Cannot print to printer errors after upgrading to QuickBooks 2012/13

Legacy KB ID: 4502

Question

I have updated to QuickBooks 2012/13, and now when I try to Save As PDF or email I get an error that QuickBooks cannot print to printer

Answer

When you upgrade to QuickBooks 2012/13 a new version of the QuickBooks V303 PDF Converter is installed.  It is set to the default printer port LPT1.

In computer environments where there are other printers and processes that utilize LPT1, QuickBooks may not be able to create a PDF document due to conflicts with other processes.  You may get errors like:

·         Error Code -20 Printer not Activated

·         Printer Not Activated error code - 20 or – 40;

·         Could not print to printer;

·         Activation error -41.

Creating a separate port for the QuickBooks V303 PDF Converter will resolve this conflict

 

Detailed Instructions

 

1.    Make sure that you are logged in to Windows with administrator rights. Check with your network administrator to see if you have administrator rights.  Ensure that QuickBooks is closed.

Windows Home Edition users must carry out these steps logged onto the PC as the Built-in Administrator.  To Log in as the Built-In Administrator:

a.    Click on Start > All Programs > Accessories;

b.    right click Command Prompt and left click Run as administrator;

c.    to turn on the built-in administrator, type: 

[When you have completed all actions, turn off the built-in administrator by typing:  ]

 

2.    Windows 7 & Vista must turn UAC on:

1.    Click on Start > Control Panel > User Accounts > Change User Account Control Settings;

a.    Windows 7 – slide the bar to Always notify;

b.   

3.    Delete the QuickBooks printer files – QBprint.qbp and wpr.ini:

§  Windows 7 & Vista:  C:\Program Data\Intuit\QuickBooks 2012-13\

If you cannot see C:\Program Data then it is hidden.  To unhide it click on Organize > Folder and Search Options > View > and in the Advanced Settings box, under Hidden files and folders, click on the radio button Show hidden files, folders and drives.

§  Windows XP:  C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\    Intuit\QuickBooks 2012-13\

4.    Click the Windows Start button and choose Control Panel.

·         Windows 7:  Under Hardware and Sound, click View Devices and Printers.

·         Windows Vista:  Under Hardware and Sound, click Printer.

·         Windows XP: Double-click Printers and Faxes.

right-click the QuickBooks v303 PDF Converter and choose Printer Properties.

5.    Click the Ports tab and you will see that LPT1 is ticked and QuickBooks V303 PDF converter assigned.

6.    Check whether a NUL port exists and if a process is assigned to it.

If you have Outlook 2007 and later NUL should be assigned to Send to One Note Printer.  This setting must remain.

7.    Create a NUL port by clicking on Add Port> highlight Local Port > New Port > and enter a name like NUL or NUL2 > OK > Close > Apply;

Quickbooks V303 PDF converter will now appear in the ticked NUL field.

8.   Click the Advanced tab.

9.   Select Spool print documents so program finishes printing faster.

10.  Clear the checkbox labelled Enable advanced printing features.

11.  Select Print directly to printer.

12.  Click the Driver drop-down arrow and select Amyuni Document Converter               300.

13.  Click Apply and then click OK.

14.  Right-click the Windows taskbar and choose Task Manager.

15.  Click the Processes tab.

16.  Select splWOW64.exe and click the End Process button.

§  Windows 7 and Windows Vista: Click End Process in the warning window.

§  Windows XP: Click Yes in the warning window.

17.  Close all applications and restart the computer.

QuickBooks should now Save as PDF and email properly.

 

If problems continue then reset the Windows default printer settings

1.    Start > type regedit in the Search field and select regedit.exe from the list;

2.    Backup the Registry by

    1. Windows 7 & Vista: Start button > type regedit into the search box > Enter;
    2.  Windows XP: Start button > Run > type regedt32 > Enter;

 If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

    1. On the top menu line, click on File >Export
    2. Select a location to save the file and in the File Name box enter a name;
    3. In the Export Range section, click on All;
    4. Click Save.

3.    Go to HKey_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows\ (if the Windows key doesn't exist, create a new key).

4.    Export this key to the desktop (for safety reasons)

5.    Then check for the Device string value (create it if it is not there)

Also you may have to give the user account full control over the Device key to make this change

6.    Give it the value: winspool,Ne00 (if there is anything else there, change it to this value.)

7.    Press OK to save that value.  Close the Registry.

8.    In Devices & Printers you will now notice there is no default printer set.  Set your preferred printer as the default printer.

9.    Open QuickBooks and email an invoice.  The printer window will no longer come up (if it does or if you get a different error like error -41 go back follow KB ID 4546 again).

 



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