Unable to add printer

SYMPTOMS

You may experience any of the following symptoms on your Windows XP-based computer:

• After you start your computer, you may receive the following error message:
  Spooler subsystem app has encountered a problem and needs to close.
• When you try to start the Print Spooler service, you may receive the following error message:
  Spooler subsystem app has encountered a problem and needs to close.
• When you try to stop the Print Spooler service, you may receive the following error message:
  Spooler subsystem app has encountered a problem and needs to close.
• When you click Start, and then click Printers and Faxes, you may receive the following error message:
  Spooler subsystem app has encountered a problem and needs to close.
• When you click Start, and then click Printers and Faxes to try to view your printers, no printers appear. This issue may occur even if you have a printer installed.
• When you click Add a printer, or when you try to print, you may receive the following error message and cannot add a printer:
  Operation could not be completed.
• Turn off Lexmark print service
• If the Lexmark print service is installed on your computer, turn off the LexBce Server service. To do this, follow these steps:
• Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.
• Expand Services and Applications, and then click Services.
• In the details pane, right-click LexBce Server, and then click Properties.
• On the General tab in the Startup type list, click Disabled.
• Under Service status, click Stop, and then click OK.
• Right-click the Print Spooler service, and then click Start (if it is stopped).
• Exit Computer Management.

Test whether the issue is resolved. If the issue is resolved, you do not have to follow the remaining steps. If the issue is not resolved, go to the "Start computer in safe mode" section, and then follow the remaining steps.

Start computer in safe mode

Start the computer in safe mode so that you can remove spool files. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer and start pressing the F8 key on your keyboard. On a computer that is configured to start multiple operating systems, you can press the F8 key when the Boot menu appears.
2. Select Safe Mode when the Windows Advanced Options menu appears, and then press ENTER.
3. If the Boot menu appears again and you are prompted to select the operating system on the computer, use the arrow keys to select the operating system, and then press ENTER.
   
   Note For more information about how to start your computer in safe mode, click Start, click Help and Support, type safe mode in the Search box, press the ENTER key, and then click the Start Windows in safe mode topic.

Now delete spool printer and driver files

In safe mode, delete the spool printer and driver files. To do this, start Microsoft Windows Explorer, and then delete all the files and the folders in the following two folders (where C: is the drive where you have Windows XP installed):

• C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Printers
• C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Drivers\w32x86

Next, edit the registry

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

First, remove Windows NT subkeys

Remove the potentially problematic registry entries for Windows NT x86 service subkeys. These may have been installed by third-party printer setup programs and may be interfering with the print spool service. Use the following steps to keep the drivers, print spools, and registry entries that came with Windows on your computer and remove all others that may be causing issues.

1. Start Registry Editor. To do this, click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Locate and expand the following registry key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86
   View the list of subkeys (subfolders). There should only be the following subkeys:
   • Drivers
   • Print Processors
3. If there are any subkeys other than the subkeys that are listed in step 2, follow these steps:
   1. On the File menu, click Export.
   2. In the File Name box, type the name that you want to use for this key, such as WindowsNTx86regkey, and then click Save.
      
      NoteYou can use this backup of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86 registry key to restore the key if you experience any issues after you complete this procedure.
   3. Delete all the subkeys other than the subkeys that are listed in step 2. To do this, right-click each subkey that is not on the list, and then click Delete. Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm the deletion.

Second, remove registry entries for printer drivers

Remove the potentially problematic printer driver subkeys, which may be interfering with the printer you want to use. These may have been installed by third-party printer setup programs. Use the following steps to keep the printer driver and registry entries that came with Windows on your computer and remove all others that may be causing issues.

1. Start Registry Editor if it is not open. To do this, click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then expand the following registry key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers
   The registry entries for the printer drivers that are installed on the computer are stored in the Version-x subkey or subkeys, where x is a number (typically 2 or 3).
3. Export the Version-x subkey or subkeys. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. On the File menu, click Export.
   2. In the File Name box, type the name that you want to use for this key, such as print driver, and then click Save.
4. Expand the Version-x subkey or subkeys, and then delete the printer driver entries. To do this, right-click each printer driver subkey, and then click Delete. Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm the deletion.

