Steps to Manually Remove and Reinstall a Printer Driver (135406)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0
This article was previously published under Q135406
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SUMMARY

When you remove a printer from the Printers folder or Print Manager, the printer driver file is not removed from the hard disk drive. This article describes a procedure you can use if you suspect that a printer driver file is corrupted. The following procedure removes and re-creates a printer so that the driver file is reinstalled.

MORE INFORMATION

Windows XP

Windows XP adds a user interface feature to delete driver files so the steps for Windows 2000 and earlier are no longer necessary. To delete printer driver files in Windows XP:
  1. Click Start, and then click Printers and Faxes.
  2. On the File menu, click Server Properties.
  3. On the Drivers tab, click the printer driver that you want to delete, and then click Remove.

Windows 2000 and Earlier

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

  1. Remove the printer using the Printers folder in Windows NT 4.0/Windows 2000 or Print Manager in Windows NT 3.5x.
  2. In Windows NT 3.5x or 4.0, in Control Panel, double-click Services, and then stop the Spooler service. In Windows 2000, in Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, double-click Services, and then stop the Spooler service.
  3. Run Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) and go to the following subkey (note that this is all one path, which has been wrapped for readability):

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\
    Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers\Version-x\<printer driver>

    NOTE: Version-1 is for Windows NT 3.51, Version-2 is for Windows NT 4.0, Version-3 is Windows 2000, and <printer driver> is the name of the printer you are removing.

  4. Note the values on the right and write down the file names.
  5. With the printer driver key selected, click Delete on the Edit menu.
  6. Go to the following directory and delete the printer driver files noted in step 4:

    %SystemRoot%\System32\Spool\Drivers\<Platform>

    NOTE: <Platform> is Intel, MIPS, Alpha, or PPC. See the following table to match the folder with the version of Windows for which you installed the printer driver:

    w32x86\0 : Intel Windows NT 3.1 printer drivers
    w32x86\1 : Intel Windows NT 3.5x printer drivers
    w32x86\2 : Intel Windows NT 4.0 printer drivers
    w32x86\3 : Intel Windows 2000 printer drivers
    Win40\0 : Windows 95 printer drivers

    NOTE: If you are unable to delete the files and folders in the above directory structure after stopping the spooler service because of an error message that the files are in use (such as, Rasddui.dll), set the startup type for the Spooler service to Disabled, restart your computer, and then attempt to delete the files and folders again. After deleting the files, restore the Spooler startup to Automatic.

  7. In Windows NT 3.5x or 4.0, in Control Panel, double-click Services, and then start the Spooler service. In Windows 2000, in Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, double-click Services, and then start the Spooler service.
  8. Shut down and restart Windows NT. Stopping and restarting the Spooler service is not sufficient.
  9. Reinstall the printer using the Printers folder in Windows NT 4.0/Windows 2000 or Print Manager in Windows NT 3.5x.
  10. Delete the %windir%\inf\oem?.inf file that is associated with the removed printer driver. This removes the printer from the printer selection list when you add new printers.
NOTE: In addition to the steps listed above, it may be necessary to delete the printer's associated unidriver (Rasdd.dll, Pscript.dll, or Plotter.dll). If printing has been initialized or if a process is using this file, it will be locked open and cannot be deleted. The file can be renamed or the system can be restarted to free up the driver. Refer to the Printer.inf file to see which unidriver is used by a particular printer.

NOTE: For Windows NT on Dec Alpha platforms, follow the steps for the X86 platform and replace all occurrences of the w32x86 directory with w32Alpha.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:6/25/2004
Keywords:kbinfo kbprint KB135406
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