Microsoft KB Archive/254098

WD2000: Part 2: How to Troubleshoot Printing Problems from Word

Q254098

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word 2000

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

This article is part 2 of a series of two Microsoft Knowledge Base articles that present a systematic approach to eliminating printing problems in Microsoft Word 2000.

The following topics are covered in this part of this article:

How to Eliminate Document-Specific Printing Problems

What Are Some Other Things I Can Try?

Additional Troubleshooting Resources

Microsoft Support Options

The following topic is covered in part 1 of this article:

What Are Some Specific Error Messages I May Get?

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q253993 WD2000: Part 1: How to Troubleshoot Printing Problems from Word

MORE INFORMATION

How to Eliminate Document-Specific Printing Problems

Printing problems in Microsoft Word can be specific to particular documents and templates. You may have one or more documents that may not be printed or that give you some type of error message. To resolve problems similar to this, try the following:

Step 1: Can You Print Other Word Documents?

If you have problems trying to print a particular document, close the problem document, and try to print a different document.

If you cannot print other documents, create a new document and try to print it by following these steps:

Close all open Word documents.
On the File menu, click New.
On the General tab, click Blank Document, and then click OK.
In your new blank Word document, type some text.
On the Print menu, click Print.
In the Print dialog box, click OK.

If you can print this new document, you have identified that the problem is specific to particular Word documents. Proceed to the "Step 3: Create a New Custom Template" section of this article.

If you cannot print this new document, proceed to the "Step 2: Rename the Normal.dot Template" section of this article.

Step 2: Rename the Normal.dot Template

If you cannot print the new Word document you created in step 1, rename the Word global template (Normal.dot). To do this, follow these steps:

Do one of the following:

Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, or Microsoft Windows NT 4.0:

Quit Microsoft Word.

On the Windows Start menu, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.

In the Named box of the Name & Location tab, type Normal.dot. Change the Look in box to your C: drive or Local hard drives (C:,D:) if you have multiple hard disks. Make sure the Include subfolders check box is selected, and then click Find Now.

For each occurrence of the Normal.dot template that is found, rename it to Normal.old. To do this, follow these steps:

Click Normal.
On the File menu, click Rename.
Type Normal.old and then press ENTER.

-or-

Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) or Microsoft Windows 2000:

Quit Microsoft Word.

On the Windows Start menu, point to Search, and then click For Files or Folders.

In the Search for files or folders named box, type Normal.dot. Change the Look in box to your C: drive or Local hard drives (C:,D:) if you have multiple hard disks.

Click Search Now.

For each occurrence of the Normal.dot template that is found, rename it to Normal.old. To do this, follow these steps:

Click Normal.
On the File menu, click Rename.
Type Normal.old and then press ENTER.

Restart Microsoft Word. Word automatically creates a new Normal.dot file.

In the new blank Word document, type some text.

On the File menu, click Print.

In the Print dialog box, click OK.

If you can print the new Word document, you have determined that the problem is a damaged Normal.dot file. You can now print new documents that are created from the new global (Blank Document) template (Normal.dot).

However, you may still be unable to print existing documents that were created by using your old Normal.dot file. If this is the case, proceed to the "Step 4: How to Print the Problem Document" section of this article to resolve problems with these documents.

If you cannot print this new document, there may be a problem that prevents Microsoft Word from printing. If this is the case, proceed to the "What Are Some Other Things I Can Try?" section of this article.

For additional information about what happens when you rename the Normal.dot global template, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q211793 WD2000: How to Reset User Options and Registry Settings

Step 3: Create a New Custom Template

You may still not be able to print particular Word documents. Examine the problem documents to determine whether they were created from the same custom template.

To determine which template the problem document was created from, follow these steps:

Open a document that you cannot print.
On the Tools menu, click Templates and Add-ins.
The template that the document was created from should be listed in the Document template box.

If the template listed is Normal.dot, proceed to the "Step 4: How to Print the Problem Document" section of this article to resolve the problem with this document.

