Can't add 32-bit printer drivers in 64-bit Windows Server

[guest]

I'm still banging my head here on trying to do what should be a fairly simple task. I'm hoping if I list the steps I'm doing, someone out there who's already struggled with this can tell me where I'm going wrong! The frustrating part about this is I managed to get it working once on a different 64 bit server, but that was trying a dozen different steps with a different printer model.

All I want to do is add a 32-bit printer driver to a Windows 2008 64-bit server, so that our 32-bit Win7 & XP clients can get the 32-bit driver directly from the server. I've been going through the steps in KB 952065, 323166, and 937793, but still no luck.

1) I want to add the Xerox Phaser 4510N PS printer. This printer isn't listed in Windows 2008 built-in list of drivers, so I click the Windows Update button to get it. No problem. If only the rest of the process went so smoothly!

2) To get the 32-bit version of this driver, I download it using the Windows Update catalog, as detailed in KB323166. I go to http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Home.aspx Yes, I make sure I downloaded the x86 version, not IA64 or AMD64, etc. Yes, I make sure I'm downloading the PS version, not PCL.

3) I expand the downloaded CAB file as detailed in the same KB 323166. Now I've got the 32-bit driver.

4) On the 64-bit server, on the Xerox Phaser 4510PS printer properties, I go to the Sharing tab, and click Additional Drivers. I click x86

5) Windows prompts with "Install printer drivers (x86 processor)", looking for an *.inf file. Here's where the head-banging begins.

a) If I point it to ANY of the INFs in the folder I downloaded from the Windows Update Catalog, that fails. "Install Components from Windows media." I'm assuming what Windows 2008 REALLY wants here is various printing components from a 32-bit version of Windows 2008/7. ntprint.inf? That seems to me what KB952065 is suggesting.

b) So next I try the steps in KB952065. I map a drive to a 32-bit Windows7/2008 box that already has the 32-bit Xerox Phaser 4510N PS driver installed locally, again from Windows Update, browse to c:\windows\system32\driverstore\File Repository\and look for PRN**NNN.inf_HHHHHH. Based on that article it should be prnxx002.inf_x86_neutral... But that folder doesn't work either. I'm not surprised as, again, I had to use Windows Update to download the driver, not use a built-in one. But thought I'd try.

c) Another poster here suggested pointing it to c:\windows\winsxs\x86_ntprint.inf_xxxx. So I tried that as well on the PC that has the 32 bit driver already installed. No luck. I tried ntprint.inf's from three different folders matching the above, but it wouldn't accept any of them.

d) Next I try c:\windows\system32\driverstore\filerepository\ntprint.inf_x86_neutral_88459cb66b0e2d44 on the 32-bit client. Nope!

e) Keep trying various NTPRINT.INFs that I can find in various directories on the 32-client that has the driver, as well as on an ISO of the 32-bit version of Win2008 in the pointless hope of finding one that Windows will accept.

f) Next I try the pnputil.exe utility, referred to in KB323166 and kb937793. pnputil.exe -i -a c:\x86\x24510P-root.inf (that's the INF created when I expanded the downloaded 32-bit driver from Windows update catalog). I get a message that it successfully installed/imported a driver on the system. Published name: oem15.inf

g) I find oem15.inf in c:\windows\inf, so I point it to that location. No go!



So what's up? Honestly, I can't believe how difficult it's been and how much time I've wasted trying to get this to work. The only solace I get so far is that in reading this forum, I see a whole lot of other people who are having the same problem!

[guest]

I downloaded the Xerox Global drivers for both PS and PCL, for both 32 and 64bit editions, directly onto the 2008 server and today that seems to have done the trick. Both drivers included an NTPRINT.INF that the server accepted. I'm sure I did this yesterday but that was after several hours of trying to get this to work.