Third, remove registry entries for default print monitors

Remove the potentially problematic print monitor subkeys, which may be interfering with the printer you want to use. These may have been installed by third-party printer setup programs. Use the following steps to keep the print monitors and registry entries that came with Windows and remove all others that may be causing issues.

1. Start Registry Editor if it is not open. To do this, click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then expand the following registry key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors
   View the list of subkeys. There should only be the following subkeys for the default print monitors:
   • BJ Language Monitor
   • Local Port
   • PJL Language Monitor
   • Standard TCP/IP Port
   • USB Monitor
3. If there are any subkeys other than the subkeys that are listed in step 1, follow these steps:
   1. On the File menu, click Export.
   2. In the File Name box, type the name that you want to use for this key, such as MonitorsRegkey, and then click Save.
      
      NoteYou can use this backup of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors registry key to restore the key if you experience any issues after you complete this procedure.
   3. Delete all the subkeys other than the subkeys that are listed in step 2. To do this, right-click each subkey that is not on the list, and then click Delete. Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm the deletion.
4. Exit Registry Editor.
5. If you have a printer attached to the computer, disconnect the printer cable from the computer, and then restart the computer.

Now verify that the print spooler service is running

Verify that the print spooler service is running. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.
2. Expand Services and Applications, and then click Services.
3. In the details pane, right-click the Print Spooler service, and then click Start (if it is stopped).
4. Exit Computer Management.

If you cannot start the Print Spooler service, follow the steps in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article to start the Print Spooler service:

919750 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919750/ ) You experience problems printing, viewing printer icons, and adding printers, the Print Spooler service does not function correctly, and you receive print-related error messages on a Windows XP-based computer

Finally, add a printer and print a test page

If you have a printer attached, reconnect the printer cable to the computer, install the printer by adding it to the computer through the Add Printer Wizard, and then try to print a test page. To install the printer you want, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Printers and Faxes.
2. Click Add a printer. The Add Printer Wizard starts.
3. Follow the instructions in the Add Printer Wizard to install the printer that you want.
4. Print a test page to make sure that you can print.

If you still cannot print or if you are still receiving print spool errors, go to the "Next Steps" section.

Advanced troubleshooting steps

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by u...

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

The following steps have been verified to correct the problem where the Print Spooler service does not start and you receive RPC errors when Lexmark printer drivers are installed on the computer.

There may be cases in which the Print Spooler service does not start after you turn off the LexBce Server service and remove the Lexmark printer drivers. This issue may occur if the Print Spooler service depends on the LexBce Server service. To remove the dependency, and to make the Print Spooler service depend only on the remote procedure call (RPC) service, follow these steps:

1. Start Registry Editor. To do this, click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Delete the LexBce Server service. To do this, delete the following registry key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LexBces
3. Make sure that the Print Spooler service is only dependent on the RPC service. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Locate and then click the following registry key:
      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Spooler
   2. In the details pane, if the DependOnService value shows values of RPCSS and LexBce, right-click DependOnService, and then click Modify.
   3. In the Value data box, delete LexBce, and then click OK.
4. Exit Registry Editor.
5. Restart the Print Spooler service. To do this, follow these steps:
   • Click Start, click Run, type net stop spooler in the Open box, and then click OK.
   • Click Start, click Run, type net start spooler in the Open box, and then click OK.

Test whether the issue is resolved. If the issue is not resolved, go to “Next Steps.”

