How to Share a Windows 95 Printer Driver in Windows NT 4.0

• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0

SUMMARY

This article describes how to install Windows 95 print drivers on a Windows NT Server or Workstation 4.0 print server computer. This allows Windows 95 clients to connect to the print server and obtain the driver.

MORE INFORMATION

If the printer already exists on the Windows NT 4.0 server, use the following steps to add a Windows 95 driver for use by Windows 95 clients:

1. Log on to the computer running Windows NT 4.0 Server or Workstation using an account that has administrator privileges.

2. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Printers.

3. Select the printer for which you want to add a Windows 95 driver.

4. On the File menu, click Properties, then click the Sharing tab.

5. In the list of alternate drivers, select Windows 95, then click OK.

6. Point to a directory that contains the .inf file and the printer driver.

   To do this, you can do any one of the following:

   a. Point to a directory path for an existing Windows 95 computer where

         the necessary printer driver is already installed.
   

         1) On the computer running Windows 95, share the Windows directory.
   

         2) On the computer running Windows NT 4.0, point to the Inf
            subdirectory of the Windows directory you have just shared.
   
            For example, if the Windows directory was shared as "Windows" on a
            computer named \\Client1, type "\\Client1\Windows\Inf" (without
            the quotation marks), and then click OK.
   
         3) When prompted, point to the System subdirectory of the shared
            Windows directory.
   
            For example, if the Windows directory was shared as "Windows" on a
            computer named \\Client1, type "\\Client1\Windows\System" (without
            the quotation marks), and then click OK.
   
         -or-
   
      b. Point to a server where a shared Windows 95 installation resides.
   
         NOTE: This option may take some time.
   
         1) Point to the Inf subdirectory of your shared Windows installation.
   
            For example, if the shared Windows installation is located on
            \\Winserver\Sbs_share, type "\\Winserver\Sbs_share\Inf" (without
            the quotation marks), and then click OK.
   
         2) When prompted, point to the System subdirectory of your shared
            Windows installation.
   
            For example, if the shared Windows installation is located on
            \\Winserver\Sbs_share, type "\\Winserver\Sbs_share\System"
            (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.
   
         -or-
   
      c. Extract the files from the Windows 95 cabinet files. The cabinet
         files needed are Precopy2.cab, Win95_09.cab, Win95_10.cab, and
         Win95_11.cab.
         (NOTE: All the .drv files in OEMSR2 are now in win95_15.cab)
   
         1) If your Windows 95 compact disc is in drive D, and you are
            extracting the files into a directory called C:\W95print, the
            steps to do this would be:
   
            a) Create a directory named W95print.
   
            b) Open a command prompt and navigate to the W95print directory.
   
            c) With the Windows 95 compact disc inserted in the CD-ROM drive,
               type the following commands:
   
                  d:\win95\extract.exe /e d:\win95\precopy2.cab *.*
                  d:\win95\extract.exe /e d:\win95\win95_09.cab *.*
                  d:\win95\extract.exe /e d:\win95\win95_10.cab *.*
   
               NOTE: The filenames of the cab files above may be different
               depending upon your installation media. Some Original
               Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) have changed the names of
               the installation files.
   
         2) When prompted, point to C:\W95print as the path to load the
            Windows 95 drivers. If you know the .Inf file you need, select
            it from this directory, otherwise select the Msprint.inf file
            and it will show a list of all the printer drivers that come
            with Windows 95.
   
            NOTE: You may be prompted to locate a fourth cabinet file,
            win95_11.cab, to complete the driver installation. If so, use
            the same extract command from step c above and extract all of the
            files from win95_11.cab file.
   
   

1. Log on to the computer running Windows NT 4.0 Workstation or Server using an account that has administrator privileges.

2. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and click Printers.

3. Double-click the Add Printer icon.

4. Click My Computer, then click Next.

5. Click to select the port the printer will use, then click Next.

   NOTE: If the port does not already exist on the computer the printer is connected to, you will need to create the port.

6. Click the printer make and model, then click Next.

7. Type a printer name, then click Next.

8. Click Shared, type a share name, then click to select Windows 95 in the list of operating systems.

9. Point to a directory that contains the .inf file and the printer driver. To do this, see step a, b, or c mentioned above.

Third-Party Drivers

This article does not apply to third-party printer drivers that did not ship on the Windows 95 CD. If you are installing a Windows 95 point and print driver on Windows NT for Windows 95 clients and you receive an error message, please notify the vendor. In order to load Windows 95 drivers on Windows NT 4.x computers, the vendor must follow the specifications listed in the Windows 95 Resource Kit, Appendix C and D. ISBN 1-55615-678-2. Please contact your vendor for an updated Inf file.

For more information on using third-party printer drivers for point and print, please see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q172289
   TITLE     : Using Third Party Windows 95 Drivers for Point and Print