From: Brian on 12/06/2003
Same problem here with an Epson Stylus Photo 2200. It failed to print from PhotoShop, Word and Notepad, and it gave a Rundll32 error when I tried to Print Test Page. It made the same thing happen to my formerly functional Epson Stylus Photo 825 and it rendered my Nikon LS-IV 35mm scanner and HP Scanjet 6300 invisible to my Dell Inspiron 5000 computer running Windows 98 SE.Epson told me, "It is strongly suggested that you consult your computer vendor for a permanent resolution."
I did find one solution to the problem: Uninstall and reinstall the Windows 98 SE operating system and then reinstall the printer and other peripheral device drivers.
Windows 98 SE was last installed on my Inspiron 5000 over two years ago. After installing three Epson printers and one Hewlett Packard printer and several other peripherals over that time, the installation of the Epson 2200 drivers appears to have triggered some conflict within the Windows registry that prevented the operation of my Epson printers and disabled the scanners.
So, find that old Windows 98 installation disk and make a Windows 98 boot floppy.
Copy the WIN98 folder from the Windows 98 installation disk to your hard drive.
Dig out every program disk you ever installed and find the key codes.
Copy all the files (including system and hidden files) in the root folder (c:\) to a newly created backup folder.
If you are anal retentive, zip the root folder files into an archive and write it to a different disk for good measure. Do the same thing with your Windows folder and Program Files folder.
Boot up into DOS with CD-ROM support.
Rename the windows folder. I used oldwindo. DOS command: ren c:\windows oldwindo
Delete every file in the root folder. DOS command: del c:\*.*
Kinda scary, huh?
If things go really bad, you can replace the root folder files from that backup folder that you made earlier and rename the old windows directory to get back where you started.
Copy Setup.exe from the Windows 98 installation CD to the root folder.
Run the Windows setup. DOS command: c:\Setup
Good luck.
Now you have to install the printer and all your old programs.
Attach the printer to the computer. Turn on the printer and the computer.
When the Add New Hardware gets to the part about the USB 2.0 printer or USB Device, hit cancel. Do not use the default Windows installation wizard.
Once booted up into the fresh installation of Windows 98, put the Epson 2200 installation disk into the CD-drive. It should autorun the printer drivers installation. If not, run setup.exe on the CD.
In my case, that eliminated the Rundll32 error and the printer works fine.
Have fun reinstalling all those other programs and customizing your windows setup again. And now you'll need to go get all the recent security patches and updates from the Microsoft web site. I hope you have broadband internet access.
