Using XP Pro Cannot add a Printer

[amnotatechie]

I recently moved and discovered that my printer wont work.
I am using XP Pro and was able to use the printer since the
move no luck. I go into the printers & faxes folder and try
to add a printer it gives the message "Operation Could not be completed" I click on the server properties & it says
"server properties cannot be viewed. The print spooler service is not running."
Then I go to add hardware wizard try installing the drivers.
It gets to the point where it looks like it's going to add them but then says, "the following hardware was installed printer. An error occurred during the installation of this device. The RPC server is unavailable."
I was just wondering if anyone could offer some advice, hints etc to get this up & running. The lexmark drivers are
XP compatible. It's a Lexmark 1100 and it's on an ECP printer port.

 

[gargouille]

Hi amnotatechie:
Delete the printer from Device Manager, making sure it's plugged in when you reboot the machine, the printer will most likely be detected and WinXP will add the drivers for it.

 

[amnotatechie]

hi there sorry i forgot to add that i couldn't find the printer in the device manager to begin with, what should i do?

 

[generaladmin]

Hey I had this problem on xp home ed. when trying to add a hp 4P printer. since it said the spooler was not started, I went to the control panel,admin. tools,services program. Find the spooler, right click and start. then go add your printer.

thanks
genadmin

 

[nooreini]

Hi There,

I have the same problem as amnotatechie. As I followed generaladmin's response I cannot start the print spooler from the services program. I get the following error messege:

Could not start the print spooler on Local Computer.
Error 1075: The dependency service does not exist or has been marked for deletion.

I think the dependency (The remote Procedure Call-RPC)is running OK.
Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
nooreini

 

[amnotatechie]

hi there guys just to let you know the solution to my problem was to reinstall windows. alas it was a sad thing
to do but a necessary evil as you are all to aware of dealing with a bill gates product. i followed all the steps that were posted on the support.microsoft.com site and it still didn't work so i bid a fond fare well to all my data. sniffle sniffle.

thanx for the tips guys.

 

[itperson48]

Windows XP has an excellent feature called System restore. Go to start/allprograms/accessories/systemtools/system restore select restore my system to an earlier time click next and you will see a calendar. By default Windows XP creates a restore point once a day. Also restoring your system will not destroy your data. However, you may have to reinstall programs. Hope this helps.

 

[jadin]

generaladmin's post solved my problem, it was identical to amnotatechie. My problem came from tweaking my computer to turn off unneccesary services. one of which was the 'print spooler' the other which wasn't completely off but might've also affected it, was one of the 2 RPC services.

but I had already activated that one before finding this site. just wanted to say, thanks, it worked.

(sucks you had to format just to add a printer!)