Windows DEP

[Kaos Kid]

I need to troubleshoot a problem my brother is having. I just upgraded him to an HP DC7700 desktop and after he got it home he installed two printers--one HP brand printer and one Canon Fax/Phone L80 laser printer. The HP works fine printing both off the desktop and off the web (latest IE explorer) but the canon will only print docs off of his computer, if he tries to print anything off the web then it appears that DEP blocks it. And in addition he tried to print a .pdf that was on his computer and from his description it appears that DEP is closing Abobe Reader as well. His DEP settings are for "essential windows services only" but for some reason won't play nice with the canon printer. I can't figure out why, since his old computer didn't have that problem (an old Dell GX240). When I installed WinXP Pro sp3 I did go ahead and make an administrator password (which I don't usually do) but his personal account is a "computer administrator" that is not password protected and nothing is asking for any kind of password anyway so I don't know why DEP is being picky towards only the Canon printer. Any ideas?

[kenc51]

By default it's only enabled for system binaries.
Have you tried to add and exception for the printer?
It could also be that the printer driver is old and doesn't support the nx bit.
Have you tried to check for updated drivers?

What happens if you disable DEP all together?

[Kaos Kid]

So far we have just been trying stuff over the phone. I don't see a setting for disabling DEP all together, only for turning it on for ALL services and then having to add exceptions for everything, which I had tried to avoid since he isn't tech savvy (He's 65, lol so every time he tries to do something that is blocked he will end up calling me and I will have to walk him through it constantly, lol). If there is a way to disable it all together I will be glad to give that a try. I do have Comodo Internet Security Suite and Malwarebytes Pro installed so I doubt I really need DEP anyway.

Here are the specs for the system if that will help

HP DC7700 (no TPM drivers installed)
E4400 @ 2.66Ghz/1066fsb using BSEL mod
1.5 GB DDR2 (2x512MB & 2x256MB PC-5300 in dual channel configuration)

It has been baffling because of the bugs' bias towards only the Canon printer, and the fact that it worked in his old computer using the same drivers and WinXP Pro sp3. Unfortunately the Canon is his preferred printer so I have to find a way to fix this.

I do remember him saying that his HP was easily recognized using the printers and faxes hardware wizard, while with the Canon I had him just put in the driver disk (no added software that I can tell).

Hmm, one thing that is different about the printers is that the HP is connected to a LPT printer port with the pinned plug, while the Canon is USB connected. Could that make a difference? Of course they were connected that way in the old computer also so the question remains what is different about the older computer's compatibility since all the other factors remain the same?

[kenc51]

How they are connected shouldn't matter, the usb one just has extra software (hid library files) along with the driver files.

Disabling DEP involves editting the boot.ini file so it reads

Code: Select all

/noexecute=AlwaysOff

Case sensitive!

Instructions are here
http://www.zensoftware.co.uk/kb/article.aspx?id=10002


Advise him not to be installing random software as DEP is important.
It prevents "buffer overflows" and other tricks used to run code in memory belonging to other processes. While av software can prevent this, it only works with known malware.
Windows finally also has some protection called "ASLR" which makes it difficult for malware to get in.

DEP also helps prevent system crashes caused by poorly coded software.


Ken

[Kaos Kid]

I don't think he does a lot of random software installing intentionally, but he does surf a lot and I have had to de-virus him on occasion. I'm wondering now if totally disabling DEP would do more harm than good in the long run. I may have to bite the bullet and just have him enable DEP for all services, then have him add exceptions as needed. PITA for sure, but less a PITA than having to de-virus him or even do complete wipes/reinstalls, as I have had to do in the past. When he gets back with me to continue our testing, I'll have him try some of the suggestions listed and we'll go from there. Thanks for the helpful input!

[Kaos Kid]

Update:

I have solved half of the problem. By going into

IE explorer > Internet Options > Advanced

I unticked the setting "Enable memory protection to help mitigate online attacks" and now he can print from his CenturyTel (local DSL provider) emails as well as print from a normal website (in this case the VA website). However, he still can't print from .pdfs in Adobe Reader X, it comes up with the usual error stating for security reasons blah blah blah and makes it close. I had him uninstall, reboot, then reinstall Abobe Reader X to no avail. We also tried changing the DEP settings to "enable for all programs" and then tick the box for Adobe Reader X as an exception, again to no avail. Once again, the .pdf prints to his HP printer, just not to the Canon printer. Still baffled as to why it worked in his old Dell but not the newer HP DC7700.

[kenc51]

I'm sorry Kaos Kid,

I'm out of ideas.

Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the problematic printer?

Ken