How to add a 32 bit printer on the driver on a 64 bit 2008 server

Had a very difficult morning today while trying to install a 32 bit printer driver on a 64 bit server we recently deployed.

Spent couple of hours trying to find information on various search engines. Some suggested loading the ntprint.inf from a 32 bit Windows Vista (I did not have any 32 bit Vista on my network) while others asked me to try rundll32 printui.dll... or using imageX from Microsoft to load the install.wim file. Tried all possible resolution plan, NONE WORKED!

The client had a specific requirement of PCL6 drivers and the server would just not accept the driver provided.

It kept popping the error "please provide the path to windows media (x86 processor)". The server was actually looking for the ntprint.inf file for 32 bit processor.

One of my colleague suggested that we install the generic driver as the issue could be with a specific 32 bit driver.

We downloaded the generic driver and when I extracted, we found that there was a folder with the x86 ntprint.inf file.

So, I went to devices and printers

Clicked on one of the printer and then clicked 'Print Server Properties' from the menu bar.

Clicked the 'Drivers' tab and then 'Add'.

The wizard opened and I selected x86, clicked 'Next

Clicked the 'Have Disk' button, browsed to the location where I had the original 32 bit driver for the printer, selected the driver and clicked 'OK'.

The wizard came up with the error and asked for the path to the Windows Media.

This time, I browsed to the location where I had extracted the generic drivers and selected the file ntprint.inf.

The installation succeeded! I hope this article helps anyone who has the same issue.