I can't see a problem posted from you here..... just LOTS of complaints
about your PC and it's printer..
If you would like to post details of your problem, including make and model
of printer, how it's connected to the PC and the exact text of any error
messages you are getting, I'm sure either myself or one of the other MVPs
(who are all volunteers by the way) will look at it.
Alternatively you might want to read the Printing FAQ, posted just last
Friday by Brian Boston, who is a Microsoft employee.... I will duplicate it
for you here:
No changes in the FAQ since its last posting on 8/15/2003:
Printing, Imaging, Fax and All-in-One Frequently Asked Questions
v. 07/31/03
Special thanks to the Microsoft Printing, Imaging and Fax MVPs: Cari Miller,
Bruce Sanderson and Russ Valentine for making this FAQ possible.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
------------------------------
Newsgroup Organization
------------------------------
Windows XP setup, configuration, and troubleshooting of client Fax Services
and tools and questions about printers, print client and server setup,
drivers, and compatibility:
microsoft.public.windowsxp.print_fax
Questions about printers, print client and server setup,drivers,
compatibility for Windows 2000:
microsoft.public.win2000.printing
Setup, configuration, and troubleshooting of client and server Fax Services
and tools for Windows 2000:
microsoft.public.win2000.fax
------------------------------
General Questions
------------------------------
1) What information do I need to include with a post?
If you are having trouble with your printer, fax or all-in-one printer,
please provide the following information:
* The text of any error messages you are receiving and description of the
problem.
* The brand and specific model of your device.
* How your device is connected to the PC: USB, parallel (a "fat" plug) or
over the network.
* Did you install any new software or hardware, after which the problem
occurred?
* Any additional information you are have regarding what you can do to
reproduce the problem, what you have tried to fix the problem or other
related information.
The more information you can provide, the easier it will be for someone to
help you!
------------------------------
2) What is a driver?
A "driver" is a software component that is used by applications and the
Windows Operating System to talk to a piece of hardware. Without a properly
installed driver, the device probably won't function at all. Many problems
with printers, scanners, faxes and all-in-ones are due to problems with
drivers.
------------------------------
3) How can I get a new driver?
Sometimes problems are resolved with newer versions of drivers that provide
bug fixes or feature enhancements. Updating your device's driver to a newer
version may solve the problem you're seeing. Drivers designed for older
Operating Systems may not work on Windows XP, and should be upgraded.
Drivers are created and supplied by the manufacture of the hardware, and
often come on the CD that shipped with the device. You can usually download
the newest driver for a device at the manufacturer's website. Follow the
manufacturer's instructions to uninstall the old driver and reinstall the
new one. Alternatively, you can install an updated driver via Windows
Update,
http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp .
------------------------------
Printer Questions
------------------------------
1) How do I add a network printer for all users on a computer?
1. When a user, even an administrator, adds a network printer using the Add
Printer wizard, the printer is only added for that particular user. If
another user logs on at that computer, the network printer is not available
for them until they add it.
2. A network printer is much like a mapped network drive in the sense that
it is just a reference (pointer) to a printer share on another computer.
These kinds of things are specific to the user that creates (adds) them.
There is NO option in the Add Printer wizard to add a network printer for
all users of a computer, but the capability to do so does exists in Windows
NT, 2000 and XP.
3. Here are the steps to add a printer for all user on a computer. Note that
this process adds a printer permanently, just as does the Add Printer
wizard. There is no much point in placing these commands in logon or startup
script because that will result in multiple instance of the printer on each
computer? one for each time a user logs on or the computer is restarted.
However, these commands can be used in command files (.cmd files) or scripts
which makes it relatively simple and quick to add multiple printers to one
computer, the same printer to multiple computers or a mixture of both.
a. logon at the computer with an administrative user account
b. open a Command Prompt window
c. key the command:
rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /ga /n\\UNC path to the printer
for example, if the printers share name is p1 and it is defined on the
computer C1 (i.e the Print Server is called C1), key exactly:
rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /ga /n\\C1\P1
If you want to, you can add a printer remotely -- that is, on another
computer by including the /c parameter. For example, if you want to add the
printer \\C1\P1 to the computer called CC while logged on at another
computer, use this command:
rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /ga /c\\CC /n\\C1\P1
The printer added this way won't be useable (e.g. won't show up in the list
of available printers) until the Print Spooler service is restarted or a
user logs on. You can restart the Print Spooler by keying these commands in
the Command Prompt window:
net stop spooler
net start spooler
You can not redirect the above commands to another computer, so if you added
the printer to another computer, use the Computer Management console to
restart the print spooler on the other computer:
a. click Start, Administrative Tools, Computer Management
b. in the left pane, right click on the root of the tree (Computer
Management (Local)) and select Connect to another computer
c. key the name of the computer (e.g. for the above example this would be
CC) and click OK
d. in the left pane, click the + sign beside Services and Applications
e. click Services
f. in the right pane, right click on Print Spooler and select Restart
Another alternative is force the other computer to restart using the
command:
Shutdown -r -m \\computername
e.g.