If the template listed is a different template, create a new custom template. To do this, follow these steps:

On the File menu, click New.
On the General tab, click Blank Document, and then click OK.
In the blank new Word document, type and create your template as you want it to appear.
On the File menu, click Save As.
In the Save As dialog box, type a new file name for your new custom template, change the Save as type box to Document Template, and then click Save.
On the File menu, click Close to close your new custom template.
On the File menu, click New.
Click the new template you created, and then click OK.
Type any additional text you want, and then click Print on the File menu.
In the Print dialog box, click OK.

If the document that you created from your new custom template is printed correctly, you have determined that the major problem is with a corrupted custom template. You need to create a new custom template for new documents.

However, the documents created from your corrupted custom template still may not be printed correctly. If this is the case, proceed to "Step 4: How to Print the Problem Document" section of this article to resolve problems with these documents.

Step 4: How to Print the Problem Document

You have reached this step because you have determined that a damaged document is preventing you from printing the document correctly.

To print your document, try one or more of the following:

Try printing a range of pages. To do this, follow these steps:
1. On the File menu, click Print.
2. In the Print dialog box, click Pages, and then type a range of pages you want to print. For example, type 1-1. This prints the first page of your document.
3. If this page prints correctly, repeat the print and specify the next range of pages as needed to print your entire document.
-or-
Save your problem document as Rich Text Format. To do this, follow these steps:
1. On the File menu, click Save As.
2. In the Save As dialog box, type a new file name for your document in the File name box.
3. Change the Save as type box to Rich Text Format.
4. Click Save. Your new document is saved with the RTF extension.
5. On the File menu, click Close to close the new RTF document.
6. On the File menu, click Open and open the new RTF document that you just saved.
7. On the File menu, click Save As.
8. In the Save As dialog box, change the Save as type box to Word Document, and then click Save.
  
  NOTE: You do not need to type a new file name in the File name box, because you renamed your new document in step b.
9. On the File menu, click Close to close your new Word document.
10. On the File menu, click Open and open the new Word document that you just saved.
11. On the File menu, click Print.
12. In the Print dialog box, click OK.
If you can print your new document, you have resolved the problem with your damaged document. Delete the old Word document that was caused the printing problem, and work with the new Word document.

-or-
Copy and paste your entire Word document into a new Word file. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Press CTRL+END to go to the bottom of your Word document.
2. Press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to select the entire document and go to the top of your Word document.
3. On the Edit menu, click Copy.
4. On the File menu, click New.
5. On the General tab, click Blank Document, and then click OK.
6. In the new blank Word document, click Paste on the Edit menu.
7. On the File menu, click Print.
8. In the Print dialog box, click OK.
If you can print your new Word document, you have resolved the problem. Your old Word document is damaged. Save your new Word document and work with it. Then you can delete the damaged document.

-or-
Copy and paste sections of your Word document to a new file. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Select a portion of your Word document. If your document contains sections, do not select a section break.
2. On the Edit menu, click Copy.
3. On the File menu, click New.
4. On the General tab, click Blank Document, and then click OK.
5. In the new blank Word document, click Paste.
6. On the File menu, click Print.
7. In the Print dialog box, click OK.
If you can print your new Word document, you have determined that your existing Word document is damaged. Repeat these steps with the next portions of your damaged document, and copy them into your new Word document. You may want to copy a portion at a time and print your new Word document after you paste each portion. This ensures that you do not copy a damaged portion to your new Word file.

IMPORTANT: Do not copy and paste any section breaks into your new Word document, because this may copy the problem into your new Word document.

After you have all the portions of the damaged document copied to your new Word document, save it as a Word document with a new file name. When you can print your new Word document, you may want to delete your old damaged Word document.

If these steps still do not allow you to print your Word document, proceed to the "What Are Some Other Things That I Can Try?" section of this article.

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What Are Some Other Things That I Can Try?

You have reached this section because you cannot print any document from Microsoft Word. You can try the following items to correct this problem.

