Combofix & Printing

[David Pullan]

Hi all,
I recently had a stubborn bit of malware on my pc (Speed Test pop up) and
after trying to remove with various apps it remained. After a search I found
Combofix, which I ran on my PC. The malware was removed. Fixed, I thought.
Whilst Combofix removed the malware, it seems to have done something to the
printing. When I now select a print the (networked) Dell printer comes on
line as if starting to print, then hangs (no print). The print job is
briefly visible in the print queue, then disappears. I've uninstalled the
printer software and reinstalled (both using Dell software & "Windows "add a
printer" but no joy. I've used my Win 7 (64) disk to do a repair, no joy.
Oddly, after re-installing the Dell software I'm given the option to print a
test page and that always prints okay.
I've also run MS Fix-It and used the Windows troubleshooter but the all
report no problems found. I can ping the printer okay. Also doing a system
restore did not fix it.
I'm beginning to think that the only way to fix it is a fresh reinstall of
Windows but that seems a little drastic to fix a printing problem.
Any suggestions before I go down that road?

David P

 

[David Pullan]

"David Pullan" wrote in message news:[email protected]...

Hi all,
I recently had a stubborn bit of malware on my pc (Speed Test pop up) and
after trying to remove with various apps it remained. After a search I
found Combofix, which I ran on my PC. The malware was removed. Fixed, I
thought. Whilst Combofix removed the malware, it seems to have done
something to the printing. When I now select a print the (networked) Dell
printer comes on line as if starting to print, then hangs (no print). The
print job is briefly visible in the print queue, then disappears. I've
uninstalled the printer software and reinstalled (both using Dell software
& "Windows "add a printer" but no joy. I've used my Win 7 (64) disk to do a
repair, no joy. Oddly, after re-installing the Dell software I'm given the
option to print a test page and that always prints okay.
I've also run MS Fix-It and used the Windows troubleshooter but the all
report no problems found. I can ping the printer okay. Also doing a system
restore did not fix it.
I'm beginning to think that the only way to fix it is a fresh reinstall of
Windows but that seems a little drastic to fix a printing problem.
Any suggestions before I go down that road?

David P

Things have moved on a little... I've found a setting in the printer
properties that seems to fix my problem. Instead of the default "Spool print
documents" I've selected "Print Direct to Printer" and it's cured my
problem. Happy Days
David P

 

[Rob]

Things have moved on a little... I've found a setting in the printer
properties that seems to fix my problem. Instead of the default "Spool
print documents" I've selected "Print Direct to Printer" and it's cured
my problem. Happy Days
David P

Malware often targets the print spooler service and corrupt files
may remain after removal of the culprit.
Try this to clear any corrupt stuff from the queue:
http://www.technipages.com/windows-7vista-clear-print-queue.html
If that doesn't fix it, post back here.
HTH

 

[David Pullan]

"Rob" wrote in message

Malware often targets the print spooler service and corrupt files
may remain after removal of the culprit.
Try this to clear any corrupt stuff from the queue:
http://www.technipages.com/windows-7vista-clear-print-queue.html
If that doesn't fix it, post back here.
HTH

Hi Rob, I had a look in the %systemroot%\System32\spool\printers folder
before running your recommendations and it was empty. I ran the commands in
your link & checked the folder again, it was still empty. I changed the
printer properties back to the default "Spool Print Documents" and tried a
print. The printer came out of hibernate but did not print. Changing back to
"Print Direct to Printer" restored my printing.

David P

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

"Rob" wrote in message


Hi Rob, I had a look in the %systemroot%\System32\spool\printers folder
before running your recommendations and it was empty. I ran the commands in
your link & checked the folder again, it was still empty. I changed the
printer properties back to the default "Spool Print Documents" and tried a
print. The printer came out of hibernate but did not print. Changing back to
"Print Direct to Printer" restored my printing.

David P

<Understatenent>
I'm a bit out of my depth here,
<\Understatenent>
but I suspect that the spooler belongs to Windows, not to the printer.

Hence I suggest running sfc (System File Checker) or maybe even a
Windows repair installation (the kind that just fixes broken stuff, not
a reinstallation).

 

[David Pullan]

"Gene E. Bloch" wrote in message

<Understatenent>
I'm a bit out of my depth here,
<\Understatenent>
but I suspect that the spooler belongs to Windows, not to the printer.

Hence I suggest running sfc (System File Checker) or maybe even a
Windows repair installation (the kind that just fixes broken stuff, not
a reinstallation).

Hi Gene,
Thanks for the sarcasm. (and bad spelling)
I think I know that the spooler belongs to Windows (but Doh... what do I
know)
Ran SFC and no errors found
Made a repair disk but the options after booting did not seem appropriate
Startup Repair (Not a startup issue)
System Restore (Tried that but it did not fix)
System Image recovery (Last ditch action)
Windows Memory Diagnostic (Not applicable)
Command Prompt (Doh...)

Mae bywyd yn fyr, gwenu tra byddwch yn dal i gael dannedd.

