Unreliable Printing When Shared Printer Name Contains Spaces

ID: Q130650

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 95
Microsoft Windows 98

SYMPTOMS

You cannot print to a network printer, or printing is unreliable from some programs in Windows 95. When this occurs, you may receive the error message "Cannot open printer driver" or "Cannot connect to printer. Check printer setup."

CAUSE

This problem can occur if the name of the shared network server or printer model you are using contains spaces. The problem occurs because some programs incorrectly parse the device lines for network printers in the WIN.INI file.

Programs that use the device lines for network printers instead of using COMMDLG.DLL incorrectly treat spaces in names as delimiters between share names.

RESOLUTION

To correct this problem, use either of the following methods:

Remove the spaces from the name of the print server or shared printer.

Capture a parallel port to the shared printer, then install the printer to that port. To capture a port, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, and then click Help.
2. Click the Index tab.
3. Type "capture" (without quotation marks).
4. Click the "capturing printer ports" topic, and then click Display.
5. Follow the instructions in the Help topic.

Although Windows 95 does allow you to include spaces in share names, it is not recommended. You may want to use an underscore (_) instead of a space. For example, instead of the share name "\\PRINTER MODEL," use "\\PRINTER_MODEL."


Keywords          : kbenv kberrmsg kbnetwork kbprint win95 win98 
Version           : 95
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: January 16, 1999