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MS Word 97 - Cannot select another printer

I have a workstation running Windows 95 on an NT network, the pc has two network printers installed (1 Kyocera FS-3600 and 1 Kyocera FS-1500). I can print to both printers successfully from all software, but, when I go to File ... Print ... in Word 97, I get the following error message "Word cannot change printers. There are no printers installed" - If you click the toolbar button for printing it will print to the default printer without a problem.  Excel and Powerpoint allow me to select a different printer via File ... Print, I have tried removing and reinstalling Word and the printers - somebody help me my hair is falling out.
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jboddy
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Have a laugh with this!!  
PSS ID Number: Q140754
Article last modified on 04-23-1999
 
WINDOWS:7.0,97
 
WINDOWS
 

======================================================================
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:
 
 - Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
 - Microsoft Office for Windows 95, version 7.0
 - Microsoft Access versions 97, 7.0
 - Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
 - Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
 - Microsoft PowerPoint 97 For Windows
 - Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 95, version 7.0
 - Microsoft Schedule+ for Windows, version 7.0
 - Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
 - Microsoft Word for Windows 95, version 7.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
SYMPTOMS
========
 
When you print from a Microsoft Office for Windows program, you receive one of
the following error messages.
 
Word
----
 
   Word cannot change printers. No printers are installed.
 
-or-
 
   Word cannot print due to a problem with the current printer setup.
 
Excel
-----
 
   There is no printer installed. Use the Printers option in Control Panel to
   install a printer.
 
PowerPoint
----------
 
   There is no printer installed.
 
-or-
 
   The printer could not be found.
 
Schedule
--------
 
   Unable to complete the print operation. There is no default printer. Use the
   Control Panel to select a default printer.
 
CAUSE
=====
 
These error messages may occur if one of the following conditions is true:
 
 - You do not have a Win.ini file.
 
   -or-
 
 - The Devices section of the Win.ini file is missing.
 
   -or-
 
 - The Devices section of the Win.ini file contains incomplete or incorrect
   information.
 
   -or-
 
 - The Win.ini file exceeds the 64 KB size limit.
 
   -or-
 
Note that if you remove the Win.ini, or if it becomes corrupted, and you then
restart Microsoft Windows 95, a new Win.ini is created. However, the new Win.ini
contains only the Desktop or Embedding sections. The Devices section is
missing.
 
For additional information about this problem and Microsoft Word 97, please see
the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
 
   Q162411 OFF97: Page Fault in MSO97 When Printing
 
WORKAROUND
==========
 
Method 1: Reinstall the Printer Driver
--------------------------------------
 
When you use this method you create the required information for the Devices
section as well as write the correct entries for the Ports, Printer Ports, and
Windows sections in the Win.ini.
 
For more information about performing this task in Windows, see your Windows
printed documentation or online Help.
 
Method 2: Correct an Entry in Win.ini
-------------------------------------
 
Locate the Win.ini file and correct the Devices section. To do this, follow these
steps:
 
1. On the Windows 95 taskbar, click Start and point to Find.
 
2. Click Files Or Folders.
 
3. In the Find All Files dialog box, click the Name & Location tab.
 
4. In the Named box, type "Win.ini" (without the quotation marks).
 
5. In the Look In box, choose the name of your hard disk.
 
6. Select the Include Subfolders check box and click Find Now.
 
7. Right-click the Win.ini file and click Open.
 
8. In the Win.ini file, find the [Devices] section.
 
9. The Devices section should list the friendly name of the printer followed by
   an equal sign, the driver name, comma, and then the port or network path. If
   the [Devices] section is missing, add it. The following is a sample [Devices]
   section:
 
      [Devices]
      HP LaserJet 4/4M=HPPCL5MS,LPT1:
      HP LaserJet IIISi=HPPCL5MS,\\Server\Sharename
 
Method 3: Create a New Win.ini
------------------------------
 
If neither Method 1 nor Method 2 resolves the problem, you can create a new
Win.ini file with the correct information.
 
Rename the Win.ini to Win.old, and reinstall Windows 95. Windows 95 detects that
you are reinstalling, and a dialog box appears with the "Run Setup Again?"
title. The dialog box gives you two options. Select the first option (to restore
Windows files that are changed or corrupted) and reinstall Windows 95.
 
This method recreates a new, complete Win.ini with all of the required sections.
 
Additional query words: 8.00 word7 word95 off97 word97 printing default printer control panel installed drop-down cannot change ini
 
======================================================================
Keywords          : kbprint offwin offprint xlprint
Version           : WINDOWS:7.0,97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb
=============================================================================
Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1999.


 

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risky

ASKER

jboddy - cheers for that information - the problem lay in the [printerports] section of win.ini but you pointed me in the right direction.  Post as an answer and the lolly is yours.
cheers
RiSky
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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jboddy
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jboddy,
Your jokes are not better than mine...I would at least compact them a bit... >8-P
\cri
OK!  I'm working on a 256K leased line, so speed is not a problem for me, but I forgot some people are accessing using modems!!  Sorry to you all!