[JThomas]

Hi - Have a real problem I have spent days on.
I am no longer able to install any printer (tried 3 with OEM download drivers, which work OK with my laptop). It may be because I did a maximum uninstall of the HP DeskJet F2280 using RevoUninstall, or possibly because I used DOS2USB (unreliable and since uninstalled) for printouts from PCFile.
The PC works fine otherwise.
I have a Dell Dimension 1100 PC with XP Home version 5.1 and SP3, but no XP CD. I am not sure if I have the “ex-works” restore, which I would prefer to avoid anyway if possible. The original documents (2005) have an insert which says I do and says refer to the manual, but I find no mention of it there. Also I do not have the FAST backup feature and failed to download it via the Dell site, reason given being a language difference - my basic software is in French.
The install software asked for a number of missing .dll files, which I copied successfully from my laptop which has XP Home, but it still led to various failure messages at the end of the installation. I would like to know if copying chunks from the laptop could be a solution. I noted that the Inf folder was much bigger on the laptop.
Very grateful for any help,
JThomas

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Close to a week on, the score is 0/28, I guess that means try to restore to factory condition, or else junk the PC although it is working fine for everything else. I have spent some time on the Web and see that quite a lot of people have this kind of installation problem. Solutions are rare - I have tried a few - and often brand-specific.
Copying Windows folders from another PC with XP appears to be too tricky for a beginner like me.

[JThomas]

Close to a week on, the score is 0/28, I guess that means try to restore to factory condition, or else junk the PC although it is working fine for everything else. I have spent some time on the Web and see that quite a lot of people have this kind of installation problem. Solutions are rare - I have tried a few - and often brand-specific.
Copying Windows folders from another PC with XP appears to be too tricky for a beginner like me.

[123Runner]

This issue was probably looked at but not answered because not to many could help. I do not know if I can, but will try.

Un-installing the printer and software should be able to be done numerous times.

To clarify...What language is the Dell Dimension 1100? (French?)
What language is the laptop?

Generally copying files from 1 computer to another is not a solution because they need to go to the proper folder. Depending on what file they are they may have to be "installed" to the registry.

In your Set Up Guideyou set up the printer (do not attach the USB cable yet), then install the software AND only attach the USB cable when asked for.

Where did you get the software from?
Was it a download? or from a CD?
If a download it could be corrupt.
If from a CD there could be scratches or fingerprints causing a problem.

Software and Drivers

123runner

[JThomas]

Thank you for your reply and suggestions. I had done practically everything imaginable during the past week, including fresh driver downloads (from Dell Europe) and deletions, disconnecting the printer, disactivating firewall and Avast, rebooting each time, all to no avail.
So yesterday I successfully and fairly painlessly restored to factory configuration (Ctrl+F11 on my Dell, tho' not given in their User manual)), losing one or two things in the process but nothing important. (I thought I could copy c:\Program Files and it seemed to work, but I don't think anything copied into the "new" folder). The printer installed immediately on the original CD.
So end of story. A crisp new computer. But it seems to me that this problem is sufficiently widespread to merit investigation. Possibly only a few files get damaged or deleted and nothing installs.
The basic language of my XP Home is French, but that is probably because I opted for that when new (I had to choose again yesterday after restoring). Same for the Unika laptop.Strange that I could not download the Files & Settings backup program.

Your site is a great concept. I looked through a lot of related stuff in it during this problem.

[123Runner]

There must have been something in the registry that was preventing the install.

I thought I could copy c:\Program Files and it seemed to work, but I don't think anything copied into the "new" folder)

You can never copy a program because it needs to be installed with certain "keys" contained in the registry.

Glad you got it straightened out though.

[happyrock]

I have had fits trying to install HP printers if another printer is already installed...the only way to do it in my experience was to uninstall any other printers first...then install the HP...after a successful install you can then reinstall the other printers...
I will NEVER buy or recommend another HP printer again...
their 700 MB software driver install disk is bloatware IMO...then the update its going to do is almost as big...