Have 24 new computers. Exact same build, Windows 7 Enterprise. About half are having this problem when installing printers. "Windows cannot connect to the printer." Details: "Operation failed with error 0x0000007e". I do not want to have half the computers with local port definitions and half with whatever is automatically assigned. Tried using script "rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /in /q /n \\myserver\myprinter" but for half it works. Others it does not. Some printers install, others consistently don't. Those that don't are HP CLJ 2550n, HP CLJ 2840n. Had problem with HP LJ 4250 but printer firmware update fixed that. Did nto fix on others. Again, half of the new PCs with same config will connect and work just fine. Ideas?

Hi, I would like to know if adding the printer as local printer works. Please check if solutions on the following thread will work: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w7install/thread/a7fe6b93-5752-49a6-add7-0cf129b7b348 In addition, according to our database, if the driver has color profiles, the add printer wizard will fail. It is a known bug and our developers do recognize this issue and are working on it. If there any solution is available, it will be delivered via Windows Update. Vivian Xing - MSFT

That worked great for me - even tho the printer I was adding was a network printer. Thanks.

AllenMc - I am having the same issue on Windows 7 with several of my printers as well. Some network printers install fine and others fail with the same error message, even though they have the same drivers (HP Universal Printing PS v61.91.12.106). I tried to update the firmware on one of the printers (HP P3005 LaserJet), but that didn't help. All who have responded to this post, please re-read AllenMc's request. He doesn't want to create a local port/printer for the printers that won't install from the print server. That is not desirable in a networked environment where you have to deploy several printers to hundreds of users. I did test and installing the printer locally did work but that is not a workable solution for our environment, where we need to deploy printers via script and we need to have the printers tracked at the server level using plot tracking software (Sepialine Argos). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

AllenMc - I am having the same issue on Windows 7 with several of my printers as well. Some network printers install fine and others fail with the same error message, even though they have the same drivers (HP Universal Printing PS v61.91.12.106). I tried to update the firmware on one of the printers (HP P3005 LaserJet), but that didn't help. All who have responded to this post, please re-read AllenMc's request. He doesn't want to create a local port/printer for the printers that won't install from the print server. That is not desirable in a networked environment where you have to deploy several printers to hundreds of users. I did test and installing the printer locally did work but that is not a workable solution for our environment, where we need to deploy printers via script and we need to have the printers tracked at the server level using plot tracking software (Sepialine Argos). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Any luck on this? I agree jdmac installing as local is not an option. I am deploying most of my printers using group policy preferences but I have an HP 4300 that just keeps spitting me this error 0x0000007e.

Any luck on this? I agree jdmac installing as local is not an option. I am deploying most of my printers using group policy preferences but I have an HP 4300 that just keeps spitting me this error 0x0000007e.

I found this hotfix cured my issue with win 7 x64 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/981070/en-gb

I found this hotfix cured my issue with win 7 x64 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/981070/en-gb

I spent a long time working this issue with HP and Canon and what ended up solving the 0x0000007e error on the Win 7 x64 clients using a 2K8 print server was: Logon to the Windows 7 X64 client machine Click on the Start button Click on Devices and Printers Click and highlight any printer already installed on the local machine. (This should allow you to see the “Print Server Properties” button right underneath the address bar at the top of the page. Click on Print Server Properties button Click on the Drivers Tab Highlight and remove every single driver (Make sure you are on the client machine NOT THE SERVER!!) Click OK and then Close the Printer Page. Go to Start /Run / and type in services.msc Find the print spooler service Stop the print spooler for at least 10 seconds Restart the print spooler service Go back to the print server and try and reinstall the printer

I spent a long time working this issue with HP and Canon and what ended up solving the 0x0000007e error on the Win 7 x64 clients using a 2K8 print server was: Logon to the Windows 7 X64 client machine Click on the Start button Click on Devices and Printers Click and highlight any printer already installed on the local machine. (This should allow you to see the “Print Server Properties” button right underneath the address bar at the top of the page. Click on Print Server Properties button Click on the Drivers Tab Highlight and remove every single driver (Make sure you are on the client machine NOT THE SERVER!!) Click OK and then Close the Printer Page. Go to Start /Run / and type in services.msc Find the print spooler service Stop the print spooler for at least 10 seconds Restart the print spooler service Go back to the print server and try and reinstall the printer

dg51071 - I cannot remove drivers, becouse they are in use. How did you manage to remove them? TNX

dg51071 - I cannot remove drivers, becouse they are in use. How did you manage to remove them? TNX

Agco - Did you instal this hotfix on the cient computer or on the server? A I also noticet in desription of this hotfix it says that helps in case of error: Windows can't open Add Printer. Operation could not be completed (error 0x0000007e). But i get a bit different error: Windows cannot connect to the printer. Operation failed with error 0x0000007e.

Agco - Did you instal this hotfix on the cient computer or on the server? A I also noticet in desription of this hotfix it says that helps in case of error: Windows can't open Add Printer. Operation could not be completed (error 0x0000007e). But i get a bit different error: Windows cannot connect to the printer. Operation failed with error 0x0000007e.

Agco - Did you instal this hotfix on the cient computer or on the server? A I also noticet in desription of this hotfix it says that helps in case of error: Windows can't open Add Printer. Operation could not be completed (error 0x0000007e). But i get a bit different error: Windows cannot connect to the printer. Operation failed with error 0x0000007e.

Hi I found a hotfix on microsoft page which was supposed to solve this issue. I installed it on one of my computers, but no success. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982728/en-us#appliesto It might help you.

Hi I found a hotfix on microsoft page which was supposed to solve this issue. I installed it on one of my computers, but no success. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982728/en-us#appliesto It might help you.

Hi AllenMC! Did you solve this problem`? Have an identical problem with connecting my W7-64 laptop to a printer USB-connected to my 32-bit Vista computer. Get the same error message after the driver has been downloaded and trying to install. I could live with a local port definition, however trying to establish this I am not able to connect to the host/printer (Vista-32/HP Color Laser Jet 2840) named as follows: "Reidar-PC/HP Universal Printing PS" (maybe the name of the printer is no good?). The driver installed on the host is downloaded from HP Web-site (HP Universal Print Driver PostScript v5.0.1( whic is the 32-bit version). Added 64-bit driver to this installation. Trying to make a new local port on the client with this adress: "\\Reidar-PC\HP Universal Printing PS" fail with message "No access". The printer on the host has been shared out. Any ideas?

Hi AllenMC! Did you solve this problem`? Have an identical problem with connecting my W7-64 laptop to a printer USB-connected to my 32-bit Vista computer. Get the same error message after the driver has been downloaded and trying to install. I could live with a local port definition, however trying to establish this I am not able to connect to the host/printer (Vista-32/HP Color Laser Jet 2840) named as follows: "Reidar-PC/HP Universal Printing PS" (maybe the name of the printer is no good?). The driver installed on the host is downloaded from HP Web-site (HP Universal Print Driver PostScript v5.0.1( whic is the 32-bit version). Added 64-bit driver to this installation. Trying to make a new local port on the client with this adress: "\\Reidar-PC\HP Universal Printing PS" fail with message "No access". The printer on the host has been shared out. Any ideas?

I also experience this issue, but the hotfix from Microsoft solved the problem.

I also experience this issue, but the hotfix from Microsoft solved the problem.

Restarting the print spooler service solved this problem for me.

Restarting the print spooler service solved this problem for me.

I tried this with a new Win 7 x64 install; didn't make any difference. Also tried the step-by-step removal of local drivers & force reinstall. I have 4 printers that should deploy via GPO; the first 3 work every time. I'm having problems with HP LJ 4200 printers attached to our WS2008 print server (32 bit, not R2). I had a mismatch in versions of PCL 6 drivers; obtained & updated the x64 to the same version as the x86. Still not working (61.74.561.43 for both). The real annoyance is that I have a Win 7 x64 install in Vmware workstation that had no problems installing this printer. The driver is the vista x64 version, since HP only appeared to have a universal driver for Windows 7 x64. We had the same exact error with HP CP3505N printers, but this was resolved by changing the printer driver on the print server. Stopping/starting spooler did not help. Observation: when it errors, it will quickly, and always as it gets to the "Finishing the installation" stage, although that may be cosmetic. Another observation: the hp lj 4200 drivers are now present on my Win 7 x64 machine. Can't believe it's a rights issue; all assignments are consistent for the 4 printers, and I created the printer queues, so my logon owns the printers. Any other thoughts/suggestions? --alan -- Alan D Weitzsacker, System Administrator III Canisius College, Buffalo, NY 14208

I tried this with a new Win 7 x64 install; didn't make any difference. Also tried the step-by-step removal of local drivers & force reinstall. I have 4 printers that should deploy via GPO; the first 3 work every time. I'm having problems with HP LJ 4200 printers attached to our WS2008 print server (32 bit, not R2). I had a mismatch in versions of PCL 6 drivers; obtained & updated the x64 to the same version as the x86. Still not working (61.74.561.43 for both). The real annoyance is that I have a Win 7 x64 install in Vmware workstation that had no problems installing this printer. The driver is the vista x64 version, since HP only appeared to have a universal driver for Windows 7 x64. We had the same exact error with HP CP3505N printers, but this was resolved by changing the printer driver on the print server. Stopping/starting spooler did not help. Observation: when it errors, it will quickly, and always as it gets to the "Finishing the installation" stage, although that may be cosmetic. Another observation: the hp lj 4200 drivers are now present on my Win 7 x64 machine. Can't believe it's a rights issue; all assignments are consistent for the 4 printers, and I created the printer queues, so my logon owns the printers. Any other thoughts/suggestions? --alan -- Alan D Weitzsacker, System Administrator III Canisius College, Buffalo, NY 14208

One more reboot & now the printer appears..... good & bad news. The good is that it's working, but the bad is that I must have *thought* I had rebooted, and it only needed one more. It may have been the drivers? I tried switching to PCL5, which didn't seem to help, then switched back to the HP PCL6 drivers (61.74.561.43) and now all four printers appear as they should. Thanks for any consideration anyone may have given this, just the same! --alan-- Alan D Weitzsacker, System Administrator III Canisius College, Buffalo, NY 14208

One more reboot & now the printer appears..... good & bad news. The good is that it's working, but the bad is that I must have *thought* I had rebooted, and it only needed one more. It may have been the drivers? I tried switching to PCL5, which didn't seem to help, then switched back to the HP PCL6 drivers (61.74.561.43) and now all four printers appear as they should. Thanks for any consideration anyone may have given this, just the same! --alan-- Alan D Weitzsacker, System Administrator III Canisius College, Buffalo, NY 14208

I know this has been dead for a while, but I wanted to post my findings for future people searching this. My Environment: Server: Windows Server 2008 32 bit Printers: HP LJ 4100, HP LJ 4600 Driver: HP Universal Print Driver Clients: Mixture of W7 x86 and x32 My Symptoms: 32 bit clients have no issue adding printers, 64 bit clients are unable to add printers and receive an error of "Cannot Connect to Printer" with an error code of 0x0000007e. My resolution: Open 2 command prompts on the server and do a dir on c:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86\3\hpcpn*.dll in one window and a dir on c:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\x64\3\hpcpn*.dll in another window. Chances are, you will not have the same file in both directories, which is what windows wants. I've tried renaming and I've tried copying the other dll file, these methods don't work. You can muck with installing new drivers all day to get these files to align, or you can do the following: When installing for a 64 bit client: Take note of the three digit number at the end of that dll file in the x64\3 directory Open regedit and browse to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Printers\<Printer Name>\CopyFiles\BIDI. Change the value of the "Module" key to end with the dll that we found in the \x64\3 directory When installing for a 32 bit client: Take note of the three digit number at the end of that dll file in the w32x86\3 directory Open regedit and browse to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Printers\<Printer Name>\CopyFiles\BIDI. Change the value of the "Module" key to end with the dll that we found in the \w32x86\3 directory I hope this helps everyone!

I know this has been dead for a while, but I wanted to post my findings for future people searching this. My Environment: Server: Windows Server 2008 32 bit Printers: HP LJ 4100, HP LJ 4600 Driver: HP Universal Print Driver Clients: Mixture of W7 x86 and x32 My Symptoms: 32 bit clients have no issue adding printers, 64 bit clients are unable to add printers and receive an error of "Cannot Connect to Printer" with an error code of 0x0000007e. My resolution: Open 2 command prompts on the server and do a dir on c:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86\3\hpcpn*.dll in one window and a dir on c:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\x64\3\hpcpn*.dll in another window. Chances are, you will not have the same file in both directories, which is what windows wants. I've tried renaming and I've tried copying the other dll file, these methods don't work. You can muck with installing new drivers all day to get these files to align, or you can do the following: When installing for a 64 bit client: Take note of the three digit number at the end of that dll file in the x64\3 directory Open regedit and browse to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Printers\<Printer Name>\CopyFiles\BIDI. Change the value of the "Module" key to end with the dll that we found in the \x64\3 directory When installing for a 32 bit client: Take note of the three digit number at the end of that dll file in the w32x86\3 directory Open regedit and browse to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Printers\<Printer Name>\CopyFiles\BIDI. Change the value of the "Module" key to end with the dll that we found in the \w32x86\3 directory I hope this helps everyone!

Hi Just to let you know that the above workaround (matching DLL files) worked fine in my environment : Server side : Windows vista 32bit printer HP Color Laserjet CM1015 installed drivers UPD PCL5 downloaded from HP website shared this printer with the option to support x64 clients Modified redistry to match /hpcpn111 .dll file (in my case) Client side : Windows 7 64 bit Installed the same driver as the server side Used the wizard to connect to the network-printer, during installation the drivers are automatically loaded and the issue is gone! Many thanks!

Hi Just to let you know that the above workaround (matching DLL files) worked fine in my environment : Server side : Windows vista 32bit printer HP Color Laserjet CM1015 installed drivers UPD PCL5 downloaded from HP website shared this printer with the option to support x64 clients Modified redistry to match /hpcpn111 .dll file (in my case) Client side : Windows 7 64 bit Installed the same driver as the server side Used the wizard to connect to the network-printer, during installation the drivers are automatically loaded and the issue is gone! Many thanks!

Hi Have had some problems with this issue as well. We are running W2k8 R2 printservers and W2k8 R2 terminalservers. Sometimes one terminalserver appears that generates this error message. What we have discovered was that under the printer in registry, there was a folder called Copyfiles. If we delete this from the printserver registry, we are able to connect the printers without any problems. (registry > Local Machine > system > controlset001 > print > printers > (printername) > Copyfiles ) We haven't been able to see any problems after deleting this folder. Do anyone know what it does/why it is created?

Thank you so much Tempus, your solution worked flawlessly for me. My environment is Windows 2003 32bit as print server and a Windows 7 64bit test machine. Jaco

Thank you so much Tempus, your solution worked flawlessly for me. My environment is Windows 2003 32bit as print server and a Windows 7 64bit test machine. Jaco

Thank you Somfi. This is what finally resolved my issue also. I tried the other suggestions but your is the one that fixed. Thanks agan.

Thank you Somfi. This is what finally resolved my issue also. I tried the other suggestions but your is the one that fixed. Thanks agan.

Many thanks to all the info here, for the last 12 hours I have been trying to work out why all my other PC's connect to the HP4250 but not the Win 7. I was using the Win 7 with the IP port and that worked, but it was a mess of configuration. The mapping fixed it. Many thanks Alan

Many thanks to all the info here, for the last 12 hours I have been trying to work out why all my other PC's connect to the HP4250 but not the Win 7. I was using the Win 7 with the IP port and that worked, but it was a mess of configuration. The mapping fixed it. Many thanks Alan

Somfi, Thanks so much for your answer! I've been off and on trying to get our HP 4300 working from a Win2008 server . Removing the COPYFILES entry from [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers\is4300] did the trick! Thanks again! Brent

Somfi, Thanks so much for your answer! I've been off and on trying to get our HP 4300 working from a Win2008 server . Removing the COPYFILES entry from [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers\is4300] did the trick! Thanks again! Brent

It's a beautiful thing!!! worked perfectly. I deleted this above entry on the printer server registry and all the Citrix thinclient users were able to install the printers.

It's a beautiful thing!!! worked perfectly. I deleted this above entry on the printer server registry and all the Citrix thinclient users were able to install the printers.

Hi, You need to refer the configuration page and find the necessary tips to fix the connection issues. The printer need to have a valid IP address for its proper functioning. If there is no IP address listed, or if the status shows ‘disconnected’, there may be something wrong with the network card or the cable. You need to remove and reset the network cable running into the printer. Also remove and reset the end of the cable that goes into the wall jack. If the printer still does not work, replace the cable with a new one.

Thank you Somfi. This resolved my issue. What an easy fix, you would think Microsoft would post this. I tried their hotfix, but no luck.

Thank you Somfi. This resolved my issue. What an easy fix, you would think Microsoft would post this. I tried their hotfix, but no luck.

TempusKJ, Thanks for posting this to an old thread. I was searching for a fix for this problem and your solution is the best yet. worked great.

TempusKJ, Thanks for posting this to an old thread. I was searching for a fix for this problem and your solution is the best yet. worked great.

Somfi, thank you very much for your post. I'm trying to set up some new Windows 7 x64 computers, and I wanted to connect to the print queue on a Windows Server 2003 Standard computer. I had to change the driver used on the Server, because it was using a driver that only works for x86. I added the new driver version that supports both x86 and x64 to the Server (see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2028992), and then just switched the driver for the existing print object on the Server. Then I got the 0x0000007e error trying to connect from the Windows 7 workstations. After reading your post, I found that there was a CopyFile in the key, HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers\{printer}. I renamed the key, and that solved my problem. I think the issue is this, in my case: When you switch drivers, the GUI must not update this key with new files. And the information in there must not be critical, at least in this application. Thanks again. Your answer, and that of TempusKJ who appears to have helped others on this post, should be marked as an Answer, not the generic post by the Moderator (with all due respect). Jeffrey Fox

Somfi, thank you very much for your post. I'm trying to set up some new Windows 7 x64 computers, and I wanted to connect to the print queue on a Windows Server 2003 Standard computer. I had to change the driver used on the Server, because it was using a driver that only works for x86. I added the new driver version that supports both x86 and x64 to the Server (see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2028992), and then just switched the driver for the existing print object on the Server. Then I got the 0x0000007e error trying to connect from the Windows 7 workstations. After reading your post, I found that there was a CopyFile in the key, HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers\{printer}. I renamed the key, and that solved my problem. I think the issue is this, in my case: When you switch drivers, the GUI must not update this key with new files. And the information in there must not be critical, at least in this application. Thanks again. Your answer, and that of TempusKJ who appears to have helped others on this post, should be marked as an Answer, not the generic post by the Moderator (with all due respect). Jeffrey Fox

Hi Have had some problems with this issue as well. We are running W2k8 R2 printservers and W2k8 R2 terminalservers. Sometimes one terminalserver appears that generates this error message. What we have discovered was that under the printer in registry, there was a folder called Copyfiles. If we delete this from the printserver registry, we are able to connect the printers without any problems. (registry > Local Machine > system > controlset001 > print > printers > (printername) > Copyfiles ) We haven't been able to see any problems after deleting this folder. Do anyone know what it does/why it is created? I renamed this registry folder and the installation worked normally. ...just a thought on the copyfile registry folder... one thing a colleague an i noticed is that when connecting to the printer to ultimately install it... it doesn't copy the files ove to the machine, instead it just installs the correct driver and doesn't copy over files that it would normally attempt (such as Windows XP driver files) hence the reason it works.... just a theory. :) thanks again... many thanks C. Regards Carlos Ferreira

Plagued by this issue (with 64 bit Windows 7 clients but not 32 bit Windows XP clients) and without access to the hosting server, found this solution worked: Start | Devices and Printers | Add a printer Choose Add a local printer. Create a new port. The default in the drop down box is Local Port. Click Next. A dialogue box will appear asking for you to enter a port name. Type in the \\computer name\printer name Credit: http://forums.cnet.com/7723-6122_102-389991/error-0x0000007e-remotely-connecting-to-printer/

Have an HP color LaserJet 2550. Has there been a resolution to the problem? Is there a solution? I have done all Windows Updates. Also, is there a manual work around? I have spent 8 hours on research on this problem, used Network Magic - all have failed. Thanks

Have an HP color LaserJet 2550. Has there been a resolution to the problem? Is there a solution? I have done all Windows Updates. Also, is there a manual work around? I have spent 8 hours on research on this problem, used Network Magic - all have failed. Thanks

Hi, I would like to know if adding the printer as local printer works. Please check if solutions on the following thread will work: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w7install/thread/a7fe6b93-5752-49a6-add7-0cf129b7b348 In addition, according to our database, if the driver has color profiles, the add printer wizard will fail. It is a known bug and our developers do recognize this issue and are working on it. If there any solution is available, it will be delivered via Windows Update. Vivian Xing - MSFT Have the MS developers found a solution for the bug with the color profiles? You wrote this two years ago and people are still having this problem. On a Windows 7 Pro. 32-bit with SP1 I cannot install a HP Color LaserJet 4700 that is shared for 50+ users on a Windows Server 2003 SP2 using a HP Universal Printing PS driver (ver. 5.4.0). -- rpr.

Hi, I would like to know if adding the printer as local printer works. Please check if solutions on the following thread will work: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w7install/thread/a7fe6b93-5752-49a6-add7-0cf129b7b348 In addition, according to our database, if the driver has color profiles, the add printer wizard will fail. It is a known bug and our developers do recognize this issue and are working on it. If there any solution is available, it will be delivered via Windows Update. Vivian Xing - MSFT Have the MS developers found a solution for the bug with the color profiles? You wrote this two years ago and people are still having this problem. On a Windows 7 Pro. 32-bit with SP1 I cannot install a HP Color LaserJet 4700 that is shared for 50+ users on a Windows Server 2003 SP2 using a HP Universal Printing PS driver (ver. 5.4.0). -- rpr.

I can confirm this works! With the exception that the path was HKLM\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Print\Printers\<printer name>\CopyFiles Delete that registry directory on the server and suddenly the windows 7 x64 systems can install the driver. You still need to add the x64 and x86 drivers using a windows 7 client through PDC connected to your Win2k3 server though.

Squeeby, thank you for your hint. I can confirm that this workaround was helpful on both Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit with two color network printers: HP Color LaserJet 4700 and Canon iR Advance C2025i.

Squeeby, thank you for your hint. I can confirm that this workaround was helpful on both Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit with two color network printers: HP Color LaserJet 4700 and Canon iR Advance C2025i.

excellent solution for the 0x0000007e problem, after delete the (registry > Local Machine > system > controlset001 > control>print > printers > (printername) > Copyfiles)"copyfiles" folder, the driver was installed successfully.

excellent solution for the 0x0000007e problem, after delete the (registry > Local Machine > system > controlset001 > control>print > printers > (printername) > Copyfiles)"copyfiles" folder, the driver was installed successfully.

Thanks! Worked like a charm!

Thanks! Worked like a charm!

Did a little research on this topic... The workaround with connecting directly to a printer (local) works... as a workaround... but, since we use a print-server, I wanted to correct to original problem. (so I was able to connect printers published through the print-server again.) After googling and trying different suggestions to no avail... I found one directory that had accumulated a lot of identical folders with driver-files in them. These folders were names (automatically) with trailing numbers from 00 to 99 and there seemed to be a limit of 100... Deleting all these folders was the key. I did some registry-deletions also in the same go, but don't know if this is necessary... In my case it was a Xerox WorkCentre printer... shared from a print-server... and mapped on a Windows 7 32-bit laptop. 1. Search through registry for "Xerox" (or whatever your printer brand is) and delete printer-entries and drivers associated with the printer. (several locations in registry) 2. Browse to c:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86\3\Xerox (or something similar that is appropriate in your environment) and delete all those files/folders underneath... (should probably be a lot of files...) 3. restart Print-spooler service. 4. Try installing the troublesome printer anew. Needless to mention... when deleting things in registry... you should know what you're doing !!! ;)

I finally got it. I was also receiving this error, "Operation failed with error 0x0000007e", after adding a Win7 64-bit system to our office while everything else is 32-bit. I attempted many different approaches in trying to setup a connection to a printer that is shared on a 32 bit system "Checkout" from a 64 bit system "Exam1". We have a peer to peer network, not a domain, and all systems are set to same workgroup. Even after making sure that all print drivers were available on the shared system in both 32 and 64bit versions, it still would not connect. Please note that one key issue involved in my situation is that the system with the shared printer, "Checkout", has a password protected user account. So, if your 32 bit system with the shared printer has a password protected user account, even though you have enabled printer sharing, then you can either kill the password or map a drive to \\shared32system\c$ from the 64 bit system using the shared printer system's local user name and password. This will rule out security permission rules. Also during initial setup you may want to temporarily disable the domain, private and public firewall settings to take any firewall rules out of the equation, these can be re-enabled one at a time later to see if they have an impact. After you have done these things, we will map the printer with a UNC format: Add Printer, Add New Local Port: \\shared32system\exact-name-of-print-share Pick Printer from list or click Have Disk if you have already extracted the necessary 64 bit print drivers to a location you can navigate to. You should see a progress window that indicates the printer is installing. On my system, even though it is brand new, took several minutes to complete. I hope I didn't miss anything, I typed it all from memory. Please let me know if this helps anyone..