David P

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

"Gene E. Bloch" wrote in message



Hi Gene,
Thanks for the sarcasm. (and bad spelling)
I think I know that the spooler belongs to Windows (but Doh... what do I
know)
Ran SFC and no errors found
Made a repair disk but the options after booting did not seem appropriate
Startup Repair (Not a startup issue)
System Restore (Tried that but it did not fix)
System Image recovery (Last ditch action)
Windows Memory Diagnostic (Not applicable)
Command Prompt (Doh...)

Mae bywyd yn fyr, gwenu tra byddwch yn dal i gael dannedd.

David P

My spell checker failed me! Since I'm aware that it often does, that is
not a valid excuse

Since I don't know Welsh, I'll have to go to Google for help...

OK, I'm back: I have, so I do.

 

[Robin Bignall]

"Gene E. Bloch" wrote in message



Hi Gene,
Thanks for the sarcasm. (and bad spelling)
I think I know that the spooler belongs to Windows (but Doh... what do I
know)
Ran SFC and no errors found
Made a repair disk but the options after booting did not seem appropriate
Startup Repair (Not a startup issue)
System Restore (Tried that but it did not fix)
System Image recovery (Last ditch action)
Windows Memory Diagnostic (Not applicable)
Command Prompt (Doh...)

A Win 7 repair install is done by using your Win 7 disk to do an UPGRADE
install of your installed system. You start your system as normal. Then
mount the original Windows disk and run setup. Choose UPGRADE every
time it asks you. You eventually see it doing quite a long
compatibility check then it reinstalls Windows and your applications and
settings. There are 5 phases which take several hours. Your computer
reboots several times (which means not from the CD!) Ignore the "Press
any key to boot from CD" message.

I should be interested, if you try this, to see if your system actually
reboots. Many people, including me, at reboot point, get a message
"Windows cannot prepare your system to reboot for the next phase" (or
words to that effect, and the install dies. Nobody, to my knowledge, has
found any explanation or fix.

 

[David Pullan]

"Robin Bignall" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

On Fri, 25 Jan 2013 22:04:02 -0000, "David Pullan"

A Win 7 repair install is done by using your Win 7 disk to do an UPGRADE
install of your installed system. You start your system as normal. Then
mount the original Windows disk and run setup. Choose UPGRADE every
time it asks you. You eventually see it doing quite a long
compatibility check then it reinstalls Windows and your applications and
settings. There are 5 phases which take several hours. Your computer
reboots several times (which means not from the CD!) Ignore the "Press
any key to boot from CD" message.

I should be interested, if you try this, to see if your system actually
reboots. Many people, including me, at reboot point, get a message
"Windows cannot prepare your system to reboot for the next phase" (or
words to that effect, and the install dies. Nobody, to my knowledge, has
found any explanation or fix.

Hi Robin, thanks for that, just a question about the repair process. After
the >"Windows cannot prepare your system etc..... What happens then?. Will
Win7 boot normally?. Has the system been repaired even though I get the
error message?
The nature of my problem is quite minor and I have sort of fixed it by
fiddling with the printer properties, so I don't want to risk wrecking my
installation.
Must fly, got snow to shovel...

David P

 

[Char Jackson]

Hi Robin, thanks for that, just a question about the repair process. After
the >"Windows cannot prepare your system etc..... What happens then?. Will
Win7 boot normally?. Has the system been repaired even though I get the
error message?
The nature of my problem is quite minor and I have sort of fixed it by
fiddling with the printer properties, so I don't want to risk wrecking my
installation.

This might seem like overkill, but if you have a spare drive you might
consider cloning your system drive and using the clone for your experiments.
If things go badly, just pop the original drive back in and you haven't lost
anything. It takes away the whole question of "what if I wreck it".

Must fly, got snow to shovel...

I remember what that used to be like.

 

[Robin Bignall]

Hi Robin, thanks for that, just a question about the repair process. After
the >"Windows cannot prepare your system etc..... What happens then?. Will
Win7 boot normally?. Has the system been repaired even though I get the
error message?

Yes, Win 7 is left in its original state and will boot because the
repair failed, *IF* you get that message. I do, thousands do not, and I
can't find any explanation.

The nature of my problem is quite minor and I have sort of fixed it by
fiddling with the printer properties, so I don't want to risk wrecking my
installation.

As Char says, I certainly would not attempt a repair install for such a
problem as that. I might buy a spare HDD, run up an image to it and see
if I still get the problem myself. It's a good idea to be able to check
things out before committing to them.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

On Fri, 25 Jan 2013 14:26:42 -0800, Gene E. Bloch wrote:

My spell checker failed me! Since I'm aware that it often does, that is
not a valid excuse

Since I don't know Welsh, I'll have to go to Google for help...

OK, I'm back: I have, so I do.

By an odd coincidence, for the first time in more than a few years, we
did a Welsh dance at my folk-dancing class last night.

It was "Robin Ddiog".

It may be the only Welsh dance in our repertoire. (I checked the list.
It is the only one.)