Ie11 Print/print Preview Broken After Installing 3rd Party App

I also posted this at Ten Forums but in retrospect I think there is probably more in-depth knowledge on this site. So here goes:

Internet Explorer 11 will not print and just shows an empty print preview page. (Edge works/prints fine).

However in this case I know what caused the issue but not how to resolve it. This issue CANNOT be repaired by the commonly offered 3 or 4 step Microsoft tips that are all over other the MS forums and elsewhere (disable protected mode, Low folder permissions, etc, etc,)

Here is the complete story: New laptop HP Z Book 17 with factory installed Windows 10 Pro. All worked great when first run. No issues. I installed Office 2010, Quicken, AutoCAD, Chrome ........ etc. All worked fine.
Then I installed a specialist program, 'Helvar Workshop' - which is a lighting control application that I need for my work and originally written for XP.
After installing the Workshop program it worked fine but I was no longer able to print or preview in IE11. Chrome prints, no problem. This is not a new issue to me as it also broke the same functions with IE10 and 11 running on Windows 7. I only ever 'resolved the problem then by doing a system restore in Windows 7 and ultimately installing an XP VM to run 'Workshop'. In that configuration it did NOT break the print functions in XP's IE 6 or 7.

Having experienced the problem again on the new Z Book I went to System Restore and discovered that HP had supplied the machine without activating System Restore! Yes, I should have verified it was active before installing any apps ........ but seriously HP - wtf!?!?! (Let's not derail the thread on the benefits/loss of System Restore - that train already departed and is not at the root of my issue).

I could now just reinstall Windows 10 (I REALLY don't want to have to do this) and then setup HyperV with XP to run 'Workshop' but that is a messy solution. However at this point I am keen to try to understand and repair the problem caused by installing 'Workshop' in Windows 10 and potentially have both this program and IE11 fully functional in Windows 10.

If anyone would be willing to pitch some advice I'd be very grateful. I'm ready and willing to post relative screen shots of the registry or other info that could be useful. I have limited knowledge of registry architecture but I'm assuming the installation of Workshop has overwritten something relating to IE's print functions. Fortunately I also have a 'spare' laptop with a fresh copy of Windows 10 installed so I'm not too concerned about playing in the registry as it's not too much hassle to reinstall the OS on this machine if things get out of hand.

btw: 'Helvar Workshop' is a free download from the lighting system manufacturer's website but I didn't want to put the link on here at the moment due to the problems it's installation can cause. If you do want to take a look at it, Googling 'Helvar + Workshop' will be the first hit. It's actually a really small program.

Thanks for reading and in advance thanks for any advice.

Andy

 

The System File Checker tool will hopefully repair Internet Explorer.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929833#/en-us/kb/929833

 

Thanks Eldon,
Unfortunately SFC doesn't find the problem. I had previously tried SFC as one of the Microsoft suggested repairs but after your suggestion I ran it again. I then manually deleted all the abandoned 'Helvar' (Workshop) keys in the registry, rebooted and ran SFC again but it reports 100% OK. I always think of registry cleaners as a bit of a scam but I'm wondering if I should run CCleaner.
I know for sure the problem is not related to a specific hardware build as I have reproduced the problem on an HP Envy 14, HP zd8000, HP Z Book 17 .......... ok I know what you're thinking ......... and a MacMini running Windows 10 in Bootcamp
Any other suggestions are welcome.
Andy

 

When SFC fails to fix Windows 10, you can use the DISM command.
http://www.howtogeek.com/222532/how...-system-files-with-the-sfc-and-dism-commands/
Then run SFC again.

If this again fails, I suggest you do a repair of Windows.
https://neosmart.net/wiki/windows-10-repair-installation/

FYI CCleaner's registry cleaner is useless.

 

Well, DISM and re-running SFC still didn't fix the IE 11 print problem so I ended up running the repair option from the Windows install disc (as per https://neosmart.net/wiki/windows-10-repair-installation/). I didn't realize that this type of repair was even possible with Windows 10 so that was a useful lesson. Thank you for pointing to this solution as I was thinking a full format and Win 10 reinstall was headed my way.
I ran the DISM, SFC and Windows repair on my spare laptop (HP DV7 - btw: replace HP zd8000 listed above with DV7 - my error). I'm now reasonably confident that I can at least return my Z Book 17 IE11 installation to full functionality with the repair procedure above.