Damaged Printer Driver

Printing problems in Microsoft Word can be caused by a damaged printer driver. If this is the case, delete and reinstall your printer driver. To do this, follow these steps:

Quit all Windows applications.

On the Windows Start menu, point to Settings and click Printers.

Right-click your installed default printer, and then click Delete on the shortcut menu that appears.

Click Yes to the following message:

Are you sure you want to delete the printer printername?

where printername is the name of your installed default printer.

You may also receive an additional message when you delete your printer driver. Click Yes to the following message:

Some files were used only for this printer and are no longer needed. Would you like to delete these files now?

After Windows has removed your installed default printer and its associated files, re-install the printer. To do this, do one of the following:

In the Printers dialog box (on the Windows Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Printers), double-click Add Printer and follow the Add Printer Wizard to reinstall your Windows printer driver.

-or-

Use the disk provided by your printer manufacturer, and install it according to the installation instructions. For more information about how to install the printer driver provided with your printer, please contact your printer manufacturer.

After you reinstall your printer driver, restart Windows. Then start Microsoft Word and try to print your Word document. If you can print your Word document, you have resolved the problem. If you continue experiencing problems printing from Microsoft Word, try other suggestions listed in this article.

Damaged Word Data Key

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT or Windows 2000, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

Printing problems in Microsoft Word can be caused by a damaged Word Data key in the Windows registry. If this is the case, you need to delete the Data key. When you restart Microsoft Word, Word recreates the Word Data key automatically.

IMPORTANT: After you delete the Word Data key, some settings in Microsoft Word are reset to their default settings.

To delete the Word Data key in the Windows registry, follow these steps:

Quit all Windows applications.
On the Windows Start menu, click Run.
In the Open box, type Regedit and click OK.
Open the following registry key:
Under the Word key, click the Data subkey.
On the Edit menu, click Delete.
Click Yes to the following message:
On the Registry menu, click Exit.

After you delete the Word Data key, restart Microsoft Word and try to print your Word document. If you can print your document, you have resolved the problem.

For additional information about what happens when you delete the Word Data key, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q211793 WD2000: How to Reset User Options and Registry Settings

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Additional Troubleshooting Resources

For additional information about troubleshooting steps that may help you solve printing problems, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q128345 Troubleshooting Printing Problems in Windows 95/98

Q163551 Troubleshooting Printing Problems in Windows NT 4.0

Q211634 WD2000: Troubleshooting Damaged Documents

Q236319 WD2000: Part 1: Troubleshooting Invalid Page Faults (IPFs) and Exception Errors

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Microsoft Support Options

If you cannot resolve this issue, several support options are available to assist you.

Quickly Find Answers Yourself Online

Use Microsoft Online Support to search the Microsoft Knowledge Base and other technical resources for fast, accurate answers. You can also customize the site to control your search.

To begin your search, browse to the following Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/

Microsoft Product Support

Contact a Microsoft Product Support professional to assist you with troubleshooting problems.

For more information about obtaining help with troubleshooting Microsoft Windows, click Help Topics on the Help menu in Windows Explorer. On the Contents tab, double-click to open the Troubleshooting book. Then double-click to open the Contact Microsoft Technical Support book to view your support options.

For more information about obtaining help with troubleshooting Microsoft Word, click About Microsoft Word on the Help menu, and then click Tech Support.

For additional information about Microsoft support services, please click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q102344 Microsoft Product Support Options Q&A

Microsoft Solution Providers

Microsoft Solution Providers are independent organizations that have teamed with Microsoft to use technology to solve business problems for companies of all sizes and industries.

To locate a Microsoft Solution Provider in your area in the U.S. and Canada, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. If you are outside the United States, contact your local subsidiary. To locate your subsidiary, see the Microsoft World Wide Offices Web site at:

http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/default.htm

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Additional query words:

Keywords : kbdta wd2000
Issue type : kbinfo
Technology : kbWordSearch kbWord2000Search kbWord2000 kbZNotKeyword2