Can't print anything with IE7
I can't print any pages with IE7 either using the print button or the "print" function on the file menu.
This in NOT an outlook express problem! Nor does it have to do with "re-scaling". Nothing prints. Printer works fine offline and was working with IE6. I've tried everything I can think of via Windows, IE7 support, MSN.... Help me please!
Has anyone else had this problem and found a workaround?
cmc
All Replies
Hi,
I am having exactly the same problem and it is very frustration!!!

Have you managed to solve it yet yourself?
Sorry I haven't got the "magic" answer!!??!!
Cheers
PG
Same problem here on Vista Ultimate. I think I used to have it but the ability to print has disappeared. I have searched MS KnowledgeBase, Googled it and tried everything. I'm at a loss. Can anybody help?
sgross@imagica-la.com
- I can't either...so frustrating...hope someone figures it out... have you gone to printers homepage for downloads..I found one for my HP but didn't help...
We are having the same problem - would like to know if anyone gets this problem resolved.
Thanks!
- Having the same problem also - can print test page from printer setup but nothing from IE7.
- To further clarify my problems...
I can print from the Mozilla and K-Meleon browsers just fine as well as every other Windows application...just IE7 is frustrating me.
I also get real flaky results in IE7 when I have 'Protected Mode' enabled in the Tools/Security options. The top of the IE window doesn't refresh and it is as slow as molasses. I absolutely have to have Protected Mode disabled to use IE at all.
I found some references in Google to using "sfc /SCANNOW" from the START/Run command line but it won't work on my Vista system. The sfc utility apparently looks at all of your Windows files and repairs them if they have become corrupted. You guys might try it and see if helps you. - I am using Windows Vista and found this to be a problem. I disabled protected mode and now it works fine.
- I had to wipe my hard disk and re-install Vista and now it works. I know that's not much help for you guys as that is a drastic measure that is costing me hours to reinstall and set everything back up again. Good luck.
- it really works, you disable protected mode and restart your IE 7 in windows vista and it works!
If you run as administrator it will rull just fine. You will aslo find a problem with RSS feeds if you're not running as administrator
Run as administrator: right-click on shortcur, but not the one in strat menu pinned section
After intalling printer utils & driver, protected mode stopped working.
Therefore, I went to Internet Options -> Advanced -> Reset.
Which disabled the printer plugins into IE7.
On the other hand, as suggested by Tony, I could run as Admin.
But what's the point? Might I not as well disable protected mode?
What's the difference between running as Admin and disabling protected mode?
Hi Pam,
I had to do the same thing on my wifes computer. It worked with the "Protected Mode On" until yesterday and now I had to turn it off to print. I don't know why or what effect been off has on the security of the computer.
Thanks
Mr Big
- I have just been running with Protected Mode 'off'. It makes no sense to me and I wish Microsoft would address this issue and call it a bug and fix it or tell us what we are doing wrong. Arrggghhhhhh!!
- Having the same problem here. I can print as a xps file and then open that in ie7 and print, but i can't just print a normal page in ie7
Have you moved your 'favorites' folder ?
It seems that when you move this folder to a new location the folder 'C:\Users\%Username%\AppData\Local\Temp\Low' is no more created
Try on of the following workaround:
a) move the 'favorites' folder back to its default location
b) Manually create the folder C:\Users\%Username%\AppData\Local\Temp\Low. The change integrity level to allow IE7 to write to this folder in protected mode. Execute the following command: icacls C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Temp\Low /setintegritylevel (OI)(CI)low
I think there is a bug with the 'favorites' redirection
Please let me know if this worked for you !
- Proposed As Answer byDennisch Lefeber Tuesday, January 06, 2009 11:11 AM
If you have changed the location of your Favorite folder in Vista to other then it's default location it will loose the ability to print and also to save to Favorites. Before changing the location be sure that you:
"When you create a new folder on a different drive, make sure you right click on the folder, go to the properties dialog, choose the Security tab and give yourself Full control. If you do not have full control, you will not be able to print from IE7 or add new favorites and will encounter an ‘unspecified error’"
- I also cannot print from within IE7 running on Vista unless I start IE7 with "Run as Administrator". I get no error messages and there's nothing in the print queue. Do many have this same problem? If so, why hasn't it been addressed by now? I haven't moved my Favorites, but I did copy the items from my XP machine over to the Vista machine. I have no problems adding new favorites.
