Unfortunately, I can't be overly specific here, but hopefully y'all can give me a few directions to go here. The background: My uncle's computer was having problems out the ying-yang. Last night I showed up at around 5 to try to help some and didn't leave until 3am and it still wasn't fixed. To list everything that we tried/did would take forever, the simplest thing to say is that we went in 100 different directions (including finding spyware and viruses here and there) and everything we got to work only brought up another problem. Normally I'd say just format the thing and give up, because it could be a lost cause, but it's a business computer and I'm stubborn and don't like to admit defeat. In any case, the latest problem is with the printers. When trying to install a printer from the Printers window the error reads something about not having the resources. (again, it was 3am, I'm sorry I can't be more specific) When trying through Add/Remove Hardware I got an "RPC server is not available" error. I searched Google all over the place and found a lot of angles, but most pointed to making sure the RPC service was running.. and it was. (Although there was a 2nd RPC service that wasn't, could that have been the problem?) Also, a lot of them brought up a problem with spoolss.dll or spoolss.exe being missing or corrupt. There was no spoolss.exe and I have yet to see if I can find it on his Dell disk. I checked his 2 workgroup computers to possibly just steal spoolss.exe off one of those and give it a shot, but neither of them had it, which makes me wonder if it's even neccesary? Also, we ran a system "repair" off his Dell disk 2 or 3 times and it did nothing. Reinstalled Service Pack 4 a few times, again nothing. All I'm looking for are a few possible directions to head. It may be asking a lot, but I'm a bit desperate. Thanks in advance for any help..

You are asking alot. No one here can even venture a guess as to what your problems might be. The printer issue of not having resources may be memory leak issue that should be cured with a reboot, or could be a privilige issue. Were you in the administrator account when doing all the things you did? What is the status of the machine now? Is windows running? Can you access your network? If the answers to those questions is yes, I suggest you share everything on the computer then map the drive from another machine in the LAN. Copy all critical files to another location. Then format and start over. Is there a firewall in place for this network?

I understand I was asking a lot.. The computer was rebooted numerous times throughout the night. Yes, I was in the administrator account. When I left the system last night, everything appeared to be working correctly (including being able to get online, network working, etc) except for the printer problem. I have no idea if there's a firewall or not. I know there isn't a software firewall in place. Personally, I think the thing is a lemon, with all that we did and all that was did in the past. He's on the verge of just starting from scratch or getting a new computer, and I don't necessarily disagree with him. Posting here was really just a last gasp before any major undertakings.

If the machine is running then you most likely have software issues. This being the case reinstalling all software should solve the problems. You need to read your documentation to find the proper procedure to do a clean restor to the drive. Include a format at that time if allowed. If this computer is of any age at all you will need to apply service packs and critical updates after the initial restore. I am not a fan of Dell but you haven't convicnced me the problem lies with them. I would say to you that any machine should be regularly backed up. In the case of a business machine this goes double. Once this computer is finally running correctly I suggest creating an image to CDR or DVDR using Ghost software. That way the next time something decides to go south you can simply replace the data on the drive with the burned image. The only data that wouldn't be restored would be any data written to the disk after the image was created. DVD recording drives are cheap enough that there is no excuse not to have one. Buying a new computer won't guarantee a repeat of the current situation. Buy a dual format DVD burner and Ghost 2003 or newer. Ghost can be purchased separately of as part of Norton Systemworks PROFESSIONAL (not standard). Besure to read the box for details. Finally, the restore process is, IMO a pain. If you feel that way you could simply abandon the restore option and purchase Win2000 or WinXP. WinXP probably would be able to install most, if not all, of the necessary drivers for this machine. Can't be sure, as I am going strickly by the OS you currently have (Win2000).

As information you've given us, I think your problem is Print spool service Drivers. Have you ever tried to reinstall windows without formatting your pc. It will delete all system files and reinstall again without deleting any of your personal files and programs. Umm take a backup before reinstalling, in case... That should solve your problem...