OFF: "Cannot change printers" and Similar Error Messages

ID: Q140754

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
Microsoft Office for Windows 95, version 7.0
Microsoft Access versions 97, 7.0
Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
Microsoft PowerPoint 97 For Windows
Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 95, version 7.0
Microsoft Schedule+ for Windows, version 7.0
Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
Microsoft Word for Windows 95, version 7.0

SYMPTOMS

When you print from a Microsoft Office for Windows program, you receive one of the following error messages.

Word

Word cannot change printers. No printers are installed.

-or-

Word cannot print due to a problem with the current printer setup.

Excel

There is no printer installed. Use the Printers option in Control Panel to install a printer.

PowerPoint

There is no printer installed.

-or-

The printer could not be found.

Schedule

Unable to complete the print operation. There is no default printer. Use the Control Panel to select a default printer.

CAUSE

These error messages may occur if one of the following conditions is true:

You do not have a Win.ini file.

-or-

The Devices section of the Win.ini file is missing.

-or-

The Devices section of the Win.ini file contains incomplete or incorrect information.

-or-

The Win.ini file exceeds the 64 KB size limit.

-or-

Note that if you remove the Win.ini, or if it becomes corrupted, and you then restart Microsoft Windows 95, a new Win.ini is created. However, the new Win.ini contains only the Desktop or Embedding sections. The Devices section is missing.

For additional information about this problem and Microsoft Word 97, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q162411 OFF97: Page Fault in MSO97 When Printing

WORKAROUND

Method 1: Reinstall the Printer Driver

When you use this method you create the required information for the Devices section as well as write the correct entries for the Ports, Printer Ports, and Windows sections in the Win.ini.

For more information about performing this task in Windows, see your Windows printed documentation or online Help.

Method 2: Correct an Entry in Win.ini

Locate the Win.ini file and correct the Devices section. To do this, follow these steps:

On the Windows 95 taskbar, click Start and point to Find.

Click Files Or Folders.

In the Find All Files dialog box, click the Name & Location tab.

In the Named box, type Win.ini.

In the Look In box, choose the name of your hard disk.

Select the Include Subfolders check box and click Find Now.

Right-click the Win.ini file and click Open.

In the Win.ini file, find the [Devices] section.

The Devices section should list the friendly name of the printer followed by an equal sign, the driver name, comma, and then the port or network path. If the [Devices] section is missing, add it. The following is a sample [Devices] section:
```
      [Devices]
      HP LaserJet 4/4M=HPPCL5MS,LPT1:
      HP LaserJet IIISi=HPPCL5MS,\\Server\Sharename 
```

Method 3: Create a New Win.ini

If neither Method 1 nor Method 2 resolves the problem, you can create a new Win.ini file with the correct information.

Rename the Win.ini to Win.old, and reinstall Windows 95. Windows 95 detects that you are reinstalling, and a dialog box appears with the "Run Setup Again?" title. The dialog box gives you two options. Select the first option (to restore Windows files that are changed or corrupted) and reinstall Windows 95.

This method recreates a new, complete Win.ini with all of the required sections.

Additional query words: 8.00 word7 word95 off97 word97 printing default printer control panel installed drop-down cannot change ini


Keywords          : kbprint offwin offprint xlprint 
Version           : WINDOWS:7.0,97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: July 12, 1999