Printers/Faxes Folder won't open from CP

I recently replaced my mb, but before I determined that it was faulty, I uninstalled my HP all-in-one printer software and re-installed. During the install process, I was instructed to plug the printer into the USB, but the USB ports weren't working. So I followed the instructions to "plug the printer in later."

After installing the new MB, I notice that if I try to access Printers and Faxes or Portable Media Devices from CP, CP shuts down, I'm redirected to the desktop, and I lose about half the icons from the systray.

If I go to Windows Explorer and select CP from there, however, I can click on the Printers and Faxes folder and see the properties, etc. The problem seems to only be there when I try to access that folder via Start/Control Panel.

I've run System Mechanic and Systemworks, and I've completely uninstalled all my HP printer software (currently the only installed 'printer' is my PDF995 print driver), but nothing seems to help - any ideas? Thanks,
steve

 

Do you have any issues within Device Manager, pertaining to USB?
Does USB work?
What is CP?

 

No, everything in Device Manager appears to be ok. And USB is working fine, and the printer was working fine, except for the problem trying to open the Printers and Faxes folder in CP (Control Panel) - I've now un-installed the printer software (trying to fix the problem with CP) although that didn't fix the problem.

Thanks for looking at this -
steve

 

Hmm- maybe search the computer for *.cpl.

Double click the CPL that sounds like printer and faxes, see if it opens.

Also, if you are using windows XP, try it from a different user account!

Try it in safe mode (restart, tap F8, use arrow keys to select "safe mode", hit enter twice.)

Best of luck, please let us know if any of this makes a difference!

 

OK, it'll take me a little time to try all that stuff, but I'll report back tomorrow night - thanks very much!

 

OK, here's what I found: I looked for a .cpl file for printers/faxes and found nothing (I double-clicked each of them to see what they did).

Then I signed on as 'guest' and received the same results.

Started up in Safe Mode, virtually the same results, except that clicking the Printers/Fax doesn't shut down CP, but if I use the 'back' button, nothing happens when I click the Printer/Faxes folder a second time.

The behavior is maybe a little different than I initially thought: the first time I click Printers/Faxes, the folder is opened, but if I use the "back" button to get back to CP, and then click the Printers/Faxes folder CP shuts down, I go to the desktop and lose most of my icons in the systray. This behavior seems very similar to a problem I had with Win/2k, where Windows Explorer would shut down frequently - I'd lose most of my systray icons.

Another thing that seems strange, Printers/Faxes isn't the only folder in CP that's having problems - I also have problems with Admin Tools, Fonts, Network Connections, Scanners and Cameras and Scheduled Tasks. The odd thing is that all of these open in an Explorer-like window, while the folders that work ok (Phone/Modem, Mouse, etc) open in a new window popup. I also notice that the folders with which I'm having difficulty respond with a "click" sound (that's the sound associated with Internet Explorer). All of these 'explorer-like' folders will open the first time, but if I use the BACK button to go back to CP and click them again, either CP goes down and I lose the systray icons, or nothing happens at all.

Don't know how all this is somehow related, but the problem is repeatable -

Thanks very much for your help - let me know what I should try (btw, this is a fairly recent clean install of XP/SP2 - about two months old.