Solution to Error when adding 32-bit drivers to shared printer on Windows 2008 Server (64-bit)

Displayed Error Message 'ntprint.inf not found' when 'x86(32-bit)' Additional Drivers Are Added to Microsoft Server 2008 Driver Store

support.lexmark.com Document ID:SO5007

Problem

Ntprint.inf not found; Unable to install x86 32-bit drivers; Server 2008 x64 drivers will not install; Client drivers will not install; Cannot find driver files on disk; Cannot add x86 client workstation drivers; Not able to add driver in Point and Print environment

Environment

x64 Operating system; x86 clients; point and print

Solution

What you will see (September 2009)

You may observe an "ntprint.inf not found" error when trying to add additional x86 32-bit printer drivers to the Microsoft Windows Server 2008's driver store. 

Environment 

Operating System and function	Printing method	Affected Printers
MS™ Server 2008 x64 print server	Point and Print with x86 32-bit OS clients	All

Additional Identifiers

• -Additional 64-bit drivers install without hesitation.
• -The operating system prompts for the Windows disk; however, the path to the required file(s) cannot be located.

Suggested Remedy

1. Download the desired product-specific 64-bit Server 2008 driver from the Lexmark.com and install it on the 2008 server.
2. Download the matching product-specific 32-bit Vista driver from Lexmark website. IMPORTANT! Make sure the datastream (PCL, PS...) matches the driver you selected for the 64-bit driver, and then extract the file contents to a folder, but cancel out of the install dialog.
3. Download the Lexmark Universal driver v1.4 or Vista x86, either PCL or PS. IMPORTANT! Extract the contents to a folder, but cancel out of the install dialog.
4. Right-click the printer object in Server 2008 that you created in Step 1 and click Sharing.
5. Click on Additional driver, select x86, then click OK.
6. Locate the .INF file of the product-specific 32-bit Vista driver that you extracted in Step 2.
7. Click OK to start installation.
8. When it asks for the i386 folder, point to the i386 folder from the extracted contents of the Universal driver (in Step 3).
9. The installation should complete successfully from there.

NOTE: This workaround does not require the 'USE' or 'INSTALL' of the x86 Vista or universal printer driver (UPD) versions. This solution only downloads and unzips the x86 Vista or UPD driver files to fill necessary voids found in the product-specific driver.

Further Explanation

The following helps explain this issue:

• -In order to install a 32-bit alternate print driver on a Server 2008 x64 OS, certain 32-bit OS files must be packaged with the 32-bit driver.
• -The product-specific driver package contains such 32-bit OS files, but they are an older version that did not support Server 2008.
• -The x86 Vista and UPD 1.4 driver packages contain newer OS files that DO support Server 2008.
• -This workaround uses the UPD package just for those system files.