shutdown -r -m \\cc
4. Additional information is available at:
http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/NetPrinterAllUsers.htm
in a Command Prompt window key: rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /?
in a Command Prompt window key: shutdown /?
------------------------------
2) When I open Printers and Faxes there are no printers but there were
before (my printers disappeared)
1. You want to print something, but the printer you used before does not
exist anymore -- the application (e.g. Notepad) says there are no printers.
You open the Printers and Faxes folder and it is empty. You are absolutely
certain you added one or more printers some time ago, but they aren't there
any more.
2. The service called Print Spooler manages all of the printers as well as
the actual printing process. If the Print Spooler service is not running,
it's like there are no printers.
The usual reason that the Print Spooler service is not running is because a
printer driver has failed, either during its initialization or when you
tried to print on a printer that uses that driver.
Printer drivers can fail for all kinds of reasons, but a very common one is
that it was built for an earlier version of Windows (e.g. Windows 95) and
can't work under Windows XP. You could have such printer driver without
realizing, by, for example:
a. Upgrading from an earlier version of Windows without first deleting your
printer.
b. You put the CD that came with your printer into your CD drive and it
automatically started the printer installation process even though there are
no Windows XP drivers on that CD.
c. You added a network printer and an incompatible driver was automatically
downloaded from the print server.
Regardless of how the driver got installed, you have to uninstall it to
overcome this problem, then install a Windows XP compliant driver for your
printer. Windows XP comes with printer drivers for many, but not all
printers. If Windows XP does not have a driver for your particular printer,
there's a good chance you can download one from the printer manufacturer's
web site.
3. Removing an errant printer driver is not always easy, particularly if the
Print Spooler service crashes during startup. If the Print Spooler service
can be restarted successfully, the easiest way to uninstall a printer driver
is to use the Printers and Faxes folder. If the Print Spooler service won't
restart, then you have to uninstall the printer driver the hard way.
If you have multiple printers and don't know which one is causing the
problem, you may find the easiest thing to do is to delete all of the
printers and printer drivers, then add the printers again, ensuring you are
using printer drivers that are specifically for Windows XP.
Here's the easy way:
a. open a Command Prompt window and key the command:
i. net start spooler
ii. If you get a "completed successfully" message proceed with the remainder
of the "easy way". If you get a message that indicates the Print Spooler
could not be started or failed during startup, you'll have to use the "hard
way".
b. open the Printers and Faxes folder
c. right click on the printer and select "Delete"
d. after the printer is deleted, click File, Server Properties
e. select the Drivers tab
f. select the driver that is causing the problem and click Remove
g. if you don't know which printer driver is causing the problem, repeat
step 6 for all of the drivers
Now you're ready to add the printer(s) again making sure to use only Windows
XP compliant driver.
Check in Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs; if there is an entry relating
to one of the printers, select it, then click Change/Remove. Follow the
dialog and "uninstall all" or "remove all" as appropriate. Some "printer
software" have programs that show up here and it will be a good idea to
remove those before going any further.
If the Print Spooler service is operational:
a. Open the Printers (Printers and Faxes on Windows XP) folder
b. delete all of the printers
c. click File, Server Properties
d. select the Drivers tab
e. for each entry:
f. select the entry
g. click Remove
Usually, this will do a pretty good job of cleaning out drivers with Windows
2000 and later (not so with Windows NT 4).
If the Print Spooler service is not operational, or you want to make certain
there are no printer driver remnants:
Warning! be very careful using regedit - if you delete the wrong things, you
may render your computer inoperative!
a. open regedit (e.g. click Start, key regedit and press Enter)7
b. navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windo
ws NT x86\Drivers
i. under this key, there will be the keys Version-2 and Version-3 (one or
the other of these may be absent - not a problem)
ii. the sub-keys under these contain the printer driver configuration
information
iii. delete all the sub-keys inside Version-2 and Version-3, but not these
keys themselves
c. open a Command Prompt window
d. key the commands
net stop spooler
net start spooler
e. open Windows Explorer
f. navigate to %systemroot%\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86 (%systemroot% is
usually Windows, but it might be winnt or something else; this is set when
the OS is installed).
g. inside w32x86, there will be folders with the names 2 and 3 (one or more
of these may be absent - not a problem)
delete all of the files and sub-folders in each of the 2 and 3 folders,
but not the folders themselves
inside w32x86, there may be other folders with names starting with
"hewlett_packard", "hphp" or something else; delete these folders also
h. restart the print spooler (see steps 8 and 9 above)
i. At this point, the system should be pretty well back to the way it was
before any printers were installed.
