Patched XP, now printers folder empty, wizard won't run

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

Hi

This problem cropped up first on the day that I applied the
823980 patch to prevent Blaster infection. It happened again when I
reloaded windows (printer folder worked properly) and then patched it
again (same problem).

Basically, my printers folder appears empty, and the add
printer wizard won't run. I can still print from Office, and other
apps, but not from IE.

Also, hardware in the PCMCIA slot cannot be stopped and safely
removed. This used to work.

Its not admin rights, its not missing or additional .dll's, I
am not sharing printers, and I only have one network printer
installed.

I did a non-destructive reinstall of XP, booting off of the
CD, and the problem went away. I ran it by windowsupdate, installed 36
MB of patches, and it immediately began resuming the printer/ hardware
issue. I attempted to uninstall the 823980 patch, no effect. I even
attempted the roll back wizard in Windows XP, but it just locked up.

I know I can fix this again by reloading Windows and not
applying patches, but I don't want to continue without patches.

I can't be the only person this is happening to, but checking
the NG's and user forums only results in discussions of corrupt
printer drivers, missing network printers, and file permissions.
Nearly all these posts predate the Blaster problems, and most apply to
Win2000.

Any help appreciated.

Jeff
 
Follow up

Forgot to mention, I've checked the printer services, and they
are all running.

kiakos:

If you hear/ figure out anything, email me at

jeffgodfrey at hotmail dot com

I can do likewise. I know this must be affecting many
computer, though by no means all. Many companies, however, are just
now patching their systems having spent all last week cleaning
servers. This is true for at least two of my customers.

Jeff
 
Hi Again

I received an email from one of the MVP's re: this issue. I
accidently deleted it. Please resend to

jeff godfrey at hotmail dot com

It sounded very helpful, and was much appreciated. Thanks.

Just to clarify some issues. The computer in question never
had Blaster, but the printer folder appears empty after the Blaster
patch is applied. This computer did not originally come with XP Pro,
but the load on it now was originally a clean install.

Again, any help would be appreciated.

Jeff
 
Update:

I reloaded XP again, and the printers are all working
normally. I haven't patched the system as the real needs for printing
from IE and other affected apps on this business machine outweight the
risk of getting a worm behind a firewall and updated virus software.

Still looking for a solution that will allow this system to be
patched and have the printers show in the printer folder. The key to
this, for me, is finding other people with the same issue as an
informal way of detecting the pervasiveness of this issue.

Jeff
 
Ok

So here is a bit of progress. One solution is to just live
with it and hope that it corrects itself. I still don't see any kb
articles on this issue. They all talk about network printer issues.

Ideas are still welcome, thanks!

Jeff
 
Follow up

Forgot to mention, I've checked the printer services, and they
are all running.

kiakos:

If you hear/ figure out anything, email me at

jeffgodfrey at hotmail dot com

I can do likewise. I know this must be affecting many
computer, though by no means all. Many companies, however, are just
now patching their systems having spent all last week cleaning
servers. This is true for at least two of my customers.

Jeff

I have the same problem too. I have posted a couple dayw
ago but no answer.


-----Original Message-----
Hi

This problem cropped up first on the day that I
applied the
823980 patch to prevent Blaster infection. It happened
again when I
reloaded windows (printer folder worked properly) and
then patched it
again (same problem).

Basically, my printers folder appears empty, and
the add
printer wizard won't run. I can still print from Office,
and other
apps, but not from IE.

Also, hardware in the PCMCIA slot cannot be
stopped and safely
removed. This used to work.

Its not admin rights, its not missing or
additional .dll's, I
am not sharing printers, and I only have one network
printer
installed.

I did a non-destructive reinstall of XP, booting
off of the
CD, and the problem went away. I ran it by
windowsupdate, installed 36
MB of patches, and it immediately began resuming the
printer/ hardware
issue. I attempted to uninstall the 823980 patch, no
effect. I even
attempted the roll back wizard in Windows XP, but it
just locked up.

I know I can fix this again by reloading Windows
and not
applying patches, but I don't want to continue without
patches.

I can't be the only person this is happening to,
but checking
the NG's and user forums only results in discussions of
corrupt
printer drivers, missing network printers, and file
permissions.
Nearly all these posts predate the Blaster problems, and
most apply to
Win2000.

Any help appreciated.

Jeff
.
Click to expand...

Hi All,

I had this problem crop up on a Windows 2000 Professional workstation.
Took me ages to find a solution. I would imagine that the same will
apply for XP machines as it does for 2000, just that the directory
names will be a little different.

In my case, there was a file called PRINTUI.DLL in the
C:\Winnt\System32 folder that was 0 bytes in length. Once I deleted
this file, the operating system re-created it and the problem went
away. I suspect that something is damaging the PRINTUI.DLL file.

Give it a try, and see if this helps.
 
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