[voxstellarum]

I just purchased and installed a Canon Pixma MX700 All-In-One Printer. I've been able to get the printer to install and print, but the printer drivers are causing some kind of software conflict with my computer. After installing the drivers, the icons on my task bar (microphone, drawing pad, speech tools) begin to blink on and off. When I open my email (which is in Outlook Express), all the listings are flickering. When I open Microsoft Word, the hourglass is going on and off! When I deinstall the drivers, this problem disappears.

I emailed Canon, they suggested running Disk Cleanup, Disk Check, and Disk Defrag, all of which I did. They had me go into msconfig and disable all the services and startup programs and then install the drivers again. I did that, but the problem returned, even with all the services and startup programs disabled.

I contacted Canon again, and they suggested changing the size of my virtual memory - adding to it. I did that as well, but that also did not help. Has anyone got another suggestion? I'm getting desperate!

(I have Windows XP, Media Center Edition, Version 2002, with Service Pack 2 on a Dell Inspiron 6000. I also have Windows Live One Care installed on this computer. When I initially installed the Canon drivers, I turned off Windows Live One Care, but that didn't seem to make a difference.)

[VladTheImpaler1990]

Have you tried downloading the most up to date drivers for your computer?

[voxstellarum]

Vlad - I did go into Device Manager and checked to see if there were any errors with any devices. There was nothing. I right-clicked on the Canon driver, clicked on properties, and checked for the most recent driver, but the one that I have is the most current. Can you suggest any other device I should check on?

[voxstellarum]

An update for anyone reading this: I still have not been able to resolve this problem. To capsulate - I've installed a Canon Pixma MX700 printer. I can get the printer to install and print, but the printer drivers are causing what I think to be a software conflict with my computer. After installing the drivers, various programs will flicker and blink. When I open Microsoft Word, the hourglass goes on and off. When I open Outlook Express to check my email, the list of email is flickering. In Internet Explorer, the docked bookmarks will flicker. When I open Microsoft Excel, items on the tool bar will be flickering. So the "problem" is showing up in various programs.

Via Canon's suggestions, I've run Check Disk, Disk Defrag, Disk Cleanup, installed the drivers while all the systems and startup programs were disabled via msconfig...none of this has helped. I've gone into Device Manager to look for any errors, but nothing is showing. I've checked to see if the Canon printer drivers are the very latest - they are.

It was suggested, because of the flickering, that it might be a power problem, but I have inspected the power cord and USB cable - as far as I can tell, they are fine. I've switched outlets, switched USB ports...that has not corrected the problem. And the problem remains, even when the printer is turned off and the USB cable unplugged, so I truly don't think it can be a power problem.

I'm back to thinking it must be a software conflict, but I've simply run out of ideas how to determine what the Canon drivers are conflicting with!! Has anyone got any suggestions????

[lilxkid24]

Did you install the software from the disk that came with your computer? Maybe try uninstalling it, then unplug the printer, replug it see if window autodects the hardware, then let it install without using disk or anything.

[voxstellarum]

lilxkid24 - that was a good idea. I had installed the printer drivers from a CD that came with the printer, so I uninstalled them, unplugged the printer, and then replugged the printer and USB cable and let the computer see if it could find drivers on its own...unfortunately, it could not. Then I decided to try going to the Canon website and downloading drivers direct from the site (in case the drivers were corrupt on the CD I had). I did that and installed them....but the problem returned!!!!!

Here is some further information: at the suggestion of someone, I went into Device Manager and disabled all my USB ports, to see if there was a conflict or problem with them. That didn't seem to help. I also checked to see if my USB drivers needed updating...they didn't.

I then got to thinking about when I ran Check Disk on my computer. Originally I tried to do it while the drivers were installed, had difficulty, uninstalled the drivers, and then ran Check Disk (and all the other things, like Disk Defrag, Disk Cleanup, etc.) that Canon suggested. I got to thinking about that again and decided to try running Check Disk again with the drivers installed. I ran into the same problem. It goes through Phase Two, then gives me an error dialog box which says that it cannot complete the operation. When the drivers are not installed, I run Check Disk and have absolutely no problem going through the whole cycle. (Just in case I'm not being clear on this, I'm referring to right-clicking on C: drive, clicking "Properties," choosing "Tools," clicking the "Check Now" button under the "Error Checking Status" section, and then choosing "Scan for and Attempt Recovery of Bad Sectors.") So with the Canon drives installed, I can't get past phase two of this process. I'm sure this is significant, but can anybody tell me what it means??

