Windows 2000 Professional Prompts for Server CD-ROM When You Add Printer Drivers for Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 95/98

When you try to install printer driver support for Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Microsoft Windows 95, or Microsoft Windows 98 on the Sharing tab in the Printer Properties dialog box, Windows 2000 Professional may prompt you for the Microsoft Windows 2000 Server CD-ROM.

Printer drivers for Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 95/Windows 98 are included on the Windows 2000 Server CD-ROM in the Printers\NT4 and Printers\Win9x folders. These files are not included on the Windows 2000 Professional CD-ROM.

If you have a Windows 2000 Server CD-ROM, place it in the drive. If Microsoft released a driver for your printer by the time Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition or Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 5 was released, the driver is on the Windows 2000 Server CD-ROM. Windows 2000 Professional will locate and install the driver.

If you do not have a Windows 2000 Server CD-ROM, you can install driver support for Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 98 by using the following steps.

Windows 98

1. Install the Microsoft-supplied printer driver on a Windows 98-based computer as though the printer were installed on LPT1 on that computer. Then, share the C:\Windows folder on the network.
2. After you instruct your Windows 2000 Professional-based computer to add additional drivers for Windows 98, you are prompted for the Windows 2000 Server CD-ROM. Browse to the Inf folder on the Windows 98-based computer. For example, if you shared the C:\Windows folder as "Windows" in step 1, browse to the \\Computername\Windows\Inf folder.
3. After Windows 2000 checks the Msprint.inf file in the Inf folder, it prompts you again for the files it needs. Browse to the System folder on the Windows 98-based computer. (For example, browse to the \\Computername\Windows\System folder.)

Windows NT 4.0

1. Install the Microsoft-supplied printer driver on a Windows NT 4.0-based computer as though the printer were installed on LPT1 on that computer.
2. Log on to the Windows NT 4.0-based computer as a user who has permissions to install printers on the Windows 2000-based computer. Click Start, click Run, and then type the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) name for the Printers folder on the Windows 2000-based computer. For example, use \\Windows2000ComputerName\Printers. This displays the Printers folder on the remote computer.
3. Right-click the printer for which you want to add Windows NT 4.0 drivers, and then click Sharing.
4. In the Windows NT 4.0 Additional Drivers box near the bottom of the Sharing tab, click Windows NT 4.0 x86, and then click OK. This copies the drivers from the Windows NT 4.0-based computer to the Windows 2000 Professional-based computer.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

These steps do not work with many third-party drivers. Make sure to use the Microsoft-supplied drivers on your Windows 98, Windows NT, or Windows NT Service Pack CD-ROM.