I have to admit, thus far I am stumped on this one.
Since I upgraded to IE 9 on my Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit desktop I can no longer print a webpage. I get the following error:
This has been reported a LOT online in various forums including Microsoft Answers and there are a lot of suggestions - NONE of which works.
I have tried:
regsvr32 ole32.dll regsvr32 actxprxy.dll
In Internet Options > Advanced:
Used software rendering for GPU (even though my video card supports HW rendering)
Disabled script debugging for both IE and Other
Reset Advanced Options to default
Have also tried:
Disabling ALL Add-Ins
Compatibility Mode
sfc /scannow (no problems found)
One Microsoft Answers forum suggested resetting ALL IE options to default. I have not tried this yet but probably will if no one has any other ideas. I'm just reluctant to do this since it is pretty destructive. In the end I can try this since I can always restore a Ghost image if it does not work.
Everyone is reporting the same thing, the suggested fixes just don't work. Many have reverted back to IE 8 as a result.
FYI: This is NOT a printer driver issue because I have the same problem not only with my Laser printer but also with PDF Exchange Pro which generates a PDF file. This is definitely an issue specific to IE 9.
Interestingly enough, I CAN print from my Test Laptop running Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit and IE 9.
Has anyone run into this and found a solution which actually works?
Reseting all IE settings to default is a standard recommendation and when I've done it I've not found it that destructive since it leaves all the add-ons listed in the Manage Addons area but just disables all of them and I presume it resets the changes in Tools/Options and most of us know which we really need like not hiding file extensions etc.
I wonder, since a script error is listed, whether it relates to anything like Adobe Flash Player updates needed?
The screen you mention indicates the print preview function -- does that work or is part of the the failure to print?
You could consider going back to IE 8 since all you have to do is use the Windows Remove Programs function and uninstall IE 9 which automatically reinstalls your previous version from the files it saved when IE 9 is installed.
It is interesting though because I've checked and ole32.dll has not been modified since Nov 2010 so it is the same file I had for both IE 8 and IE 9 and yet IE 8 did not have this print problem.
Yes I noticed on my test laptop that I had version 6.1.7600.16624, last modified 6/28/2010. Just for the heck of it I restored this file to my desktop computer in system32 and Windows just gave me an error message that a known DLL was damaged and would not allow the desktop to come up.
I then restored my original ole32.dll and it booted fine of course.
Not sure why the version difference (perhaps because win 32 vs win 64) but it is still odd that this module has not changed since November which means that it was not replaced with the IE 9 upgrade. Yet printing worked with IE 8 but not IE 9.
This is definitely a pretty common problem but certainly not global and I can print fine from my test laptop with IE 9.
I wish it were the other way around! If I had to have the problem on just one computer I'd rather it be on the test laptop than my primary production computer!
I have resolved the problem through the use of Ghost image backups and a logical and thorough process of going through all the various Windows updates, including IE 9 and SP 1, verifying SFC and printing at each step along the way.
I volunteered to Microsoft to restore a Ghost image backup from the problem time frame if they want to look into this further.
If you guys or anyone else is interested in the details, please see the following thread on MS Answers forum.
Hopefully you never will run into this problem - only had me spending about 6 hours going through all those steps I documented! Like I don't have better things to do when I'm trying to sell my home!
Did you notice that one guy who just kept coming back to the printer driver? Even after the problem was solved.
When you try to print or view the print preview of a webpage in Internet Explorer 9, the webpage may not print or print preview correctly.
Cause
This issue can occur if your current video card or video driver is outdated or corrupt, if there are issues with temporary folders on your user account or if there are issues with the installation of Internet Explorer 9.
Note: Internet Explorer 9 speeds up graphic performance and the rendering of webpages by moving the rendering of graphics and text from the CPU to the GPU. Therefore, if your video card does not support GPU hardware acceleration, webpages may not print or print preview correctly.
When you try to print or view the print preview of a webpage in Internet Explorer 9, the webpage may not print or print preview correctly.
Cause
This issue can occur if your current video card or video driver is outdated or corrupt, if there are issues with temporary folders on your user account or if there are issues with the installation of Internet Explorer 9.
Note: Internet Explorer 9 speeds up graphic performance and the rendering of webpages by moving the rendering of graphics and text from the CPU to the GPU. Therefore, if your video card does not support GPU hardware acceleration, webpages may not print or print preview correctly.
