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won't print web documents

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This thread's last reply is from . Advice, software, and links below may be out of date — treat specific steps and download links with caution.

Hi, I am very new to participating in a forum. Bear with me. I have a problem when trying to print anything from a web page. I can print anything from Outlook and can print off line. I'm using windows xp. I have uninstalled and reinstalled my printer. At times it prints, what I believe to be, programmers language, pages of it if I don't cancel the print task. I can preview the document, but get "printer error… printing failed when starting document" when I start print. I even bought a new printer with the same result. I am not knowledgeable when comes to the registry so that is not an option. Any suggestion is appreciated. Thanks
Hello justarookie and welcome to What the Tech!

Thanks for choosing this forum, it's good to have you here.

There could be a DLL file that is corrupted, let's try to register them (improv'd from Bill Castner):
  • Go to Start | Run, type cmd and press Enter
  • Copy the following command (by highlighting and clicking Ctrl-C):
    regsvr32 /s urlmon.dll
    regsvr32 /s shdocvw.dll 
    regsvr32 /s msjava.dll 
    regsvr32 /s actxprxy.dll 
    regsvr32 /s oleaut32.dll 
    regsvr32 /s mshtml.dll 
    regsvr32 /s browseui.dll 
    regsvr32 /s shell32.dll
    regsvr32 /s ole32.dll
  • Click the [external image: Posted Image] image button in the upper left portion of the command prompt window title bar and choose Edit | Paste
  • You may have to press Enter if the last command is still on the command line
  • Restart your computer and try again
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If it is happening in Firefox, rather than IE, you can try the following steps to reset the printer settings:
  • type about:config in the URL bar and press Enter
  • Preference name = print.print_printer
  • Right-Click that preference and select Reset
  • Restart Firefox and see if it is printing any better
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If you still have issues, you can try running the System File Checker Utility (SFC):
Go to Start | Run, type sfc /scannow, and press Enter.

If SFC does identify missing or corrupted Operating System files, it may ask you to insert your Windows XP installation CD so a fresh copy of the correct file can be copied and pasted into the system files.

If you do not have your Windows XP installation CD, or if errors in the process occur, please post back with specifics or questions.

SFC scan and replacements take about 8-12 minutes depending upon the size of your file tree and the speed of your CPU/RAM. If SFC opens and then closes within a few seconds or under one minute, It did not complete, and must be repeated.

Sometimes, a second scan run of SFC is necessary, even if SFC completes the first time, in order to replace all missing or corrupted files. If SFC completes, you can safely run it a second time for good measure.

A good way to tell whether you should run it again is if you look in the Event Log and see the following Application event entry after running SFC:
Source:	  Windows File Protection 
Event ID:	64002
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Otherwise, you may want to try doing a system restore to a point prior to when you started experiencing this issue:
  • Go toStart | All Programs | Accessories | System Tools and click System Restore
  • Follow the instructions in the wizard
  • Choose a restore point prior to when you first noticed the problem
  • Your system will be restarted and an attempt will be made to restore the computer to this point
Please let me know if any of these tips work for you.

Regards,

Ax
Ax238, Thank you, so much for your prompt reply (even though I put my request in the wrong forum). I am running Firefox and I tried your solution. It worked like a charm.Thanks much. You saved me some bucks. Do you take contributions to your website? justarookie
Hi justarookie,

Thanks for letting us know that the instructions you received were successful for you. :)
It always helps to know what helps!

Ax238 and all the rest of us volunteer our time and energy to help here at WTT.

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Best Regards