Troubleshooting Printing problems with WordPerfect®

	Details
	Troubleshooting the WordPerfect Print subsystem might be required if you are having issues launching WordPerfect, issues with WordPerfect printing too slow or not printing at all. This article is a guide to troubleshoot the WordPerfect Print subsystem.
	Answer
	It is recommended that you test WordPerfect after each section of this article. Clear the print queue In many cases, a jammed print queue will prevent WordPerfect from opening or will cause the application to stall while attempting to print. Before doing anything else, verify that the print queue is clear. To do this, follow the instructions below: Browse to your Control Panel and select Printers (or Printers & Faxes) Open the printer you are trying to print to. If there appear to be any jobs stuck here, click on the Printer menu and select Cancel All Documents. Perform the same step for each printer installed on your system. Open WordPerfect and try printing again. Remove any offline printers When trying to initialize its print engine, WordPerfect will retrieve page definitions from all of your printers to evaluate if your printer can print the document being processed. If there are any printers that are listed as Offline or Unable to Connect, than WordPerfect might experience a delay while initializing the print engine. Browse to your Control Panel and select Printers (or Printers and Faxes) Right-Click on any printer listed as Offline or Unable to Connect Select Delete Repeat this procedure for all printers listed as Offline or Unable to Connect Restore WordPerfect stored printer information: WordPerfect stores some printer specific information. WordPerfect may not print as expected if this information is not synchronized with the printer. To restore this information, the WordPerfect print engine must be restored to it's factory defaults. This section involves modifying the Windows Registry. It is recommended that you back up your registry before proceeding with this step. Click Here for important information about the Windows Registry. Click on ‘Start’ and go up to ‘Run’ Type in regedit into the ‘Open:’ box. Click on ‘OK’ Scroll up to the top of your screen until you see ‘My Computer’ Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Corel Right click on the folder ‘PrintEngine’ and go down and left click on ‘Rename’. Change the name to PrintEngineOld Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Corel\WordPerfect\14 ('13', '12', '11' or ‘10' if your using that version) Right click on the folder ‘Envelope’ and go down and left click on ‘Rename’. Change the name to EnvelopeOld Scroll up to the top of your screen untill you see 'My Computer'. Click on the ‘-‘ to close the folder ‘HKEY_CURRENT_USER’ Click View, Refresh. Close the registry editor. Remove the printer driver In many cases, WordPerfect will hang for long periods of time while its trying to communicate with a particular printer driver. This can sometimes be rather evident if the printer driver happens to be a network printer, or if the network printer is not hooked up to the computer. In order to troubleshoot this kind of problem, you will need to remove your printer drivers to rule this out. NOTE: Before proceeding, it is recommended that you download the latest drivers from your printer manufacturer’s website so that you can re-install the printer. If you have Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows ME, you might also require your Windows CD. Click on Start Click on Settings and than Printers NOTE: If you have Windows XP, you might be able to select Printers and Faxes directly from the Start Menu Right-click on your printer, and select Delete to remove the printer. NOTE: If you happen to have network printers, start with any drivers that may be offline or you can no longer connect to. Fax drivers, Adobe® Distiller, PaperPort® are also considered printer drivers by WordPerfect and could also be causing problems. If you happen to have PaperPort v7.0, please visit PaperPort’s website at http://www.scansoft.com and obtain the latest Service Pack for your product which addresses known compatibility issues with WordPerfect. Disabling Startup Items Click on Start and go up to Run. Type msconfig into the Open: box and click on Ok. Click on the Startup tab at the top of the screen. Remove all the checkmarks and click on Ok. Restart your computer and try WordPerfect again. Add an emulation driver Sometimes a different driver altogether might need to be installed to troubleshoot the Print subsystem. In this example, we will use an Apple LaserWriter; a generic PostScript printer. Contact your printer manufacturer to see if your printer has PostScript capabilities. If it is the case, than you can use almost any PostScript driver with your printer, even if it is not for the same model. Windows 2000 and Windows XP Users Browse to your Printer’s Control Panel and double-click on Add Printer Click on the Next button Select Local Printer and ensure that the Automatically Detect and Install My Plug And Play Printer option is unchecked Click on the Next button Ensure that LPT1 is selected then click on the Next button Select Apple as the manufacturer Select the Apple LaserWriter 12/640 in the printers list Click on the Next button Select Yes to make the Apple printer your default printer Click on the Next button Select the option Do Not Share This Printer and click Next Select No to print a test page then click Next Click Finish to complete the installation of the printer driver Launch WordPerfect and Test Windows 95, Windows 98 & Windows ME Users Browse to your Printer’s Control Panel and double-click on Add Printer Click on the Next button. Select the option Local Printer and click Next Select Apple from the list of Manufacturers Select Apple as the manufacturer Select the Apple LaserWriter in the Printers list Click on the Next button Select LPT1 and Click on the Next button Select Yes to make this the default printer then click Next Select No when your prompted to print a test page Click Next Launch WordPerfect and Test Add the Print Engine to the Startup Folder NOTE: This step is only for WordPerfect 10, WordPerfect 11, Wordperfect 12, WordPerfect X3 and WordPerfect x4. WordPerfect 9 users can ignore this step. WordPerfect printing problems might be caused by another application not allowing the WordPerfect print engine to launch. We can force the WordPerfect print engine to launch everytime Windows starts by creating a shortcut to the PrintServer file in the Startup menu and rebooting the computer. Right click on the Start button Click on Open Double click on Programs, Startup Right click on an empty spot within this window, click on New, Shortcut Click on Browse If you have WordPerfect Office X4 Browse to C:\Program Files\Corel\WordPerfect Office X3\Programs and click on PrintServer140 If you have WordPerfect Office X3 Browse to C:\Program Files\WordPerfect Office X3\Programs and click on PrintServer130 If you have WordPerfect Office 12 Browse to C:\Program Files\WordPerfect Office 12\Programs and click on PrintServer120 If you have WordPerfect Office 11 Browse to C:\Program Files\WordPerfect Office 11\Programs and click on PrintServer110 If you have WordPerfect Family Pack 5 Browse to C:\Program Files\WordPerfect Family Pack 5\Programs and click on PrintServer110 If you have WordPerfect Office 2002 Browse to C:\Program Files\Corel\WordPerfect Office 2002\Programs and click on PrintServer100 If you have WordPerfect Family Pack 4 Browse to C:\Program Files\Corel\WordPerfect Family Pack 4\Programs and click on PrintServer100 Click on Open Click on Next Click on Finish Reboot the computer Launch WordPerfect and Test Enable Bidirectional Support for the Printer If bidirectional support isn't enabled you may experience printing issues with WordPerfect. To enable this feature follow these steps. Browse to your Printer’s Control Panel Right click on your Printer, select Properties Click the Ports tab Check "Enable bidirectional support" Click Ok Launch WordPerfect and Test

