Solved Reinstall Microsoft Print to PDF?

Thank you for considering my panic!

I regularly use MS Print to PDF, it gives me a much more suitable output than either Adobe PDF (It doesn't help that i am beginning to develop a hatred for Adobe constantly resurrecting their updater and reinstalling their program into components of Office 365).

This morning i ran into a big problem - MS print to PDF was generating 0 bit files. Correct name, just nothing there. So i started searching and tried the first idea of unchecking it from the Windows Features, then checking it again to make Windows load all the files, except it would not - it errored before it could complete the process. And so i followed another one that instructed to remove all the drivers from the pdf properties and subsequently run a few commands to bring it back. Nope. Then i worked through the material found at another site, but that didn't bring back Microsoft Print to PDF either (though i was successful at all steps).

If i have to do a full re installation of Windows i can live with that, but it is a HUGE PITA. Is it not possible to download a set of files from MS that would "reconstruct" this "printer"?

Thank you VERY much for considering my problem!

brucemc777 said:

tried the first idea of unchecking it from the Windows Features, then checking it again to make Windows load all the files, except it would not - it errored before it could complete the process.....

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As your first idea failed with an error it suggests that your Windows may need repairing.
Open Terminal as admin (press WinKey+X and select from the menu). Type these two commands:

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
SFC /ScanNow

Then try adding Print to PDF in Windows Features again.

brucemc777 said:

....If i have to do a full re installation of Windows i can live with that, but it is a HUGE PITA....

Click to expand...

If that doesn't fix it, then an in-place repair install can reinstall Windows while keeping all your installed apps and files.

As an alternative, try PDF24 Creator - it is much more sophisticated & FREE

may i ask have you tried removing Microsoft print to PDF.

please browse to ..
settings > system > optional features > more Windows features
you can remove print to PDF on this menu, restart, then re-install print to PDF.

best of luck, Steve ..

@XxXxXx: Unfortunately too many times yesterday! I wish that worked but something just is possessed in my computer. Perhaps from Halloween? No, mu computer regularly acts possessed...
@IanMosely: Funny, i recently downloaded PDF24 and am checking it out-
@Bree: You have helped me out enough times before that i well recognize your name; thank you my friend! In that multiple DSIM SFC runs were also made yesterday, i will follow the in-place restoration with a prayer!

Thank you, EVERYONE, for coming to my aid. This is a great community!

You might try this PDF-printer as well:
Free for non-commercial use.

That is the PDF-printer I did choose to use long ago, after having tried PDF24 and many others as well.

Hello Bruce,

In addition, you should also still be able to use an option in the tutorial below to restore "Microsoft Print to PDF" in Windows 11.

@Kees: Thank you, i suspect i will be giving it a try sooner than later!

@Brink: Another "old friend" that has bailed me out on multiple occasions! Many thanks for all the help you have given others and i over the years!
Unfortunately i honestly tried every one of those Enable options yesterday, and very likely more than once, though there might be a difference now-

After doing the "In place upgrade" i now have the correct port available to which one is to install Microsoft Print to PDF. Only problem is that "Microsoft Print to PDF" neither shows up in the Microsoft printers when i look through them, nor does it show up when i select Update, wait a good five minutes, then go through that listing. One interesting thing i noticed was that in the Microsoft Printers prior to trying the ones pulled over from the update, i have a number of regedit keys listed in apparent sequence. These are likely from running the routines that required me to try to make changes via elevated privileges (including a couple mistakes) from WinHelpOnline where it was necessary to run the commands from a local system account.

Unless someone see an obvious flaw in my thinking and catches me before i do something stoopid, i intend to next try the Control Panel Options & Features method including Off and On if need be, and then if no success, those outlined as referenced by Brink. Seems to me a safe way to go.

Trying to exhaust all options before nuking the OS, wish this was late on a Friday on a three-day weekend, but then, i wish i could win that Powerball lottery thing without playing it also...

Hallelujah

Though not on initially, this time turning it off and then back on actually worked (instead of erroring out).

Many THANKS to everyone!!!

So ends another day and a half of arguing with my computer...

Great news.

IanMosley said:

As an alternative, try PDF24 Creator - it is much more sophisticated & FREE

Click to expand...

Thanks for this, I installed it but the PDF Editing does not seem to allow editing of a PDF which works fine with pdfgear, Nitro Pro, Wondershare PDFElements.

Just FYI: Microsoft addresses this issue by saying "Instead of Print to PDF, select Print > Save as PDF. This allows inclusion of headers & footers (ie, source URL)."

I had a similar issue and had to do a repair install to fix it.

I removed the print to pdf and could not find a way to get it back! A quick Google came up with this easy solution.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...-printer/a473357b-8a8f-44fe-ba3a-9680b6bdfa79