivers in a separate process. When it shows a System Error, a Bad Image or an Application Error, the Windows file is almost never the problem: a printer driver file it loads is missing or damaged. Remove that printer and its driver package, then install the current driver.

Facts checked on 15 October 2026. Steps written for Windows 11 (25H2 and 26H2) and Windows 10 22H2.

What the splwow64.exe error means

The window title names splwow64.exe because that is the process that was running when something failed. The text under the title names the real culprit. In almost every case it is a DLL of a printer driver that splwow64.exe tried to load and could not.

One common version, quoted from a reader's screen: splwow64.exe - System Error with the text "The program can't start because x2utilVH.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem." On newer Windows builds the same problem reads "The code execution cannot proceed because x2utilVH.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program may fix this problem." Your DLL name may be different.

People search for this problem in many spellings. They all lead to the same repairs:

• splwow64.exe error, splwow64 error and SPLwow64.exe system error are the window above: a printer driver DLL is missing.
• splwow64.exe bad image is a damaged DLL. A Microsoft Q&A user quoted it as "C:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\x64\3\unidrvui.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error." The path shows it is a printer driver file.
• splwow64.exe application error or the application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000142) means the process itself could not start, often because a driver crashed it while loading. We could not find a Microsoft article that ties 0xc0000142 to one cause here.
• splwow64.exe entry point not found means a DLL exists but is the wrong version for the driver: an old and a new driver are mixed.
• spl64wow.exe, spw64 and wow.exe bad image are typing variants of the same file name.

What is splwow64.exe, and is it safe?

splwow64.exe is a Windows file from Microsoft. Microsoft writes that it translates the driver model between 64-bit Windows and a 32-bit program, and that it supports the Printer Driver Isolation feature. In plain words: when a program prints, splwow64.exe loads the printer driver in its own process, so a bad driver crashes splwow64.exe and not your program.

Location

C:\Windows\splwow64.exe

Description

Print driver host for applications

Publisher

Microsoft Corporation, part of Windows

When it runs

Only while a program prints or reads printer settings. Microsoft says it then stays in memory for two minutes after the last print job by default.

Driver files it loads

C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\x64\3 on 64-bit Windows

Safe to delete?

No. Without it, many programs cannot print.

Seeing splwow64.exe in Task Manager after you print is normal; it closes by itself. A file with the same name in any folder other than C:\Windows (or the matching WinSxS folder) is not the Windows file and should be scanned (Fix 6).

What causes the splwow64.exe error, most common first

Microsoft has no single article for this error. The order below follows from how splwow64.exe loads printer drivers and from what users report on Microsoft Q&A.

How to fix the splwow64.exe error

Fixes 1 and 2 repair the printer driver and solve most cases. Fix 3 finds the printer when the message names no file. Fixes 4 and 5 are for spooler and shared printer problems. Fixes 6 to 8 are general repairs for the rare cases left.

Fix 1. Remove the printer and its driver package in Print server properties

10 minutesLow riskEveryone whose message names a DLL. Do this first, together with Fix 2.

Removing only the printer leaves the driver files behind, including the broken DLL. Removing the driver package clears the whole driver from spool\drivers\x64\3 and the Driver Store, so the next install starts clean.

1. Write down the DLL name from the error window. Search it on the printer maker's site if you do not know which printer it belongs to.
2. Windows 11: open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners. Windows 10: open Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners.
3. Select the printer whose driver is broken and select Remove, then Yes.
4. Scroll to Related settings and select Print server properties. You can also press Win + R and run rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /s /t2.
5. Open the Drivers tab. If the buttons are grey, select Change Driver Settings and confirm the User Account Control prompt.
6. Select the driver of that printer and select Remove.
7. Choose Remove driver and driver package, select OK, then Yes and Delete. Select OK when it is done.
8. Restart the PC.

Open Print server properties straight on the Drivers tab (Win + R or an elevated Command Prompt):

rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /s /t2

Fix 2. Install the current printer driver for Windows 11 or Windows 10

15 minutesLow riskRight after Fix 1, or when the printer still uses a driver made for an older Windows.

A fresh package writes all the driver's DLLs at one matching version. That removes both the missing file and the Entry Point Not Found mix of old and new files.