4. Additional information is available at:
http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/CleanPrinterDrivers.htm
------------------------------
3) When I try to print from my Windows 9x computer I get prompted for the
password for IPC$
1. You have a printer connected to a Windows NT, 2000, 2003 or XP computer
that is shared. You connect to that share from a Windows 95, 98 or Me
computer, but always get prompted for the password for the IPC$ share. You
can't find anywhere on the NT, 2000, 2003 or XP computer to set such a
password and all passwords you key get rejected.
2. You can't find where to set the password because there isn't one!
When a user attempts to connect to a share (printer or file) on a Windows
NT, 2000, 2003 or XP computer, the target computer requests "credentials"
from the client. The client computer responds with the logged on username
and password. If this does not match any username and password known on the
target computer, that computer will send back a "failed authentication"
message. A Windows NT, 2000, 2003 or XP computer will respond to this by
prompting the user for a username and password. Windows 9x, unfortunately
interprets this to mean a request for the password for the IPC$ share
instead.
3. The solution is to logon at the Windows 9x computer with a username and
password that is known on the NT, 2000, 2003 or XP computer. Then, when the
target computer requests credentials, the Windows 9x computer will send the
logged on username and password and that will "authorize" the user on the
client to access the target computer. A much less secure alternative is to
enable the "Guest" user account on the target computer.
------------------------------
4) When I click "Add Printer", nothing happens at all or I receive an
"Operation could not be completed" error message.
In case you have LanTastic installed, navigate to the %windir%\system32
folder and replace printui.dll with mprintui.dll (mprintui.dll is the
original version that the LanTastic installer replaces with it's own
version). printui.dll is the system component hosting the Add Printer
Wizard.
If you receive the "Operation could not be completed" error message, one of
the system DLLs that are needed for the Add Printer Wizard to work may be
missing or have been replaced by another file. You will need to restore the
old file:
1. Open the command line
2. Click on Start, then Run and type "cmd" and press enter or click "OK".
3. At the "C:\>" prompt, type "sfc /scannow" to run the system file
protection scanner. This may prompt you for the Windows CD to restore the
original file versions.
------------------------------
5) When I use the Add Printer Wizard to install a printer, regardless of
what printer I am trying to install, when I click "Finish" I get the error
"Operation could not be completed".
There seem to be cases where an internal cache file gets corrupted, possible
from an earlier power failure. Navigate to the %windir%\inf folder (it's a
hidden directory, so by default you won't see it in explorer, either turn on
"show hidden files" or use the command line) and delete ntprint.pnf,
printupg.pnf, infcache.1 and any oemXXXX.pnf (XXXX being a sequential
number). Delete only the .pnf, not the .inf - the .pnf is the cached version
of the .inf and will be regenerated if it doesn't exist.
------------------------------
6) When I try to start the spooler I get an error message "the dependency
service could not be started".
Some Lexmark printer drivers install a service LexBCES, and make the spooler
dependent on that service. There seem to be a number of cases where the
LexBCES service gets wedged (hung), and that then blocks the spooler from
starting. To unblock, type "sc config spooler depend= RPCSS" an a command
line (note the space after depend=). This will probably leave the Lexmark
printer non-functional but at least allow printing to other printers.
Contact Lexmark support or visit
www.lexmark.com to get an updated version
of the Lexmark printer driver.
------------------------------
7) Printing from DOS with Windows 2000 or XP
In Windows 9x, there was a button in the printer properties to "capture
printer port". Windows 2000 and XP don't have this button, so to print from
a program running a Command Prompt window or an emulated DOS environment you
may have to use a subterfuge,. There are three cases:
1. the printer is a Local Printer and the print device is connected directly
to a parallel port (e.g. LPT1).
In this case, you should not have to anything to be able to print from a
Command Prompt, from an emulated DOS prompt (command.com) or a DOS (16 bit)
program.
2. the printer is a Local Printer and the print device is connected to a USB
or some other kind of port (e.g. a Standard TCP/IP port).
