Printer: Problem with COMDLG.DLL

I had to do a system recovery. I had to reinstall the printer. Test pages print OK.
Now whenever I try to print, every program I print from be it Netscape, Wordpad, etc, I get the following error:

*Wordpad* has caused an error in COMDLG.DLL. Wordpad will now close.

I used wordpad as an example...it happens with everything I try to print from.

Can anybody shed some light on this?

TIA

 

COMMDLG.DLL???

 

That's what the error said....COMDLG.DLL...

 

Do a find for COMDLG.DLL. If nothing, then try COMMDLG.DLL. Let us know which you find, and where its at. It's possible it's just corrupted. What operating system? What printer brand/model?

 

It is COMMDLG>DLL and it is C/Windows/ System

Windows ME

HP Deskjet 3650

I tried to call HP printer support but gave up after 2 hours and 15 minutes on hold with nobody ever answering except to say that a technician would be with me* soon*...two and a half hours with no answer is NOT *soon*
HP support is non-existant!.

 

Given this comment (from your other thread):

I'd suggest that check (on the manufacturer's site) to see whether there's a updated driver available for your printer.

 

It is only 5 months old and is installed from a CD, it worked fine for 5 months but is useless now...the CD contains the drivers.
And it is impossible to get any anawers about anything at all from HP. I know because I have tried for 14 straight hours and wound up with nothing more than a massive migraine.

I finally received a response from *support* that was pretty useless as he had only a very minimal acquaintance with the English language. He really had no idea of what to do.

 

Take a gander at this site and see whether there's a newer driver than that which you have installed from the CD. If there is, grab it!

 

Brett...you greatly overestimate my degree of proficiency. I am old as dirt and twice as dumb.

I went where you sent me and have no idea what to do there. There wasn't any driver there...and if there was I would have had no idea if it different from the one on the CD. And if I grabbed it. I would have no idea of what to do with it, because I can't put it on the CD to replace the one that is already there.

The printer is still under warranty and tomorrow I will take it back to Staples and tell them to either fix it or replace it.

Thanks for trying to help...

 

OK. What model is the printer?

I don't think that the problem is due to a physical problem with the printer - it's more likely to be a problem with the printer software (AKA the driver).

 

Deskjet 3650

Isn't this a Windows system file, not just a HP file? I would try extracting the file from your Win98 CD.

 

Yankee1620 you can download the software and drivers for the HP 3650 from Here

Click on the appropriate OS (Windows Me) to go to the driver/software download for ME.

You can also have HP check your system for current drivers by clicking on the "» Click here to have HP automatically check to see if you need an update." line on the same page.

 

Aleekat...There is no Windows CD, just an OEM Recovery CD.You can't get individual files off of that kind of disk.

John...The drivers are on the installation CD for the printer. I can't take them off and put others on...there is no way to do something like that. The CD has to be used to install the printer.

If I downloaded a driver I would have no idea of what to do with it, as the istall has to be done from the CD, which already has the driver on it, and there is no other way to install it.

HP occasionally has drivers for things like the modem, but I never get them because they never give any information of what to do with them. They don't say whether it will install automatically on top of the other one or what to do with it ...all they say is *download*.I can get into enough trouble already without fooling around with something I know nothing about. LOL..they have BIOS updates and driver updates going back three years but I never touch them...

I come from the sliderule era, you probably don't know what that is....but no matter how many mistakes you made with a sliderule, it never crashed and became inoperable...LOL!

I have wasted enough of your time and I thank all of you for your help! This website is the absolute best..I recommend it to everybody I know!!!

 

Most work like the ones on the CD, you run them. In most cases, you uninstall the old ones through Add/Remove, then run the downloaded file. Alternately, Winzip 8.1 can open some of these downloaded files so you can look into them.

Sometimes these Recovery CD's copies the Windows setup files to C:\Windows\Options\Cabs, so that you could have access to them.

P.S. I do know what a slide rule is, and remember a bit on how to use it.
Slide Rule Universe
Java Slide Rule works in your browser.

 

I have trouble with the terminology, What do you mean by run them?

There are no drivers at all in the Add/Remove. The only thing in the Add/Remove are Programs.

The drivers are on the Printer CD, and the Printer CD is used to install the printer. There is no way to put drivers on it, or to remove drivers from it. The driver that they want to be used is already on the install CD, so there is no point in downloading it and winding up with two of them.

The Recovery CD always puts its files in Options/cabs because you cannot use that CD if something tells you to insert the Windows CD.
You always have to use the cab files. But the Printer files are not on the recovery CD...they are on the Printer CD and they are not put into Windows cabs like the OS Recovery CD are.

 

If you were to double click on the downloaded file, it runs. Unless it is a self extracting file, then it would extract files to a folder.
The downloaded file could contain updated drivers. But never mind that until you replace the COMMDLG.DLL.

The file COMMDLG.DLL is a windows file, which can be replaced by using the System File Checker. Start\Run, type in SFC and press Enter. Then choose to "Extract one file from Installation Disk ", Browse to COMMDLG.DLL, or type in C:\Windows\System\COMMDLG.DLL in the white box, then click on Start. You will be prompted as to where to Extract the files from, this is when you Browse to C:\Windows\Options\Cabs and click OK. You will be prompted to save the old file, and maybe to create the folder C:\Windows\Helpdesk\Sfc, you want to do both. You should see the message that the file was extracted successfully.

If you still have problems printing, first unplug the USB connector for the printer. Then go to Start\Settings\Printers. You can get there through My Computer, also. Then Right click on the printer and select Delete. You should be prompted if you want to delete all the files associated with it, yes you do.
Reboot.
Then get out the printer cd as you know these are the correct ones and you do not like downloaded files, and install it again, the files may be corrupt and this way you can replace them. When done, plug in the USB connector, and you may be prompted to align the heads if everything went well.

 

This is Windows ME and does not have System File Checker...

 

Oops, I had forgotten that little detail, sorry about that. It does have the same process, but a round about way to do it.
http://www.2computerguys.com/systemfiles.html
Look at the above link, it has the step by step with screen shots.

 

Thanks, Mark...I will try that later today. I will most likely foul it up, but I am used to fouling things up. It will give me a chance to rant and pull my hair and frighten the cat. LOL!

BTW, do you run both ZoneAlarm and Kerio on your computer at the same time and with no conflicts? I have the download for both of them, but have not installed them yet.

I had never had trouble with spyware before but after uninstalling ZA I had 13 pieces of spyware found....I don't know if it was because of no firewall, but I never exchange files or click on any ads.

Thanks for the info about the file extraction.....

 

Thanks, Mark...
I exracted the file and the printer is now working!!

You would not believe the irrelevant garbage I received from HP's outsourced support about the printer! UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

THANKS AGAIN!!!!!