How to Share Windows 95 Printer Driver in Windows (142667)

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If the printer already exists on the Windows 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 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.
   
   For Windows 2000, click Additional Drivers, click to select the Intel Windows 95/98 check box, and then click OK.
6. Point to a folder that contains the .inf file and the printer driver.
   
   To do so, you can do any one of the following:
   • Point to a folder 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 folder.
     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-

   • Point to a server where a shared Windows 95 installation resides.
     
     NOTE: This option may take some time.
     1. Point to the Inf subfolder 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-

   • 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.
     
     If your Windows 95 compact disc is in drive D, and you are extracting the files into a directory called C:\W95print, follow these steps:
     1. Create a directory named W95print.
     2. Open a command prompt and navigate to the W95print directory.
     3. 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.
   • 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.

If you are creating a new printer on a Windows NT 4.0 Server, use the following steps to install a Windows 95 driver on the Windows NT Server or Workstation computer for use by Windows 95 clients.

NOTE: In Windows 2000, alternate drivers must be installed after the printer setup has been completed.

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, and then click to select Windows 95 in the list of operating systems.
9. Point to a folder that contains the .inf file and the printer driver. To do this, refer to step six in the preceding section.

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: