Windows 7 reinstallation problem

Question

Hello experts; I’m currently facing a problem with a computer, it runs on Windows 7 and has a lot of programs installed (for a pharmacy), I cannot lose these programs because I can’t reinstall them (time and money consuming: about tow days of working and around 260 US dollars), but the Windows needs to be reinstalled (format), I tried SFC, DISM, tools… but no good.

The problem is when installing some printers (Smart POS58 USB thermal printers for labels) I always got an error (3190), I contacted the printers manufacture and they gave me the original drivers but no good. I tried the printers in a different PC with Windows 7 and works just fine.

I wish there is a way to solve my problem without losing the installed programs, knowing that the computer is working fine, and SFC gave no problems (DISM didn’t work error 87).

Answer 1

The following advice is based on guesses, although I have a reasonable amount of experience with resolving printer issues on Windows 7. If this is not the only thermal receipt printer you must use, perhaps purchasing a different printer, from a better-known manufacturer such as Epson, might be the solution. It will cost more initially, but you'll probably get better support.

The error message appears to be generated by the printer driver installation package rather than Windows, so I don't know what problem it is referring to.

If you have never installed this printer or other printers from the same manufacturer, perhaps attempting the installation from a "clean boot" configuration will work.

1. Click Start, type msconfig in the Search box, and press Enter
2. On the "General" tab, select "Selective startup"
3. Clear the box next to "Load startup items"
4. Select the "Services" tab
5. Check the box at the bottom left to "Hide all Microsoft services"
6. Click "Disable all"
7. Click "OK"
8. Click "Restart"

Attempt to install the printer following the manufacturer's instructions.

Whether you succeed of not, when you are done, open msconfig again, select "Normal startup" on the "General" tab, click OK, and then restart.

If you HAVE previously installed, or partially installed, this printer or other thermal receipt printers, one possible solution is to clean out your printing system. There are several methods for doing this. The following is the basic and simplest method.

A. Clean out any stuck print jobs --

• Open an Elevated Command Prompt: Click Start, type Command Prompt in the Search window, right-click the link for Command Prompt, and select "Run as administrator." Respond as needed to the UAC prompt
• Type the following in the black Command Prompt window and press Enter after each line

                           net stop spooler
                           del /Q "%windir%\system32\spool\PRINTERS\*.*"
                           net start spooler
                           exit

B. Clean out the corrupt printer driver

• Uninstall printer-related software, if any, from Control Panel > Programs and Features
• Open an Elevated Command Prompt (see above)
• Type the following in the black Command Prompt window and press Enter
      
          printui /s /t2
          exit

Be sure to remove the driver AND the package.

C. Reinstall printer using freshly-downloaded software package.

There is a more involved method that essentially restores the Windows printing subsystem to the state it was in when Windows was freshly installed, but I doubt this would be necessary in the situation you've described or effective in solving your problem.

Answer 2

There is no reason you cannot re-install Windows 7. MS stopped providing further security updates, but you can still get the ones up to that date. As long as you maintain good antivirus software and are cautious, you can continue to use Win7 along with about the remaining 100,000,000 users.

Answer 3

Thank you very much for all the answers:

First, I cannot use the newer version of Windows because the programs used are designed for only Windows 7 (as many cases in my country).

The complete text of the actual error message is: Cannot install driver error: 3019; with two buttons (Retry and cancel)

The manufacturer simply said: try to install the drivers from the provided .exe file in this email

The result of running sfc /scannow were: Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations

Why does Windows needs formatted: I don't know! I just think so! maybe?

Why can't I reinstall the programs: the programs are installed from a government institution (in Algeria) and they make us wait for days to do their job, and after all we have to pay, and we can't close the pharmacy for that long.

There are only 4 programs with a space of 1.2 GB, they are available on the internet for free, but they need a password to login (VPN code). (And no, they won't give me the codes).

Answer 4

The DISM error probably is because Windows 7 doesn't support the DISM command you attempted to use (most of the advice on the Internet about using DISM doesn't apply to Windows 7).

What is the complete text of the actual error message you get when attempting to install the printer? Did you ask the printer manufacturer what the error means? If so, what was the response?

What was the result of running sfc /scannow ?

Why does "Windows needs to be reinstalled (format)"?

Why can't you reinstall the programs you need? Is it because you don't have the necessary installers?

Under some circumstances, you can do a "repair install" of Windows 7 that will (should) leave installed programs intact. See https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html?ltr=R

Note that a repair install may or may not fix your current issue. If you need to download a Windows 7 ISO file, use the "Windows ISO Download Tool" here: https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/technology-science/microsoft/67-microsoft-windows-and-office-iso-download-tool Get the "August 2018" version.

Answer 5

Well as a start win7 went out of support Jan 2020 and as of that date no updates of any type.

You dont need to re-install you need a new PC with an up-to-date win version