[mphenterprises]

Hi VoxStellarum. Okay, I have been following this Discussion for some time. To cover all of your bases, I would advise you to completely uninstall everything associated with this printer and start over. You have already done some of the things I am going to suggest; however, I would like you to try the steps in the following order to see if the problem can be resolved. Here are some detailed steps:

- Click on Start -> Printer and Faxes -> Right Click on the Canon printer and delete the printer

- Go to C:Program Files and verify that the Canon folder is gone (Easy way is to Right Click within the Program Files folder and select Arrange Icon by... and choose Modified )

- Go to the Device Manager and verify that the drivers for the printer were deleted. If not, delete them.

- Right Click on the C: Drive and select Properties. Select the Tools tab and under the Error-Checking section, select Check Now... (You should be prompted to schedule a check once the computer restarts.)

- Restart the computer

- If the Error Check does not complete, there may be a fault in the drive itself. If the Error Check does complete, your computer will restart as normal.

- Go back to the C: Driver and select Properties Select the Tools tab; however, under the Defragmentation section, select Defragment Now...

- Once the process is complete, restart your computer

- Once the computer has restarted, put the Canon CD in the CD drive and install the drivers as you initially did. Do Not Connect the Printer Until Instructed to Do So by the Installation Process.

- Once prompted, connect the printer and complete the installation. Print a Test Page to Confirm Everything is Working



Please post any error messages or hurdles you face during this process.

[voxstellarum]

mphenterprises - thanks for the suggestions! I just finished going through the steps you outlined...I wish I could say that the problem has been corrected, but I'm afraid that pesky little thing is still here!! Each step went according to how you outlined, except when I did the Disk Check (4th item), my computer did not prompt me to restart. I was able to get a complete Disk Check done, since the drivers at this point had all been deleted from my computer. I continued with your items, doing the defrag., and did restart my computer after that.

I did not run into anything else unusual until after I'd reinstalled the drivers from the Canon CD...right at the end of the process, I got an error message dialog box labeled "DW20.EXE - Application Error" and the box read, "The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000142). Click on OK to terminate the application." That is the first time I've run into that!

The installation ended, but appeared to have completed. I was able to print a test page, so that worked fine, but the whole time I was typing a test sheet in Microsoft Word to print out, the hourglass was going on and off, so my goofy little problem is back.

Any suggestions what to try next?

[mphenterprises]

Okay, this may be a s t r e t c h but let's see if we cannot resolve this situation. I did a search for "DW20.EXE - Application Error" and the only thing that came up was a reference to Office 2003.

- Do you have Office 2003 installed in your computer?

Next, I did a search for the error code you provided, 0xc0000142, according to this forum, this error code means "DLL initialization failed." There was a reference to go to this Microsoft Knowledge Base article. As a note, this KB prompts you to access and change the registry. Be very careful when accessing the registry. I would advise you to either backup the registry or, at the very least, create a System Restore point.

[voxstellarum]

mphenterprises - yes, I do have Microsoft Office 2003 (Word, Excel, Outlook)! And though other programs do seem affected by this "glitch," it is Word that seems the most affected by it.

Bear with me - I've begun going through the process you suggested. I went through Method #1 - reregistering the Windows Installer, so now I'm going back to your previous instructions and going through them all again (deleting the Canon drivers, running the Disk Check, etc., then reinstalling the drivers...I've been trying to do all this in-between cooking supper!). I'll let you know if reregistering the Windows Installer made any difference. If not, I'll head on to Method #2...reinstalling the Windows Installer and see if that makes any difference.

