What causes "PrintSystemException.PrintQueue.Pause" in dotnet/wpf?

Run under an account with Manage Printer permission on the queue (printer owner or administrator).

dotnet/wpf · error · PrintQueueException

PrintSystemException.PrintQueue.Pause

Error message

PrintSystemException.PrintQueue.Pause

What it means

PrintQueue.Pause converts a Win32 SetPrinter(PRINTER_CONTROL_PAUSE) failure into a PrintSystemException tagged 'PrintSystemException.PrintQueue.Pause'. Pausing asks the spooler to stop scheduling jobs on the queue; the HResult holds the native error (e.g. access denied).

Solutions

Run under an account with Manage Printer permission on the queue (printer owner or administrator).
Check the queue still exists via PrintServer.GetPrintQueue(name) before pausing.
Verify the spooler service is running and the network path to the print server is reachable.
Inspect the PrintSystemException's Win32 HResult (e.g. 0x80070005 = access denied) to confirm the permission cause.

Example fix

// before
queue.Pause();
// after
try { queue.Pause(); }
catch (PrintSystemException ex)
{
    if (ex.HResult == unchecked((int)0x80070005)) throw new UnauthorizedAccessException("Manage-printer permission required to pause the queue.", ex);
    throw;
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

var server = new PrintServer();
bool exists = server.GetPrintQueues().Any(q => q.FullName == queue.FullName);
if (!exists || (queue.QueueStatus & PrintQueueStatus.Error) != 0) throw new InvalidOperationException("Queue unavailable for Pause");

Try / catch

try { queue.Pause(); }
catch (PrintSystemException ex) when (ex.HResult == unchecked((int)0x80070005))
{ throw new UnauthorizedAccessException("Manage-printer permission required to pause the queue.", ex); }

Prevention

Require Manage Printer permission for any queue-control operation (Pause/Purge/Resume).
Check QueueStatus before issuing control commands.
Inspect the PrintSystemException HResult to classify Win32 errors.
Operate on queues re-resolved from the PrintServer, not stale references.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling queue.Pause() when the spooler rejects SetPrinter with PRINTER_CONTROL_PAUSE — typically ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED, ERROR_INVALID_PRINTER_NAME, or a disconnected remote queue.

Common situations: User is not a printer administrator/owner; pausing a connection to a shared printer where the server refuses non-admin control; queue already deleted; spooler service stopped.

Understand the failure class

Background: Permission denied / not authorized / 403 Forbidden: access-control rejections when the caller lacks the required role, grant, or ownership — this error's family across 18 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of dotnet/wpf@81131a70a4 (2026-09-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7630d540778e212c. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Microsoft.DotNet.Wpf/src/System.Printing/CPP/src/PrintQueue.cpp:1281

    Return Value
        None
--*/
void
PrintQueue::
Pause(
    void
    )
{
    VerifyAccess();

    try
    {
        printerThunkHandler->ThunkSetPrinter(PRINTER_CONTROL_PAUSE);
    }
    catch (InternalPrintSystemException^ internalException)
    {
        throw CreatePrintQueueException(internalException->HResult,
                                        "PrintSystemException.PrintQueue.Pause");
    }
}


/*++
    Function Name:
        Purge

    Description:
        Deletes all the jobs in the printer

    Parameters:
        None

    Return Value
        None
--*/

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