In this case, you need to either:
a. pool the port the printer is on with the LPT1 port (see Pool in Glossary)
(thanks to Steven Latus for this suggestion)
or
b. create a share for the printer and map the printer to an emulated local
port that DOS know about (e.g. LPT1). Do steps 1 through 7 below
3. the printer is a Network Printer or is a Local Printer on a port with a
UNC name (see When installing Additional Drivers doesn't work).
In this case, map the printer to an emulated local port that DOS know about
(e.g. LPT1). Do only steps 6 through 7 below.
Here's the detailed steps:
(Create a share for the local printer.)
1. Open the printer's Property Page (see Property Page in Glossary)
2. Select the Sharing tab
3. Select the Share this printer radio button
4. In the Share name: box, key the name you want to use as the printer's
share name. The default is the same as the printer's name, but you may want
to change it so that it is short and doesn't have any embedded spaces. This
will make it easier later.
5. Click OK
(Map the printer share to an emulated local port. If you also have a Local
Printer on your parallel port, use a different emulated local port (e.g.
LPT2). In step 7, use this other port's name (e.g. lpt2) instead of lpt1.)
6. Open a Command Prompt (Start, (All) Programs, Accessories)
7. type in: net use lpt1: \\computername\printersharename /persistent:yes
and press Enter
for computername, use the name of your computer (see computer name in
Glossary)
for printersharename, use the share name you keyed in step 4
The /persistent:yes parameter makes the mapping of the printer to the
emulated lpt1 port persistent, so you don't have to issue this command every
time you logon.
------------------------------
Fax Questions
------------------------------
1) How do I install the Windows XP Fax Services?
Windows XP Fax is not installed by default and must be installed from
Control Panel > Add/Remove Windows Components. It is necessary that you have
an analog fax modem compatible with Windows XP Fax (see the Windows XP
Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) at
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/catalog/) and an analog phone line.
Alternatively, it is possible to install Windows XP Fax Services and then
connect to a remote shared fax printer on a Small Business Server 2000 or
Windows Server 2003 machine.
If your installation of Windows XP was from a CD, you will be prompted to
insert the CD and may need to browse to the i386 Folder so the installation
routine can find the necessary files. If your installation files are on the
hard drive, you may need to direct the routine to the i386 Folder there. If
you have applied SP1, these files may have been moved to a different folder
(ServicePackFiles\i386), and you will need to direct the routine to that
folder.
If your installation was performed by an OEM (original equipment
manufacturer), it will be the responsibility of the OEM to supply those
files. Unfortunately, the installation disks supplied by many OEM's do not
contain the necessary files and you will need to contact the OEM to obtain
them. The fax installation files are not available to download from
Microsoft.
------------------------------
2) Why can't the XP Fax Installation Program find the Installation Files?
When the installation routine is unable to find the necessary installation
files (even when directed to the appropriate i386 Folder) it usually means
that the installation files are compressed. This is often the case when the
files are pre-copied by a manufacturer on the hard drive. If you do a search
for the files that the installation routine claims are missing (fxsapi.dll
and fxcfgwz.dll) you won't find them, but you will find fxsapi.dl_ and
fxscfgwz.dl_. These are compressed DLL files and will need to be
decompressed. Double click on them and you will get a prompt for the file to
use to open them. Click on BROWSE... and select Win32 Cabinet
Self-Extractor, which is in the system folder. With any luck it will
uncompress them all and make them visible as DLL files. The install routine
still may not find these files. If so, then you must manually direct the
installation routine to the i386 folder that contains these extracted files.
------------------------------
3) Why won't the XP Fax program work with my cable modem?
Many users don't realize that faxing is a function that can only use analog
phone lines and analog fax modems. Accordingly, no fax software will
function with cable modems or DSL lines. With some DSL connections you can
obtain a DSL line filter suitable for connecting a standard analog voice
line to the DSL line and can then connect an analog fax modem to that line.
If you have no analog modem or phone line, you will need to use a fee based
Internet Fax Service or connect to a remote shared fax printer on a Windows
2003 Server or Small Business Server 2000 box. Several fee based Internet
Fax options are listed here:
http://www.savetz.com/fax/
------------------------------
4) Why does the Fax Monitor no longer appear when sending and receiving
faxes?
A number of standard update and repair procedures disabled the Fax Monitor
in the initial release of Windows XP. These problems were fixed in Service
Pack 1. Make sure you apply SP1 if you notice this problem. Windows XP
Service Pack 1 (English) can be downloaded from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...f8-1684-4202-b2d0-c6a43430f12a&displaylang=en
More information regarding this issue can be found here:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPOR...c06387f12de9fa2a88256cf60063c54d?OpenDocument
------------------------------
5) Why can't I view faxes in the Fax Console?
