GP Fault with Atech FastFonts Printer Driver

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a

SYMPTOMS

Using the version 3.02 FastFonts for Windows printer driver by Atech as the default printer will cause general protection (GP) fault when you start Word.

CAUSE

FastFonts is a third-party font management package created by Atech that offers additional fonts and font management utilities. One of the utilities is a printer driver designed to enhance printing speed. Upon installation, FastFonts sets the FastFonts printer driver FFPRN.DRV as the default printer. This printer driver will cause a GP fault when starting Word.

RESOLUTION

Set another printer driver as the default printer in Control Panel to prevent the GP fault.

FastFonts can convert its internal fonts into TrueType fonts. These fonts must be converted to TrueType format to be used with Word.

For more information on complete disabling FastFonts, query on the following words in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   disable and fastfonts

STATUS

Atech, the manufacturer of FastFonts, is no longer in business, and Owl Software is now supporting FastFonts. Owl Software confirmed this to be a problem with the FastFonts printer driver.

Owl Software and Atech are vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability. For more information about FastFonts, contact Owl SoftWare at (818) 765-5561.