The Active Directory Domain Services are critical functions of the Active directory and play an important role in functions like rights management, Single Sign-On, security certificates, and many more. In most cases, the Active Directory Domain Services is currently unavailable is related to the printer. The Windows OS throws this error when it is not able to find the printer or connect to it.

If you are getting a similar error and looking for a solution, you have landed on the right page. In this post, we have discussed a few solutions that could help you resolve the error.

Solution One – Make changes to printer spooler settings.

The Print Spooler is in-built software in Windows that temporarily stores print jobs until the printer is ready to print. The solution discussed here covers two scenarios – the Print Spooler service is running and not running. The initial steps for both solutions are the same. The right solution depends on the status of the Print Spooler service

Case 1 – the Print Spooler service is not running

In this case, the Print Spooler service startup is set to manual and it is not running due to some reason. This might be the reason behind the “the Active Directory Domain Services is currently unavailable” error.

• Press Windows logo key and R simultaneously to launch the Run command
• In the Run command, type services. msc and click OK
• In the Services window, right-click Print Spooler service and click Start

• After starting the Print Spooler service, right-click the Print Spooler service again and click properties
• In the Properties window, go to the Startup type section and select Automatic from the drop-down list

• Click Apply and then OK
• Close all windows  

Case 2 – the Print Spooler service is running

As mentioned earlier, the Print Spooler service is responsible for managing print jobs.  The service is visible to users and you can cancel print jobs. Since the Windows OS is giving an error though the Print Spooler service is running, we will see if restarting the Print Spooler service resolves the error.

• In the Services window, right-click Print Spooler service and click Stop
• Click This PC icon on the desktop to launch Windows Explorer.
• Navigate to following folder – C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS
• Windows might prompt access permissions dialog when you try to access this folder, click Continue
• Once you get access to the folder, select all files and delete them
• Now go back to the Services window and right-click Print Spooler service and select Properties
• Go to the Service Status section and click Start
• Now go to the Startup type section and select Automatic from the drop-down list
• Click Apply -> OK
• Close all windows

Now try printing a file and see if you get the “Active Directory Domain Services is currently unavailable”. If the error is not resolved, move to the next solution.   

Solution Two – Fix the problem through Registry

The registry is a hierarchical database in Windows.  It stores low-level settings of all windows functions.  By making the changes in the registry, you can bring changes to the way system components work. Here we try to fix the problem through the registry editor. Here are the steps to follow.

• Press Windows logo key and R simultaneously to launch the Run command
• In Run command, type Regedit and press Enter on the keyboard

In the Registry Editor window, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Windows NT > CurrentVersion.

• Under CurrentVersion, right-click on Devices and click on Permissions

• In the Permissions for Devices dialog, select your account and place a tick on Allow of Full Control
• Click Apply -> OK
• Go to the Under Current Version section again. Now right-click on Printer Ports and click on Permissions

• In the Permissions for Printer Ports dialog, select your account and place a tick on Allow of Full Control

• Click Apply -> OK
• Go to the Under Current Version section again. Now right-click on the Printer Ports folder and click on Permissions
• In the Permissions for Printer Ports dialog, select your account and place a tick on Allow of Full Control
• Click Apply -> OK
•  Now go to the Under Current Version section again and locate the Windows folder and right-click on it and select Permissions
• In the Permissions for Windows dialog, select your account and place a tick on Allow of Full Control
• Click Apply -> OK
• Close the registry editor

Send a print command and check whether you are getting an error. If the error is not resolved, move to the next solution.