printing issues in XP

So, the receptionist/front desk person just had to print out a recipe on a company computer and company printer and company paper....(small rant)

Anyway, after hitting print, it repeatedly printed out the same thing. Logging off, back on did not help. Logging on as another user did not help. Rebooting did not help. It would come up with the error:

“Spoolsv.exe - Application Error"

“The instruction at "0x77fcc2c0" referenced memory at "0x00000000".

“The memory could not be written."

and continue to print over and over.

I ran malwarebytes, McAfee, and found a few things, yet did not solve the problem. Then I stumbled upon these instructions:

The Spoolsv.exe executable file is responsible for handling the printing process on a Microsoft Windows system. Although this process is not crucial to run your Windows system, you must not terminate it until you think that it is causing problems on the system. In this article we will learn how to fix the Spoolsv.exe application error.

When the error occurs, you may receive an error message similar to the one given below.

“Spoolsv.exe - Application Error"

“The instruction at "0x77fcc2c0" referenced memory at "0x00000000".

“The memory could not be written."

The most common cause of the error is an abundance of .SHD and .SPL files in the spool directory. These files are created by the spooler to save the spooled data of a print job. The .SPL file comprises drawing commands and the .SHD file comprises job settings information of the print job.

To fix spoolsv.exe application error, you will have to remove these files from the system. To do this, perform the following steps on your Windows XP computer:

1. Open Control Panel, select Performance and Maintenance, select Administrative Tools and then select the Services option.
2. In the Services management console, locate the Spooler services, right-click on it and select Stop.
3. Next, open the C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Printers folder. (Here, we are assuming that your Windows is installed in the default C:\Windows folder)
4. Delete all the .SHD and SPL files from this folder.
5. Next, open the TMP folder and delete all old and unused files from this folder.
6. Finally, restart the Spooler service from the Services management console.

Note: If you are unable to delete the files in Normal Mode, then you may have to restart your computer in Safe Mode to delete the files. To start your PC in Safe Mode, press F8 at system restart and then select the Safe Mode option from Windows Advanced Options Menu.

If deleting the files does not rectify the problem, you must perform a System Restore and rollback your system to the time prior to when the error started appearing on your computer. To perform System Restore, open Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools, and then select the System Restore option. On the Welcome to System Restore Screen, select the Restore my computer to an earlier time option, and select Next. On the Select Restore Point screen, select the date that represents the restore point to which you want to roll back your computer and then select Next. Finally, verify and then click Next again to confirm your restore point and proceed with the system restore. Restart your PC when prompted and press OK to close the system restore completion screen.

This resolved the issue, and the computer was back to normal.

Sometimes you are the windshield, sometimes you are the bug....

Outlook 2003 local distribution lists not visible

I had an issue recently where a user was creating her own local distribution list in Outlook 2003. She could create it, edit it, and update it. But, when she would compose an email, she couldn't pull down the distribution list that she created. In poking around the internet, I found the solution:


You need to add the Outlook Contacts as an Address Book. Go to Tools - Email Accounts, choose "Add a new directory or Address Book", click next, choose Additional Address Books, click Next, choose "Outlook Address Book" from the list, then click Next. You may need to restart Outlook a few times for the change to take effect, but it will then show up underneath the Global Address List in the Address Book.

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Server_Software/Email_Servers/Exchange/Q_23036462.html

Turning off auto-dim in Dell laptops and win7

I had a Dell laptop with Win7 that the user was complaining that the screen was going black. I quickly realized it was not the screen, but a setting. When you put your hands on the keyboard, the screen would dim. If you put your finger over the sensor, it would (obviously) go black. I hunted around for quite a while, but found a simple fix:

function

This turned the auto-dim function on and off. I am thinking that he inadvertently set it when he was trying to change his resolution.

cannot open excel files

Well, this one stumped me for awhile. I now have Win7 and Office 2007. All was going well, when I couldn't open any excel files. The error was:

"There was a problem sending the command to the program"

After digging around a bit, I found the solution.

Bring up the Excel options, go to advanced and then scroll down to the

"General" section. Make sure that "Ignore other applications that use

Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)" is not checked.

I am not sure what DDE does, but after unchecking that box, I could open Excel files again.

chkdsk

When trying to run a chkdsk from the Windows XP CD, it kept asking for an administrator password. I tried all the passwords I knew, and found none worked. In researching this I found a random post that said to use a Windows 2000 CD. I tried this, and IT WORKED. Chckdsk resolved the problem and I had another happy customer.

Adding Programs To Stay On The Start Menu

Adding Programs To Stay On The Start Menu

Right click on any .exe file in Explorer, My Computer, Desktop and select 'Pin to Start Menu', the program is then displayed on the start menu, above the separator line. To remove it, click the file on the start menu and select 'Unpin from Start Menu'.

Associating files with programs

I know this will be a "duh" post to some geeks, but the process stumped me for a bit, so I thought I would put it up.

We had an application that would send out .tif files. When my coworker would open it, he could only see the first page. This was because he was by default opening them in picture preview instead of Microsoft Picture and Fax Viewer. I fixed it to where he could see it once, however, I needed to get .tifs associated with picture and fax viewer all the time. So, here are the steps:

1. right click on the file
2. go to open with.....
3. click choose program...
4. highlight the program that you want to use
5. IMPORTANT!! click the check box that says always use the selected program to open this kind of file
6. click OK
VIOLA!! Now every time you open that file type, it will open with the new program!