Oh, darn and I thought it was you all along!
And yeah that is just the thing, that a lot of data could be found online with variations of the same problem - only not one single one of course was my issue. About the video card, that one would be pretty obvious since the page itself would not render correctly if IE 9 was attempting to use the GPU and the video card did not support it. I seriously question this would ever cause a PRINT problem though - I think that suggestion was way off base in the first place.
And of course in my case I have a very high end video card anyway - geez the video card alone is about a $350 model.
<< About the video card, that one would be pretty obvious since the page itself would not render correctly if IE 9 was attempting to use the GPU and the video card did not support it. I seriously question this would ever cause a PRINT problem though - I think that suggestion was way off base in the first place. >>
Yet it is surprising how often updating a video card driver will cure a seemingly unrelated problem; that was the point I was making. Andt MS do say fail to print, not just view the print preview .....
I followed this thread with great interest as it proved a point I have noticed regarding "well meaning " troubleshooting responses !
AllenM........wrote.....
Did you notice that one guy who just kept coming back to the printer driver? Even after the problem was solved.
The number of times I have seen this from "MVP's " on Microsoft Tech site ........In spite of someone taking great troubles to clearly outline all possible aspects of a software or hardware issues ...and providing details of all steps already taken to provide a log of all actions and fixes attempted....We still get potential helpers ..."cherry picking " parts of the supplied info...and getting the totally wrong handle on the whole issue !
I remember spending wasted hours on site with reference to a configuration issue on an " Intellipoint Wireless Mouse" and explaining that it was not a driver issue.....and had the same repeated response that my problem was driver related !
I'm not detracting from the MVP's knowlege and helpfulness in any way...I am the first to admit that I have had excellent advice with some real deep seated problems that I couldn't fix myself without more detailed help...but when we go out of our way to provide a detailed and well balanced outline of a problem ....only to get a disregard of the most salient points of our troubleshooting steps taken ...It makes me wonder sometimes if its' me " goin' over the top" with the steps I had taken to solve my problem prior to seeking their help ?
Makes me think that they are probably more used to queries from the other end of the scale....." My computer has gone funny....Nothing works...Please help me "??
OOps' must go..there's blue smoke comin' out of my laptop vent slots ...."What could it be"..... ??
Getting help is always a problem when you know more than the helper ..... <gdr>
A simple truth is that surprisingly often a simple what should be first step is not taken by someone explains something that is happening way down the line.
Others will confirm, if your own experience has not shown this, that updating a video driver can sometimes fix a problem that seems to have absolutely no possible relationship with video; many many printer problems (I have been doing printer support online for several decades) go back to not installing the maker's software before you plug the USB cord to the computer ......
Time and again here, taking the user back to first principles leads to the solution because some action or information was left out and not noticed when dealing with the present state of affairs.
And when you add that we can't see your computer and so absorb things without being told it's not surprising that life gets complicated.
And finally, when one is dealing with dozens of messages a day the use of boilerplate is really necessary and so some duplication in questions is inevitable. I know that from mine about your system -- sometimes I edit to remove something already said but again sometimes I deliberately leave it all in in the hope that all the information will be supplied in one single message and not dragged out like pulling teeth ...... which defeats the purpose of trying to comprehend the unseen!
Unfortunately we can't deal with the overriding problem:
The greatest risk to your computer lies between the left ear and the right ear of the user ....
I don't disagree with you, but it was clear that the person did not truly read what I wrote or it would have been clear that we were way past a driver issue.
The first thing was "Why were you (or NIS) "2 months out of date?" When two lines above that I had stated that I restored a Ghost image from 4/16/2011. Go figure, of course I would be two months out of date then!
Coming back to a "driver problem" when the problem was already resolved with the same driver as I had to begin with, but no it must be a driver problem. Ok, yeah sure....
Again as bleeper said, not to belittle the person trying to help but at some point you have to actually read everything the other person wrote. And it should have been clear that I had gone through a pain-staking and logical course of troubleshooting that should have more than satisfied him that the problem was clearly that DLL (XpsPrint.dll) and not a printer driver issue.
The greatest risk to your computer lies between the left ear and the right ear of the user ....
Amen ....Couldn't agree more...and with special regard to that important point...... the electronic impulses transmitted from that same said region ...toward the ole' "mouse clicking finger"....often leads the unwary down the path to troubles too ! .