So now I know:
Installing 'Workshop' breaks IE11 print functions,
File repair utilities can't identify/fix the issue,
Windows 10 is repairable/replaceable (great feature - takes a long while but seems solid)
The problem is not hardware related (e.g. video card or driver, printer or driver)

Now I want to install 'Workshop' on the DV7 again but this time log the changes to the registry during installation to attempt to identify the conflict. This machine is going to get a Window 10 fresh install when this problem is resolved so I'm not too worried about breaking the OS.
I found this: http://betanews.com/2015/11/18/how-to-monitor-registry-changes/
If anyone knows a better option to compare registry changes please contribute.

Again, thanks for your input and yes I figured registry cleaners were a waste of time!

Andy

 

Just logging the changes to the registry isn't going to be of much help.
Rather use an uninstaller like Revo Uninstaller Pro to install the program and then, if there's any problem, you can fully uninstall the program. It will be like the program was never installed. And Revo will log all the changes for you to review.
The 30-day trial is fully functional.
http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_uninstaller_free_download.html

 

Eldon,
OK, good call I will look at the results with Revo uninstaller. If that doesn't identify the problem I was going to give the following experiment a shot:
1. Install 'Workshop' in a clean Windows 10 environment,
2. Verify that IE 11 print functions are then broken as expected,
3. Run the Windows 10 Repair option from the installation DVD and let it try to fix IE11,
4.Check to see if 'Workshop' still runs or is now broken,
5. Check to see if IE11's print functions are broken.

Any predictions?

 

You have already verified this. Twice.

I can't find any documentation for Helvar Workshop.
I suggest you contact Helvar. You can also link to this thread.

 

Yup, first principle of any fault-finding process - check, check and check again. OK now I am satisfied it's REALLY broke.
The documentation for the programme is actually very extensive insofar as explaining use of the software in programming Helvar's processors. It does not cover installation of the program and only references a generic WindowsXP platform requirement. The reason you can't find anything is because the entire documentation is included in the old Windows Help format within the software.

From Microsoft: Windows Help (WinHlp32.exe) is a Help program that has been included with Microsoft Windows versions starting with the Microsoft Windows 3.1 operating system. However, the Windows Help program has not had a major update for many releases and no longer meets Microsoft's standards. Therefore, starting with the release of Windows Vista, the Windows Help program will not ship as a feature of Windows. If you want to view 32-bit .hlp files, you must download and install the program (WinHlp32.exe) from the Microsoft Download Center

i.e. the Help format is now unsupported. Therefore when installed on Windows 7 & 10 (also presumably on Vista) the Workshop software is basically functional but the help pages are not available. That is not a major problem for me as I know the functionality of the program inside out. I'm actually going to test WinHlp32.exe and Workshop in Win10 (with System Restore active!). Ironically I suspect the broken print function is possibly related to the 'help' files that Workshop tries to install.

I suggest you contact Helvar. .........Yes, that occurred to me also ......... but it occurred to me about 8 years ago and the issue was not addressed by Helvar then. This was most likely a commercial decision as the specific hardware supported by Workshop was no longer being produced. The next generation hardware and the replacement software for Workshop were fully Win7 compatible but not backward compatible. What nobody cared about was the fact that there was (still is) a large installed base of systems in the field that contain the original hardware that can only be setup / modified / maintained with the Workshop software. I am seeing this kind of forced redundancy with so much commercial (and consumer) technology and I work hard at finding solutions for clients who are not ready to update, in the full knowledge that I will likely win their business when THEY are ready to upgrade.

To a point, the XP VM option in Win7 was an 'OK' workaround which I relied on for several years. Now in Win10 I'm trying to find a neater solution although VirtualBox running XP is getting closer to being the actual winner.

OK, well I didn't really find the info I was hoping the forum might provide but thanks for the Win10 repair tip which at least gets me out of trouble/saves time while experimenting .
I'll carry on my search ......

 

With regards to the old Windows hlp files... Microsoft has released WinHlp32.exe for Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, but not 10.
Have a look at Solution 1 over here.
http://appuals.com/how-to-read-hlp-files-in-windows-10/

This is what I would do. Helvar Workshop will be isolated from Windows 10 and the hlp files can be read.