[voxstellarum]

Well, I'm afraid we struck out, at least with Method #1...I did that (reregistered the Windows Installer) and then went through your list of suggestions once again, but I'm afraid that while I did not get any error messages or dialog boxes of any kind, I also didn't get the problem fixed. Once the Canon drivers were on my computer, so was the problem! Pesky thing!!!

Do you think I should still do Method #2 (reinstalling the Windows Install), or is that even necessary, since I'm now not getting that error message?

sigh Let me get your opinion on something...do you think it's possible this problem is inherent with this particular printer and driver? I've been told to return the printer and exchange it for another one. But I hate to go through all that if the problem is really an incompatibility between the Canon driver and something on my computer...another printer wouldn't make a difference, if that is the case. If it truly is a software conflict, I'm just going to run into the same problem with the printer I exchange this one for.

[mphenterprises]

Let me answer your second question first. No, I do not suggest returning the printer, not just yet anyway. The printer works fine. There is just some type of issue between the drivers and, apparently, Office 2003.

To answer your first question. It would not hurt to try Method #2. However, it appears that this may not resolve your issue. But again, it would not hurt.

At worst, you can try Method #2 after you try this....this is even more of a stretch than my last suggestion. Since the error message you received was, at least indirectly, related to Office 2003, let's see what happens if you completely uninstall Office 2003, installed the drivers, connect the printer, and then reinstall Office 2003. If that does not do it, well, I would say Method #2 would be your next option.

[voxstellarum]

Whoa........I think I better tackle this after a good night's sleep! I'll dig in and attempt it tomorrow. I have the day off, so have already decided to commit the day to trying to get this problem cleared up, if possible. So I'll uninstall Office 2003, then install the Canon drivers (I'm assuming you want me to use the same procedure you had me use originally when first installing the drivers...the multi-step one where I do a Disk Check?). then reinstall Office 2003. I'll let you know the results of that.



Thank you for sticking with me through all of this - I realize it is taking up a ridiculous amount of time!! I appreciate the help.

[mphenterprises]

:D With pleasure. I can definitely appreciate how frustrating this may be but a solution will present itself.

No, you do not have to run the checks again. Your drive is fine. If you successfully install the drivers, without incident, I would advise you to reinstall Office 2003 within Safe Mode. If you are not sure how to get into Safe Mode, follow the steps laid out within this Document.

[voxstellarum]

mphenterprises - good day to you! Well, I uninstalled the Canon drivers, then uninstalled my Microsoft Office 2003 Basic...restarted my computer, and reinstalled the drivers. As I'm typing this, I'm watching my bookmarks flickering off to the left where they are docked!! So it would seem that the conflict is not with Office. I sure thought that was a strong possibility, though...since this problem seemed to act up most in Word, not only causing the hourglass to go on and off, but to make the program itself a bit sluggish. But now it would seem the conflict is with something else.



So where do we go from here? Oh, do you know what is the reason that I can run Disk Check completely when the Canon drivers are not installed, but can't get past phase 2 when they are? I'm assuming it is all right to go ahead and reinstall Microsoft Office...? Since it would appear to not be the conflict (at least I think it does!), is it safe to reinstall it in normal mode?



The continuing saga of the "crazy glitch"...continues!!

[mphenterprises]

voxstellarum said:

Well, I uninstalled the Canon drivers, then uninstalled my Microsoft Office 2003 Basic...restarted my computer, and reinstalled the drivers. As I'm typing > this, I'm watching my bookmarks flickering off to the left where they are docked!! So it would seem that the conflict is not with Office. I sure thought
that was a strong possibility, though...since this problem seemed to act up most in Word, not only causing the hourglass to go on and off, but to make
the program itself a bit sluggish. But now it would seem the conflict is with something else....I'm assuming it is all right to go ahead and reinstall
Microsoft Office...? Since it would appear to not be the conflict (at least I think it does!), is it safe to reinstall it in normal mode?

I just realized something, and my apologizes for not catching this earlier. The bookmarks to which you refer are the browser bookmarks, correct? What browser are you using and what version? I am not sure if this has any bearing on your situation or not but we are coming down to the wire on this one.

