I've been trying to install a HP all in one printer, only to be defeated after many attempts by an error message saying "RPC Server Unavailable" Does anyone have any idea what I need to do in order to install the printer once and for all? By the way, the printer works fine on two other PCs here so I know that the problem is definitely based on this computer in question. Thanks in advance.
It's connected direct by a USB cable. I followed instructions as stated in the manual i.e. Install software before inserting USB cable etc.. Windows seems to detect the device, however I get message on my bottom right saying my printer/hardware may not work correctly. Infact within the Control Panel/printers folder there is no printer listed even after installing as much as I can before this RPC Server Unavailable message pops up!
have you used any 3rd party Blaster patching software on this system? these things disable the RPC server (which is a really hamfisted way of going about things, especially since microsoft have long patched the vulnerability)
I'm not sure about using any software that would have disabled the RPC server, but anyway I finally sorted out the problem by using the Windows XP disc and doing a Dynamic Install. Then by installing from the beginning the printer disc and it worked. Obviously some files were missing from my system. Thanks for your help and advice!
I've run into this a few times, usually with people who've tweaked their services list using BlackViper or similar, then afterwards tried installing a printer. The usual fix is to make sure the service Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is actually started & set to auto.
I did check out the RPC Server in Services to find that it was already set to Auto and started. At the time that didn't work either, though as you said Hack'n'Slash quite a few people asked me to check that out so it must be fairly common.
