Fix My Computer Pls Thx!

June 27, 2011 1:20 PM

How can I repair my Windows 7 installation without having to reinstall all of my applications?

There are instructions for a repair installation all over the Internet, but the process fails for me because my installed version of Windows 7 is newer than the one on my installation disc. Is there any way around this, or an alternate method that will still enable me to not have to reinstall all my applications? Thanks for any help!

posted by Pants McCracky to Computers & Internet (11 answers total)

What kind of situation are you looking at that requires a reinstall? Are you able to get into the old OS? Are you able to download and create installation DVDs or USBs from this PC or another one nearby?

There's a couple ways to approach this (sfc checking, slipstreaming, etc), but it'll most likely need to be catered to your particular scenario.
posted by samsara at 1:36 PM on June 27, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks for responding, samsara. What's leading me to want to reinstall is that my computer abruptly stopped being able to print. The error I'm getting is that the print spooler service keeps not running -- I start it, and a few seconds later it stops.

Initial web research suggested it was a corrupted driver. I was able to manually remove the printer driver, but wasn't able to reinstall it -- it would keep stopping with an error.

I've tried all of the solutions I could find online -- clearing out the print spool, stopping/starting the service from the cmd console, checking the dependencies of the service, running that Microsoft "Fix It" thingy, and a bunch of other things, and nothing works. I'd restore to an earlier restore point, but it appears none of my restore points extend back before this problem began.

So, I'm at a complete loss at this point -- I can't find any new solutions, so the only thing I can think of at this point is to just reinstall Windows 7 (64-bit). However, the thought of having to reinstall all my programs makes me weep.

I am able to get into Windows -- other than the printing issue, everything seems to be working OK. I'm not sure what my next step ought to be at this point.
posted by Pants McCracky at 1:57 PM on June 27, 2011

I've seen something similar to this before and might have some additional things you could try (clearing the driver folders under the spooler and some registry searches to clear any bad 3rd party hooks like the kodak suite sometimes does, or invalid guids under the printer connections key.)

For now, try the following command under an elevated cmd prompt (click start and type 'cmd' in the search field. Press ctrl+shift+enter to run cmd elevated):

Sfc /scannow
posted by samsara at 3:56 PM on June 27, 2011

Yeah, as samsara says above, this is a wee bit early for a nuke and repave. Although, as a IT guy I have to respect that you're even willing to do it. Most of my clients just buy a new printer and tell me about it weeks or months later.

Can you give us any other info? What type of printer, what model of machine/specs, etc. Also, has anything changed in your USB environment recently? New Ipod/phone/device, new external drive, new headphones, etc.

I'd much rather try and remove any traces of the printer, get a clean boot without it, then try to install the printer again from scratch before I flatten my OS.

Does the printer work on a known good PC? Are you going through a USB hub? And if so, can you remove it and just plug the printer in?

Printer issues can be a real bitch. I usually don't recommend USB printing anymore, ethernet is so much more reliable.

Good luck, and apologies for the wall o text.
posted by Sphinx at 5:54 PM on June 27, 2011

You can't do a full nuke and repave without having to re-install all of your applications I'm afraid.

However Ninite can automate the installation of a large number of popular applications without any interaction from you. It gives me back several hours of my life every time I use it.
posted by mr_silver at 2:30 AM on June 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for the tip about Ninite, mr_silver. Regardless of what else happens with this issue, that is a fantastic resource.

The printer (Brother HL-2240 laser monochrome) was working fine until recently. I think the issue started after the most recent round of Windows updates, that included IE 9. I did see a couple of references online to people having printing issues after installing IE9, but I'm not sure what to do with this info.

samsara -- I ran Sfc /scannow and it came up with a message that my system had corrupted files, but that it couldn't repair some of them.

Thanks again for all of your input, guys. This issue is really getting me down -- I operate a side business at home that depends on my being able to print. Blech!
posted by Pants McCracky at 8:40 AM on June 28, 2011

Ok, let's try another angle here:

1. Remove all printers and print drivers your computer:
- Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Print Management

2. If you get errors that a driver is in use, try the uninstall tool for your printer.

2. If you still get an error fully removing the Brother driver, open a Command Prompt window again (Start > Run > type "cmd" > CTRL+SHIFT and Press ENTER)
Type each of the following commands in the Command Prompt window and press Enter after each line:

- net stop spooler
- explorer "%windir%\system32\spool\" (this will pop up an explorer window you can delete the contents of spooler from here. If you get access denied errors you may have to take ownership and reset permissions for this folder...to do that, right click on the "spooler" folder and select "Properties" navigate to the "Security" tab and click "Advanced." Click "Change Permissions" and check the checkboxes at the bottom to include inheritable permissions and replace permissions on child objects. If this is all greyed out, replace ownership on the owner tab first, then try again)
- net start spooler (if all goes well, the spooler will recreate the folders DRIVERS, PRINTERS, PRTPROCS, and SERVERS for you)

3. Try installing the latest version of the WHQL certified driver near the bottom of the download page (5.37mb). This version should take a lot of the bloat out of the commercial driver.
posted by samsara at 12:23 PM on June 28, 2011

(ps. if you feel uneasy about step 2. (well the 2nd step 2. now that I see the typo) feel free to skip it for now.)

Also back to your original track: Here are some instructions on how to create a bootable Windows 7 SP1 slipstreamed DVD. I'm not sure if you can initiate a repair from a slipstreamed ISO (I remember reading somewhere you had to have the OEM version), but it might be worth a try as well.
posted by samsara at 1:35 PM on June 28, 2011

(also on step 2-2...when in the explorer menu opt for moving the folders into a new folder called 'backup' instead of deleting...just to err on the side of caution...this method generally works, but certain drivers that need custom print processors need extra tlc...so might be helpful to have a copy on hand)
posted by samsara at 2:19 PM on June 28, 2011

Response by poster: Well, samsara...after giving it another go last night, I threw up my hands and did a clean reinstall of Windows. I still don't know exactly what the problem was, but at some point it became evident that it was going to almost as much time to troubleshoot and fix this issue than it would to just start from scratch.

I genuinely appreciate the time you took to help me with this. Thanks also to mr_silver and Sphinx. I hate being stymied on this, but I guess I've gotta just move on!
posted by Pants McCracky at 9:05 AM on June 29, 2011

No problem at all! Definitely try out the WHQL driver first to see if it'll meet your needs...it might be much less prone to fail in the future. Also, if you're interested in anti-malware and general security tips I have a write-up on my profile.

Printer drivers are the bane of my profession...hopefully the new install clears out the issue for good!
posted by samsara at 10:15 AM on June 29, 2011