Can not print

I have a new computer that has been working fine until 2 days ago. I can no longer print from outlook express, Word, Excel or any other application. I noticed the print icon, at the top of the screen, appears to be "grayed out". I also can not print by selecting file and then print. I have removed and reinstalled the printer several times,also unplugged it from the USB port and plugged it back in and "Plug and play" reinstalled it. I can get a printer test page printed through the reinstall printer process, and the printer works well when I plug into my other computer. The fact that the icon is "grayed out" makes me think it may be a problem in windows. I am running Windows XP and the mother board is Intel Dual Core 2160 2.0 GHz 2MB. It was built by a local firm here in Atlanta, Ga. and has worked fine for a week. Can you tell what I should check? Any help will be much appreciated. Thx, cajuray

Greetings cajuray Welcome to WTT My first thought is to: Try booting the computer up and shutdown a few times without the printer plugged in. Then when the computer is shutdown plug it into a usb port and let it come up and let windows find and install the printer. Let us know how that works. Regards Kaz

One possibility:
http://help.lockergnome.com/office/Printer…pict601462.html

Also, check Services to make sure the Print Spooler is started and is set to Automatic.

Thanks Kazoo. Tried rebooting, replugging and no change. However I installed a HP all in one printer and printing works in Word and Notepad but will not work in Outlook Express (V.6.O). Printer icon is still "grayed out" in the printer box at the top of the screen in Outlook Express. I upgraded to Explorer V.7 and still no change. I thought Outlook Express was in Explorer but may be mistaken. Looks like only OE does not recognize the printer. Anything else to check? Your help is appreciated.

Thanks Ztruker, Tried rearranging the icons, deleted and added then moved the printer icon but it always remained "grayed out". This is so frustrating, it appears nothing works. I may need to reload software if I can ever figure out where OE resides. Appreciate your info.

Hi, Sorry to hear of the printing problem with OE. The fact that you can print with other applications indicates that your printer and drivers are OK and it maybe that the fault is with OE(IE) You could try this: Start>Run> sfc /scannow (please note the space between the "c" and the"/") ok The scanner should take approximately 20 minutes to complete, it does not generate a report, but if any damaged or missing Windows Protected System Files are identified, (used for example by OE or IE then Windows will either find clean copies from your machine or ask you to insert the Windows Installation disc so it can copy over the required files. NOTE it is OK to borrow a disc if you are unable to locate your own, but do make sure the version and Service Pack level matches that of your system. ie a Pro edition will not be any good as a rule in a Home edition of XP and if you are running Sp2 on your machine then the disc should have Sp2 on it as well. Reboot your machine and see how you go. If no joy then I suggest you consider using the System Restore point created a little while before your printing became problematic to "turn back the clock" to a time when the printing was Ok. To access it try this: Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Restore and follow the wizard. Let us know how you get on. Regards paws

Thanks Paws, for your response. Last night I searched the web for more help and tried several things. Finally found something that worked. One post on a board suggested the following: Start, Run then type "regsvr32 ole32" (without quotes). That fixed the problem. I dont know what that did but the printer icon in OE returned to normal and printing now works. Again thaks for your time and the response.

Hi, Tht's great ,well done glad you got it working OK Regards paws

Do you have the link to the web article that gave you the regsvr32 ole32.dll tip? The only one I've been able to find was a Windows 98 forum

Hi Ztrucker, Sorry, but I didnt write down the site. I visited 5 or 6 brought up by a Google search and as I remember it was a rather obscure site for technical people. I wish I could give you more info. Try a Google search and look at the sites that have a name that sounds like it's for very technical IT types.