1. Open the support site of the printer maker and enter the exact model.
2. Choose your Windows version (Windows 11 or Windows 10, 64-bit) and download the full driver or the basic driver package.
3. Run the installer and connect the printer when it asks. For a network printer, let it search the network.
4. Print a test page: open the printer in Printers & scanners, select Printer properties, then Print Test Page.
5. Print from the program that showed the error.

If the maker offers no current driver, Windows Update can often add one when you add the printer in Printers & scanners. Device driver basics, such as checking the version: Update, roll back or reinstall a driver

Fix 3. Find the printer that triggers the error with Microsoft Print to PDF

10 minutesNo riskThe message names no DLL, or the window appears when a program starts rather than when you print.

Programs such as Word and Excel ask the default printer for its settings when they start, so splwow64.exe loads that driver even before you print. Switching the default to a built-in Microsoft printer shows whether your printer's driver is the cause.

1. Open Printers & scanners (see Fix 1, step 2).
2. Turn off Let Windows manage my default printer.
3. Select Microsoft Print to PDF and select Set as default.
4. Close and open the program that showed the error, then print to PDF.
5. If the error is gone, the old default printer's driver is the cause: do Fix 1 and Fix 2 for it.
6. If the error stays, remove printers you no longer use one by one, such as old printers, fax drivers and printers from earlier offices, and test after each.

Fix 4. Clear stuck print jobs and restart the Print Spooler

5 minutesLow riskJobs hang in the queue, a driver cannot be removed because it is in use, or the error repeats after every print.

The Print Spooler keeps stuck jobs and loaded drivers in use. Stopping it and deleting the queued files releases the driver so it can be removed or loaded again.

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc and press Enter.
2. Double-click Print Spooler and select Stop.
3. Press Win + R, type %windir%\System32\spool\PRINTERS and press Enter. Select Continue if Windows asks for permission.
4. Delete every file in that folder. Do not delete the folder itself.
5. Go back to Print Spooler and select Start. Keep Startup type at Automatic.

General steps for restarting a service, with screenshots: Check and restart Windows services

Fix 5. Turn off client rendering for a shared printer

5 minutesLow riskYou print to a printer shared from another PC, and you can change its settings on that PC.

With Render print jobs on client computers on, every PC builds the print job with its own copy of the driver, which loads it through splwow64.exe. Turning it off lets the PC that shares the printer do that work with its own driver.

1. On the PC that shares the printer, open Control Panel and set View by to Large icons.
2. Open Devices and Printers.
3. Right-click the printer and select Printer properties.
4. Open the Sharing tab and clear Render print jobs on client computers.
5. Select Apply and OK, then print again from your PC.

Fix 6. Check that splwow64.exe is the real Windows file and scan the PC

15 minutesNo risksplwow64.exe runs from another folder, Windows says it cannot find it, or a security tool flags it.

Malware can borrow a known Windows name. The real file sits in C:\Windows and is signed by Microsoft; a copy elsewhere is not part of printing.

1. Print something, then press Ctrl + Shift + Esc and open the Details tab.
2. Right-click splwow64.exe and select Open file location. It should open C:\Windows.
3. Right-click the file, select Properties and open Digital Signatures. The signer should be Microsoft Windows.
4. If the folder or signer is different, run a full scan with Microsoft Defender.

Full scan and Protection history: How to scan for malware with Microsoft Defender

Fix 7. Repair Windows system files with DISM and SFC

20 minutesNo risksplwow64.exe itself is missing or damaged, or other Windows programs also fail.

splwow64.exe is a protected Windows file, so DISM and SFC can restore it. They do not restore printer driver DLLs; those come only from the driver (Fix 2).

1. Type cmd in the search box on the taskbar, right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
2. Run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and wait until it reaches 100 %.
3. Run sfc /scannow and wait for the result line.
4. Restart the PC and print again.

Step by step with screenshots: Run DISM and SFC to repair Windows system files

Fix 8. Remove the Windows update that came before the error

15 minutesRead the warningPrinting worked until a Windows update installed, and Fixes 1 to 7 did not help.

An update can change print components or swap a printer driver. Removing it for a test shows whether the update is the cause.

