Problems With Msconfig After Installing Hp Printer

I am totally baffeled. I installed an HP Photosmart C7180 (wireless connection) on my Gateway 700XL system with Windows XP Pro. After installing two things happened: a) i started getting the welcome/select user window before the desktop whenever i make a change in msconfig (start up is the prime example) as either myself (assigned to the administrator group) or as "administrator" (i think thats the one microsoft puts there) i get an access denied error message referring me to an administrator (of which I am as well as the only user account on the system) The first problem I fixed based on the HP website by installing the latest update for Microsoft .NET 1.1. However, no one has been able to work out the second problem. I've called both Answers By Gateway and HP. AFter four or five hours in total, here's what I have learned (I think) -It is not an effect of most of the software you install with the printer. I deinstalled this and still had the problem- although I had never had this problem with my prior Dell printer. -There is a driver PML HPZ12. This seems to be the culprit. Gateway had me disable iot in the registry and the problem went away -HP says PML is not there software but it appears to write to it. A web search kinda identifies as used by HP printers -HP says its necessary for printing with any printer -Although the access rights behave as if you are denied, the change you make to start up or services are actually made- even though you keep getting access denied -PML HPZ12 cannot be disabled through any surface route. Gateway finally had me do it through the registry (which always makes me nervous) Unistalling the printer software does not remove it (although HP has me do a "deep unistall") and trying to disable it through My Computer/Manage/Services gave me another access error (cannot be done on a local machine- only one right now on my network as I have taken my daughter's PC temporarily off) Because I had to install a new hard drive Monday- this is a fresh hard drive and a fresh Windows XP Pro install. Most of my other software is not installed yet- only a few items HP suggest redownloading the driver from their website and installing it from there but they don't recognise the problem Gateway suggests i can disable a part of the security associated with the printer- but would risk someone jumping from the wireless printer into the router and on to my PC (didn't sound ideal as a solution) Sorry to be wordy! Am frustrated after lots of hours have left me in the same place. Do you have any thoughts… (please)

Sounds like you got nearly a college education out of all the steps done so far there ldscjpcat. Kinda hard to tell at this point exactly what the status is of the PML driver/files/registry entries though. Right now: The PML HPZ12 service is installed, and set to what (Started/Stopped, Auto/Manual/Disabled Startup)? The associated file(s) also are there (not removed in all the steps you went through)? You should know by heart now - what file is the driver for that service (I see C:\Windows\System32\HPZinw12.exe hinted at in web searches). What did you delete in the registry (if the service is still showing in the Services Console)? Truly sounding like XP Pro (or would also be 2K) specific issues related to the increased security policies on that. Have you checked out some of this in Safe Mode (tap F8 at startup and select Safe Mode)? Curious if this user account has permissions for some of what you are trying.

Indeed, I tried all of nthe steps in safe mode. I also checked the permission and tried these steps both as myself (am a member of the administrators group) and as generic administrator. In the registry, I disabled the PML drive. I don't think that makes a difference. Strangely, it looked like this worked the first time but I had the same permissions message the second time I tried this. HP walked me through a full deinstall, including HPZinw12.exe . Again, this seemed not to make a difference. I had to reinstall because I needed to print some things. So everything is set back to the way it was now- with the problem persisting. The PML drive was set to stopped when I had the PC off all night. It changes to started when the printer is turned on and even if I turn the printer off, without logging off the PC itself, it stays started/ I am begining to think that either -Its a coicidence that the problem showed after I installed the printer OR -The installation changed something which changed something else and deinstallation doesn't set the "other thing" back (sorry for the non-technical language) The latter would suggest some kind of WIndows XP problem. What is 2K? Also, did check the permissions. They look right. Am truly lost. (Sorry for the delay in responding. I was away.)

2K is Windows 2000. I'll have to review that against some data I had pegged back when I posted and see if I can gel any ideas here.

What protective software (antivirus/antispyware) do you have installed, especially any you know to have an active monitoring component? More importantly, what firewall software do you have installed and in use?