Error Message: The Command Failed to Execute

Cause : There is not enough free disk space on your hard disk to save the attachment.

Increase the amount of free space on your hard disk by using one or more of the following methods:

• Remove any unnecessary files from the hard disk.
• Empty the Recycle Bin.
• Delete the Internet Explorer Setup folder. The Internet Explorer Setup folder contains a copy of the Setup files so you can reinstall Internet Explorer from the hard disk instead of having to download another copy from the Microsoft Web site. Deleting this folder does not affect the performance of Internet Explorer.

After you free some hard disk space, try to save the attachment again.

he Windows Vista tool you use to change file associations in located in the Control Panel under the Default Programs icon, as shown in Figure A.

Figure A

Control Panel

Oddly enough, searching the "association" in the Vista search tool off of the Start Menu returns no results -- at least for me.

Once on the Default Programs screen you have two choices for changing file associations:

1. Set your default programs
2. Associate a file type or protocol with a program

You can also change AutoPlay settings for CDs and DVDs for this screen, as well as set program access settings. (Figure B)

Figure B

Default Programs

The first selection on the Default Programs screen (Figure B) is Set Your Default Programs. On this screen of the tool, as shown in Figure C, you can select a program and either give it complete control as the default program for all file extensions it can handle or choose the file extensions you want individually. How the list of programs was formed for this tool is not explained, but a few programs are missing from the list. The one program that comes to mind almost immediately is Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Figure C

Set Default Programs

Clicking the Choose Defaults For This Program option on the Set Default Programs screen (Figure C) shows you a list of potential file extensions that can be associated with the chosen program (Figure D). From here, you can check additional file extensions you would like Windows Vista to associate with the program.

Figure D

Select extensions individually

The second selection on the Default Programs screen (Figure B) is Associate A File Type Or Protocol With A Program. On this screen of the tool, shown in Figure E, you get a very long list of file extensions, including a description and the name of their associated program if it is known. To modify the program associated with a particular extension, you select the extension and click the Change Program button.

Figure E

Set Associations

In the example shown in Figure F, I have chosen the .inf extension, which is currently associated with Notepad. From this screen, I can choose to change the association to another available program.

Figure F

Change an extension association

If another viable program is not listed on the screen in Figure F, you can browse your system for programs (Figure G). Note that it is generally not a good idea to associate a file extension with a program that is not capable of reading or otherwise acting on it.

Figure G

Browse programs

Once your file extensions are selected, you click Save and then OK to apply your changes to Windows Vista.