Yes, I would also assume that the problem is not directly related to Office so it should be safe to reinstall within Normal Mode. Even though chances are not looking good, there is still Method #2 from the Knowledge Base article.

I am just going to throw this out there and see what sticks. Do you use, or have you used, any Norton (Symantec) product on this computer?

voxstellarum said:

>

Quote

Oh, do you know what is the reason that I can run Disk Check completely when the Canon drivers are not installed, but can't get past phase 2 when they > are?

>
>


That is a very good question to which I do not have an answer. I believe I know why I normally get the schedule upon restart message and you did not. According to the Microsoft Knowledge Base Article:

Note If one or more of the files on the hard disk are open, you will receive the following message:
Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)

So, here is what we can try. I strongly believe this error check should be done during restart. Open Word, or any application at all. Make sure that the drivers are installed, and then try to run an Error Check. This time, you should be prompted to schedule a scan. Schedule the scan and then restart the computer. During the scanning process, please take note of each Phase title. Post the title of Phase two and whether or not you were able to complete the scan.




I know there is a lot of information here but I think we are coming down to the last options, besides taking the printer back for a replacement.

[voxstellarum]

mphenterprises - sorry for the delay in reply. I'm using Internet Explorer, Version 7.0.5.


I have never used Norton on this laptop. It came with McAfee, but when I went to Windows Live One Care, I had to download some software that "helped clean out" the McAfee files that persisted in remaining when I used Add/Remove.

I will reinstall Word and then proceed with running Disk Check in the manner you indicated. We'll see what happens! I'll keep you posted.

[voxstellarum]

Well, I reinstalled Microsoft Office 2003, then opened a blank document, minimized it, and did a disk check, but it did not give me a dialog box asking to schedule a scan at startup - it simply started right into the scan (just to be clear, I'm talking about right-clicking C: drive, click "Properties," choose "Tools," click the "Check Now" button under the "Error Checking Status" section, and then checking the "Scan for and Attempt Recovery of Bad Sectors" option). When I've done this before with the Canon drivers installed, it's never gotten past phase 2. This time (low and behold!!!), it actually completed!!! I'm sorry, I didn't catch the title for the phase 3 dialog box, but phase 4 was titled ""Checking Disk Local Disk (C;)"


But even though this time it made it through the disk check, I still have the problem. I did notice that phase 4 took a r e a l l y long time to work through. Made me think there was a problem in that phase.

So, do you think I should do Method #2, reinstalling the Windows Installer, or is there another path I should head down??

[mphenterprises]

voxstellarum said:

I did notice that phase 4 took a r e a l l y long time to work through. Made me think there was a problem in that phase.

Hi VoxStellarum. Okay, normally, phases four and five take the longest to complete, the larger the hard drive (and more files on the drive), the longer each of those phases will take. So the fact that phase 4 took a long time is actually a good thing.

I have to admit, I am at a complete loss on this one. The last thing that I can think of is to try Method #2 and see if that works for you. We have pretty much troubleshooted this issue from every angle. Unless you are partial to Canon printer, exchanging the printer is now becoming a more realistic option.

[voxstellarum]

mphenterprises - I apologize for taking so long to get back to you on this - I've been tied up several evenings and unable to finish all my "last resort options" on my printer! I finally did that this afternoon. Let me recap: I did Method #2 - no go. I even tried another USB cable...a last, desperate measure before caving in and returning the printer...I've never had to give up on a computer problem before - I've always gotten them solved with presistence. But this one....!!

Anyway, the changed USB cable was also a no go. It was from an HP Photosmart 7760 printer that I have hooked up to a desktop computer we have in another part of the house. I decided, since I was going to return the Canon printer, I'd temporarily hook up the HP printer to my laptop until I could do some research on other "all-in-one" printers. So I disconnected the Canon, connected up the HP, installed the software...........and here is where this whole thing turns into a real loony tune........my problem returned! What the heck is going on here??? My goofy computer won't let me hook up and install printers?? Of course, that can't be, but it certainly seems like it at this point.

I thought you might be intrigued by this latest wacky development. I was all set to send the printer back tomorrow...now I'm not sure what to do!