Printers May Not Install on Computers Created from Other Computer's Image

ID: Q221186

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When adding a printer for the first time, the user will receive a pop-up message asking if he or she wants to overwrite existing drivers. The user will get this message even though the user never had this printer installed before. Even if the user answers "Yes" to the question, the driver will not install properly. The driver for the printer will not appear in the Spool\Drivers\W32x86\2 folder (for x86-based computers).

CAUSE

The problem is that the image that was used to create the system had this printer installed and entries are in the registry for this printer but the driver files are not present in the drivers folder.

RESOLUTION

Before the image is duplicated, use Registry Editor and delete the driver entries in the registry or be sure the %SystemRoot%\System32\Spool\Drivers folder is copied as part of the image.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

To remove the entries in the registry, delete all entries under the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\Currentcontrolset\Control
\Print\Environments\Windows NT platform\Drivers\Version-x

For example, in the case of x86, a user would delete all entries under:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\Currentcontrolset\Control
\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers\Version-2

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbbug4.00
Version : winnt:4.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug