Lost icons in Printer and Faxes folder

[Alan Walker]

I own a Sony Vaio desktop computer which has USB 2.0
ports and use Windows XP Professional .

I ran out of USB 2.0 ports on the back of the computer
and bought a 4 port USB 2.0 hub and a Parallel to USB
cable for my HP 2000C inkjet printer. The cable adapter
is USB 1.1 compliant.

When I connected everything up Windows XP correctly
identified the printer and appeared to access Microsoft's
web site and tried to install a DLL. After the install a
printer wizard had finished, I got an error message
telling me that the printer could not be installed as the
hardware was defective. (I also have a Canon i950 printer
connected to a USB port.)

Afterwards I opened the Printer and Faxes folder and the
folder was empty. Even the Add a Printer icon had
disappeared. When I clicked on the Add a Printer text it
did not work.

After removing the USB hub and the USB adapter cable and
refitting the parallel cable to the printer I then used
GoBack and Windows system recovery but the Printer and
Faxes folder remains empty. Otherwise Windows works
normally and does not report any problems plus I can
print from Word but not from Internet Explorer.

What do you think is the problem and how do I get the
icons back in the Printer folder without reinstalling XP
from scratch?

 

[Paul K]

Does the add printer wizard "button" fail to operate in
your printers and faxes folder. If so I have the exact
same problem on a XP Home system but when installing a
new printer.

Regards
Paul

 

[Ron]

I have a similar problem and need help. After a 5 hour
telephone session with support to fix a windows explorer
problem, I found that my printer would not work. My
printer and faxes folder was present with nothing listed.
When I tried to use the add printer function, it states
that operation cannot be completed. I cannot find any
information about it. I have been waiting almost 24 hours
for support to respond, but no answer yet.