Reinstalling Windows Printer Drivers with 3.1=YES

 Last reviewed: November 30, 1994
Article ID: Q83427
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows operating system versions 3.1, 3.11

SUMMARY

If a Microsoft Windows printer driver file is corrupted, you may have to force Windows to replace it. The easiest way to do this is to modify the [Installed] section of the CONTROL.INI file.

MORE INFORMATION

The Control Panel maintains a list of all Windows 3.1 files it has installed in the Printers and International dialog boxes. This list is maintained in the [Installed] section of CONTROL.INI, as in the following example: 

   [Installed]
   3.1=yes
   HPPCL5A.DRV=yes
   HPPCL5A.HLP=yes
   FINSTALL.DLL=yes
   FINSTALL.HLP=yes
   HPPCL5OP.HLP=yes
   PSCRIPT.DRV=yes
   PSCRIPT.HLP=yes
   TESTPS.TXT=yes
If you remove the line "3.1=yes," all drivers are marked as old. If you reinstall the printer driver, the corrupted driver is then replaced with the functioning driver from the original disks. To modify CONTROL.INI, use the following steps:

  1. Edit the CONTROL.INI file with a standard ACSII text editor.

  2. Locate the line "3.1=yes" and delete it.

  3. Save the file and restart Windows.

  4. Open the Control Panel.

  5. Choose the Printers icon, then choose the Add button. Reinstall the printer driver.

The line "3.1=yes" informs Control Panel that the following list of files were installed with Windows 3.1 (specifically with version 3.1 of MAIN.CPL, which comes with Windows). When a newer version of Windows is released, Control Panel will know that all of the following files are obsolete and should be replaced. If a file exists in this section and this section was created with the current version of Windows, Control Panel does not need to copy the file from the original disks again.

KBCategory: kbprint kb3rdparty kbsetup
KBSubcategory: win31
Additional reference words: 3.10 3.11

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Last reviewed: November 30, 1994
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