How to Determine What Print Drivers a Print Device Requires

 Last reviewed: March 25, 1997
Article ID: Q136812
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5, 3.51, and 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5, 3.51, and 4.0

SUMMARY

To determine what drivers a print device requires, and which ones Windows NT will install, read the appropriate .inf file. The file to read for Windows NT 3.5x is the Printer.inf file, located in your Windows NT directory. For Windows NT 4.0, you should read the file Ntprint.inf, in the %systemroot%\inf directory.

MORE INFORMATION

Windows NT 4.0

The Ntprint.inf file is arranged by manufacturer. To determine what driver file Windows NT will use, open the .inf file with a text editor such as Notepad. Use the Find option to locate your printer's manufacturer. You will see an entry similar to the following: 

   [Panasonic]
   "Panasonic KX-P1081"                                   = PANSON9.DLL
In this example the .inf file indicates that the Panasonic KX-P1081 printer will use the Panson9.dll driver file.

Windows NT 3.5x

To determine what drivers are required, look for the printing device in the Options section of the Printer.inf file. The following three sections cover PCL, PostScript, and Plotter examples.

PCL

In this example, the entry "HP LaserJet 4si MX" is the name of the printer that you will see when you install the printer, and the text "= rasddui, hppcl5ms, rasdd" indicates that the Rasddui.dll, Hppcl5ms.dll, and Rasdd.dll files will be installed. They are installed in the %SYSTEMROOT%\System32\spool\drivers\%PLATFORM%\1 directory. 

   "HP LaserJet 4Si MX"                  = rasddui,  hppcl5ms,  rasdd
A help file called Rasddui.hlp will also be installed in the %SYSTEMROOT%\System32\spool\drivers\%PLATFORM% directory.

PostScript

In this example, the entry "HP LaserJet 4si MX PS" is the name of the printer that you will see when you install the printer, and the text "= pscrptui, hp4si6_1, pscript" indicates that the Pscrpui.dll, Hp4si6_1.ppd, and Pscript.dll files will be installed. They are installed in the %SYSTEMROOT%\System32\spool\drivers\%PLATFORM%\1 directory. 

   "HP LaserJet 4Si/4Si MX PS"           = pscrptui, hp4si6_1,  pscript
A help file called Pscript.hlp will also be installed in the %SYSTEMROOT%\System32\spool\drivers\%PLATFORM% directory.

Notice that a postscript printer description (PPD) file is being used instead of a printer driver file. Because Windows NT uses a universal postscript driver, the PPD file contains only the configuration information specific to that print device.

Plotter

In this example, the entry "HP DesignJet 650C (C2858B)" is the name of the printer that you will see when you install the printer, and the text 

"=plotui,   hp650c22,  plotter" indicates that the Plotui.dll,
Hp650c22.pcd, and Plotter.dll files will be installed. They are installed in the %SYSTEMROOT%\System32\spool\drivers\%PLATFORM%\1 directory. 

   "HP DesignJet 650C (C2858B)"            = plotui,   hp650c22,  plotter
A help file called Plotui.hlp will also installed in the %SYSTEMROOT%\System32\spool\drivers\%PLATFORM% directory.

Notice that a printer characterization data (PCD) file is used instead of a PPD file. Because Windows NT uses a universal HPGL/2 driver, the PCD file contains only the configuration information specific to that print device.

The files Hhpcl5ms.dll, Hp4s16_1.ppd, and Hp650c22.pcd mentioned in the above examples are not drivers in the strict technical sense. Rather, they are characterization data files. These files contain configuration parameters specific to the particular printer or plotter in question.

Additional query words: prodnt print drivers
Keywords : kbprint nthowto ntprint NTSrvWkst
Version : 3.5 3.51 4.0
Platform : WinNT

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Last reviewed: March 25, 1997
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