There are many causes for this problem. Most often, this problem arises
because some other imaging application that you installed has set itself as
the default viewer for TIF files. To view faxes from the Fax Console, the
Windows Imaging and Fax viewer must be your default viewer for TIF files.
You can easily restore that setting in Windows Explorer > Folder Options >
File Types. For most users the command line should read:
"rundll32.exe <drive>:\WINDOWS\system32\shimgvw.dll,ImageView_Fullscreen %1"
Another common cause of this problem is firewall software Trojan horse
rules. The most common is one that ships with Norton Internet Security.
Details on that on are available here:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPOR...713afacbd4135e0a88256c77007e526f?OpenDocument
------------------------------
6) How can I view the Faxes from my earlier version of Microsoft Fax (AWD
files)?
Microsoft wrote an AWD->TIFF converter that will let you convert these files
so you can view them in Windows XP. This converter is on the Windows XP CD.
Look under i386\win9xmig\fax\ for a file called "awdvstub.exe." Copy this
file to your hard drive and run it from a command prompt with the '/c'
option to convert an AWD file to a TIFF file. You can also associate AWD
files with it. After you do, double clicking an AWD file will convert the
file and open it in the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer. For the utility to
run correctly you must also have a copy of "fxstiff.dll" on your hard drive,
usually in the Windows\system32 folder and/or the
Windows\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86\3 folder. Normally that DLL will be in
place already if you've installed the Windows XP Fax Program.
Also, some third party utilities such as PolyView support opening and
converting AWD files (
http://www.polyview.com )
------------------------------
7) Why won't the XP Fax Service obey my dialing rules?
Like all of its predecessors, the Windows XP Fax service will not process
dialing rules unless the phone number to which you are sending the fax is in
"international format" or "canonical format". Details on how to use
international format to invoke dialing rules are available here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q318575
------------------------------
8) Can I use XP Fax with Microsoft Outlook?
It is easy to integrate XP Fax with Outlook 2000 (Corp/Workgroup mode),
2002, and 2003. Once XP Fax is installed, the "Fax Mail Transport" is
available as a Service to add to your Outlook Profile. Integration is not as
complete as previous versions of Fax, however. Faxes cannot be routed to the
Outlook Inbox and there are no delivery confirmations. Details on how to use
XP Fax with Outlook are available here:
http://www.slipstick.com/addins/services/winxpfax.htm
------------------------------
9) How can I send multiple documents in one transmission with XP Fax?
The Windows XP Send Fax Wizard does not support sending multiple files at
one time. Currently the only way this can be accomplished is to integrate
with Outlook and attach the files to a fax message sent from Outlook.
------------------------------
10) Why can't I share my fax modem when using XP Fax?
The XP Fax Service does not support sharing. The Fax Console Help Files
contain instructions on how to configure a remote Fax Printer, but those
instructions refer to using XP Fax as a client, not as a shared service. XP
Fax can serve as a client to fax programs that do support sharing, such as
Small Business Server Fax and Windows Server 2003 Fax.
------------------------------
11) Why won't my Fax Program distinguish fax calls from voice calls?
Distinctive Ring is not supported by Windows XP. Therefore, Windows XP Fax
will answer every incoming call it receives. The alternative is to install
an external switching device to your phone line.
------------------------------
12) Why do my Fax transmissions fail often?
Unfortunately, Windows XP Fax has proven to be incompatible with many common
modems and drivers, particularly older ones, even if the manufacturers claim
they are "compatible" with Windows XP. Please be sure to choose a device
from the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) to assure compatibility with
Windows XP Fax Service (see the Windows XP Hardware Compatibility List at
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/catalog/)
Modem incompatibility is not apparent during installation or the initial
setup. It only becomes apparent when you first try to send or receive a fax.
The Fax Service will dial or will answer an incoming fax but then fail with
any of a number of unhelpful error messages such as "Line is busy," "There
is no answer," or "Reception error." There will be nothing in Event Viewer
to give a clue as to where the problem might lie.
These errors have been nearly impossible to track down. To do so requires
enabling both PSS and debug logging of fax transmissions, both of which
require fairly extensive registry changes. For the time being, the best
advice is to attempt to use Windows XP Fax Services only if you have a modem
that is listed on the Windows XP Hardware Compatibility List and using the
latest drivers.
--
Brian Boston
Microsoft IT Communities
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
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