- Well for some reason print works again. I really don't know what i did, but it works again. I didn't change any settings and stuff like that. It just works again

Can you check if there is a subfolder named 'low' in your temp folder? If not :
Manually create the folder C:\Users\%Username%\AppData\Local\Temp\Low. The change integrity level to allow IE7 to write to this folder in protected mode. Execute the following command: icacls C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Temp\Low /setintegritylevel (OI)(CI)low
- I have the subfolder 'low'. I then executed the icals command with my username and it executed successfully. However, I still cannot print from within IE unless I start IE7 with "run as adminstrator".
LMichel wrote: Can you check if there is a subfolder named 'low' in your temp folder? If not :
Manually create the folder C:\Users\%Username%\AppData\Local\Temp\Low. The change integrity level to allow IE7 to write to this folder in protected mode. Execute the following command: icacls C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Temp\Low /setintegritylevel (OI)(CI)low
You guys are missing the issue. The issue is that you don't have access to c:\temp\low. Instead of compromising your systems and disabling protected mode like everyone is suggesting, just to to C:\temp\low (or whatever folder your getting the error for) and grant authenticated users to modify to that directory.
Rick- Man, what a pain! I get a message "action restricted. Contact your system administrator" whenever I try to print anything from IE7. I have tried everything (enabling and disabling "protected mode", UAC user access control, starting IE7 as administrator, checked permissions on the "templow" folder), but no joy. I am really tired of cutting and pasting content into Word so I can print. This is the only place I can find after scouring the web where anybody else even admits there is a problem. Has anybody got any other ideas?
Has anyone solved this yet?
I have the exact same problem printing from IE7 in Protected mode. I did a clean install of Vista Ultimate and pluged in my printer and Windows recognized it and installed the driver. I can print every place else in Vista, but not in IE7 in protected mode.
I don't have a problem with the 'low' directory. In fact, when printing from IE7 in protected mode, the 'low' directory fills with data and when 'ok' is selected in the print dialog, 'low' emptys and a file appears briefly in the print queue, but nothing gets printed.
This problem is driving me nuts. I hope MS gets off their duffs and fixes this soon.
Ron
Hello ladycmac and everyone else having this problem,
I was having the same problem tonight with IE7 refusing to print anything. As ladycmac said, IE7 wouldn't even open a print dialog or print preview. I quickly figured out what was causing my problem, and hopefully the solution I found can help some of you too.
For some reason I wanted to play with the 'Content Advisor' feature the other day, and so I turned it on. This feature has some very strange effects that I didn't find helpful at all and was meaning to turn it off, but then forgot to. Anway, today I tried to print and I couldn't! I was stumped for about two seconds and then wondered it the Content Advisor might be blocking the print functions for some reason. To test my hypothesis I went to
Internet Options >> Content
and proceeded to 'Disable' the Content Advisor. Low and behold my trusty Print dialog and Print Preview worked again. So, go ahead and give it a whirl, perhaps disabeling the Content Advisor could be the fix you've been looking for.
Regards
AVG 8.0 prevented me from printing in IE7. I uninstalled it and got another AV program and have not had any problems printing in IE7 since.
My problem turned out to be a dll file in BitDefender antivirus that was incompatable with Vista. The latest version of BitDefender does not have the problem.
This worked for me: in IE7 Tools, Internet Options, Advanced, under Security clear the checkbox for "Do not save encrypted pages to disk".
Jim
My problem was solved when I uninstalled AVG 8,0 and used AVAST Home instead
Thomas
I fixed it with just the opposite, enabling "Do not save encrypted..."
Nice...
PamBalogh wrote: I am using Windows Vista and found this to be a problem. I disabled protected mode and now it works fine. Thanks This was exactly my problem
PamBalogh wrote: I am using Windows Vista and found this to be a problem. I disabled protected mode and now it works fine. Thanks This was exactly my problem
Thanks you helped me a lot with this
- I am having the same problem: Unable to print anything from IE7. The "open as administrator" did work for me. However, is there a more permanent fix? Or is it necessary to open IE as "administrator" every time I want to use it? Any advice is appreciated.
- I have tired what you said to do and I cant get it to reconize that there is a folder in there that is named low and then when I run your script it doesnt run and wont fix anything... So please provide more incite to this issue.
Thank you, - Thank you! That did the trick.
- I find it interesting that after more then 2 years people are still having this problem. Since none of the responses were any help to me I never replied. Most seemed to have the problem with Vista but my system is XP. I solved it the old fashion way, I un-installed IE7, waited untill they worked out most of the bugs, then re-downloaded it.
If this thread has been helpful to anyone it has served it's purpose even if IE7 still has bugs in the system. - How do you disable protected mode? Wasn't sure what you meant. I'm not real computer "savvy".

