DOCUMENT:Q76531  15-OCT-1999  [win95x]
TITLE   :Windows Err Msg: Cannot Connect Printers...
PRODUCT :Microsoft Windows 95.x Retail Product
PROD/VER:WINDOWS:3.0,3.0a,3.1,3.11
OPER/SYS:
KEYWORDS:

======================================================================
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft Windows versions 3.0, 3.0a, 3.1, 3.11 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SYMPTOMS
========

When you choose the Printers icon from the Control Panel in Windows, you may
receive the error message:

   Cannot connect printers because the [ports] section of the WIN.INI file is
   missing; Choose cancel and edit the WIN.INI file or choose OK to continue.

CAUSE
=====

This error message may be caused by one of the following:

 - The [ports] section of the WIN.INI file is missing. If this is the case, make
   sure you have a section in the WIN.INI file, as follows:

         [Ports]
         LPT1:=
         LPT2:=
         LPT3:=
         COM1:=9600,n,8,1
         COM2:=9600,n,8,1
         COM3:=9600,n,8,1
         COM4:=9600,n,8,1
         EPT:=
         FILE:=
         LPT1.OS2=
         LPT2.OS2=

 - The WIN.INI file is corrupted. In this case, if you have a good backup copy
   of WIN.INI, copy this file into your Windows directory. If you don't have a
   good backup copy, expand the file WIN.SRC from the original Microsoft Windows
   disks to the Windows directory. Use the following command:

   c:\windows\expand a:win.src c:\windows\win.ini

   NOTE: Renaming the WIN.INI file does not solve the problem. The [ports]
   section will still be missing.

 - Microsoft Windows cannot find the WIN.INI file, or does not recognize it. You
   need to reinstall Windows to create a new WIN.INI.

   If Windows is on a network, you should install Microsoft Windows on your local
   hard drive. This eliminates any problems that might arise through the "share"
   and "user" directories.

Additional query words: 3.00 win30 win31 3.00a

======================================================================
Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbWin3xSearch kbZNotKeyword3 kbWin300 kbWin300a kbWin310 kbWin311
Version           : WINDOWS:3.0,3.0a,3.1,3.11

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