Add Printer Wizard disabled

Excuse me, the command is:
rundll32 shell32,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL AddPrinter

I accidentally hit a key when posting my previous entry.

Hello rettif9

I just found this question.  I notice that you stated, in response to the suggestion by Adam Knowles to use the RunDLL32 option, that you had already tried that.

In looking back at the details of the command you ran, and the error message, the command you used was not correct.

You apparently (although it may just have been a trypographic error) ran the command:
run32dll shell32SHHelpShortcuts_Rundll AddPrinter

and it errored out with the message:
Error loading "shell32SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL"

Assuming that the "Run32dll" program is just a typo and you really typed "RunDll32", you are still missing a comma between "Shell32" and "SHHelpShortcuts".

The correct command was as shown by Adam Knowles:

rundll32 shell32,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL AddPrinter

Quoting it in full, the command is:

C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe C:\Windows\System32\shell32.dll,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL AddPrinter

You missed the comma that separates the name of the DLL file from the resource in it named "SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL".

Breaking the command down, RunDLL32.exe opens "C:\Windows\System32\Shell32.dll" and calls the resource inside Shell32.dll named "SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL", passing to that particular function the parameter to open the "AddPrinter" dialog.

So, your command minus that comma is telling RunDLL32.exe to load a file named "shell32SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL".  No such file name exists, hence the message:
Error loading "shell32SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL"

Try it again and see what happens.

If you are looking to try and restore functionality of the Add Printer Wizard, then I would say that the first step should be to re-register Shell32.dll and see if that fixes it:

Start Menu > Run option > type the following command > Click OK

regsvr32 shell32.dll

The "Printers and Faxes" window that opens is not a normal window.  It's what is referred to as a "NameSpace".  You can get Control panel, Start Menu, and Desktop NameSpaces, and these are set in the registry using a unique reference number ({GUID} or {CLSID} number) under which the NameSpace is instructed to display in a certain manner.  A NameSpace is just a shell space that is made to show and be populated with items of a certain category, and the Menu options, drag/drop functionality, etc, are specifically tailored for the window's intended use.

To exemplify a window that is called using GUID's set in the registry:

%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe ::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\::{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}\::{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}

Here Windows Explorer is told to open in turn:

My Computer:
{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

Control Panel:
{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

Scheduled Tasks:
{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}

It would open with this command also:

%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe ::{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}


The CLSID (Class Identifier) for the "Printers and Faxes" NameSpace is:
{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}

So the command:

%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe ::{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}

or longhand through My Computer > Control Panel:

%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe ::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\::{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}\::{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}

The "Add <whatever>" icon that appears in these special "folders" can lose functionality if the actual frames they are set to appear in have lost some functionality.  These are the kinds of registry settings that re-registering Shell32.dll fixes where they are missing or not functioning as they should.