1. Open Settings > Windows Update > Update history. On Windows 10: Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View update history.
2. Note the date when printing stopped working and find the update installed just before it.
3. Select Uninstall updates, then Uninstall next to that update, and confirm.
4. Restart the PC and test printing.

Step by step: How to uninstall a Windows update

If the splwow64.exe error is still there: where to look and what to send

The error window names the DLL, but these places tell you which driver it belongs to and what failed:

Some users on Microsoft Q&A fixed the Bad Image message by copying the same DLL from the Driver Store into spool\drivers\x64\3. That is a user report, not a Microsoft fix; reinstalling the driver (Fix 2) writes the same files the supported way. When you contact the printer maker, send the exact error text, the DLL name, the printer model, the driver version and your Windows version.

How to keep the splwow64.exe error from coming back

Frequently asked questions

What is splwow64.exe?

splwow64.exe is a Windows file that Microsoft describes as the Print driver host for applications. It lives in C:\Windows. Microsoft writes that it translates the driver model between 64-bit Windows and 32-bit programs and supports Printer Driver Isolation. It loads printer drivers in a separate process while a program prints, so a broken driver crashes splwow64.exe instead of your program. It is not a virus and should not be deleted.

Is splwow64.exe a virus?

No, not when it is in C:\Windows and signed by Microsoft. It appears in Task Manager whenever a program prints and closes about two minutes after the last job. A file with the same name in your user folder, Temp or another folder is not the Windows file. Check its location and signature as Fix 6 shows, and scan it with Microsoft Defender.

Why does splwow64.exe start when I print from Excel or Word?

Office asks the printer driver for page sizes and settings when you open the print dialog or the program starts, and splwow64.exe hosts that driver. That is why the error can appear in Excel or Word before you print anything. The cause is still the printer driver. Set Microsoft Print to PDF as default to test (Fix 3), then repair the real printer's driver with Fix 1 and Fix 2.

How do I fix the splwow64.exe bad image error?

The Bad Image message names a damaged file, usually in C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\x64\3, such as unidrvui.dll. That file belongs to a printer driver. Remove the printer and its driver package in Print server properties (Fix 1), restart and install the current driver (Fix 2). Users report that the damaged file can be zero bytes or the same size as a good copy, so do not judge by size.

What does SplWOW64TimeOutSeconds do?

It is a DWORD value under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print. Microsoft says it sets how many seconds splwow64.exe waits after the last 32-bit print process closes before it unloads. The default is two minutes and the value must be greater than zero. It only changes how long the process stays in memory. It does not repair a missing or damaged DLL, so we do not use it as a fix here. Back up the registry before any change: Back up the registry before editing it.

Can I download the missing DLL or splwow64.exe?

We do not recommend it. A DLL from a download site may be the wrong version, may not belong to your printer driver, or may carry malware. The DLL named in the error comes with the printer driver, so reinstalling the driver (Fix 2) brings back the right file. splwow64.exe itself comes with Windows; if it is missing, DISM and SFC restore it (Fix 7).

What does splwow64.exe error 0xc0000142 mean?

The message "The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000142)" means splwow64.exe could not finish starting. We could not find a Microsoft article that names one cause for it with this file. In practice, start with the printer drivers: set Microsoft Print to PDF as default (Fix 3), clear the spooler (Fix 4), then repair Windows files (Fix 7).

Is the fix the same on Windows 10?

Yes. The file, the messages and the fixes are the same on Windows 10 22H2 and Windows 11. Only the Settings path differs: Windows 10 uses Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners, Windows 11 uses Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners. Windows 10 left Microsoft support on 14 October 2025, so printer makers may stop releasing new Windows 10 drivers.

What does splwow64.exe 8192 mean?

We could not confirm what 8192 refers to with splwow64.exe in any Microsoft source we read. If you see this number in an error window or Event Viewer, note the full text and the faulting module named next to it. When the module is a printer driver DLL, Fix 1 and Fix 2 apply.

I searched in another language. Does this page apply to me?

Yes, if your error window names splwow64.exe. The file and the fixes are the same in every Windows language; only the menu names are translated. This also applies to printer brands such as Epson, HP, Canon, Brother or Xerox: the brand's driver is what you remove and reinstall in Fix 1 and Fix 2.