# Solved: HP PML Driver



## patful

I recently installed an HP printer, and hate all the bells, whistles, and background processes that were installed with it. I've eliminated all but one, HPZipm12.exe. Its only function from what I've read is to communicate ink levels, etc. I don't really want that one going either. In fact, when I return from hibernation, it's no longer running anyway, and I can't check on the ink levels. While I can start and stop the process from within Services in Administrative Tools, if I try to set it to manual or disable it, I get the message "Unable to open process Pml Driver HPZ12 for writing on Local Computer, Error 5: Access is denied". When I try to disable it through msconfig, it tells me I need to be an administrator to disable it. Problem: I am the administrator. I have no trouble changing anything else in Services. I downloaded the latest drivers from HP (30MB!), but am afraid they'll be worse than the ones I have, and would rather not tempt fate. The printer works fine. Anybody else have any luck disabling this process or any idea how I can? Thanks.
Pat
Athlon 64 2200 Ghz
512 MB DDR2
Windows XP Media Center


----------



## kniht

I have an HP PSC 2210v all-in-one, been using for over 2 years. You may want to go here to see what all the bells and whistles mean:

http://www.answersthatwork.com/

Click on the "Task List", go to "H" and look up HPZipm12.exe and all the other crap that comes with the printer. Great definitions of what each is all about and whether it is safe to disable.

I do know if HPZipm12 is not running, the HP Director may not recognize your printer, therefore you will not be able to scan by way or your computer.

I get the same error message you get when trying to switch the PML Driver to manual from automatic in Services. This only started when I downloaded and installed the PML security update just a few days ago. Has something to do with that update.

Also be sure if you have IE7 installed that you are able to open the HP Director. I had to uninstall IE7 to get the Director to work again. There is a workaround for this if you have IE7 installed and can be found here:

http://msmvps.com/blogs/spywaresucks/archive/2006/10/22/197647.aspx

I'll keep searching for an answer to the error message when trying to get the PML Driver Service to do what I want it to. If I find an answer, I'll let you know.


----------



## patful

Thanks for all the info. I really don't do a lot with my printer other than b&w text printing, so I bought the bottom-of-the-barrel D1320. It prints fine without HPZip12m running, I just can't look at ink levels or clean the print heads. Since HPZip never starts up again after I return from hibernation anyway, I figured I could just run the ink tray icon and HPZip manually when I wanted to perform these functions. I hate unnecessary background processes (reduced my new computer's from 44 to 22!), and this one just seemed to get under my skin. I'll skip installing HP's updated drivers unless I can no longer print. I have IE7 installed, but I always use Firefox, so I haven't had any trouble there. There is a "Log On" tab in Services that I haven't had the guts to play with. It says you can enable or disable the process for a given hardware profile. Not sure if that would do anything. Thanks for your help. Maybe someday this thread will be listed as "Solved"!


----------



## libit

I've recently bought a Photosmart and agree that all that software is incredibly messy and bloated. I really hope that HP will release an updated and stripped down version of the drivers, still supporting all the printer features (you can download the "enterprise" version of the drivers which is cleaner but doesn't support scan and fax).
Anyway, back to the topic here, I get the same errors you mentioned when I try to disable the horrible PML service (service for what?). But you can disable it from regedit:
set HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Pml Driver HPZ12\Start
to 3 for "manual" startup, or to 4 for "disabled".


----------



## kniht

libit said:


> I get the same errors you mentioned when I try to disable the horrible PML service (service for what?). But you can disable it from regedit:
> set HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Pml Driver HPZ12\Start
> to 3 for "manual" startup, or to 4 for "disabled".


*libit*

First of all, thanks for the infromation :up:

Secondly, I found out the only reason to even start the Pml Service is to be able to transfer a scan from the printer to the computer. I tried saving a scanned document in pdf format to the My Documents Directory without the Pml Service being started and got a message telling me the Pml Service was not started.

I now have the Pml Service set to manual so the only time it starts is when I am actually saving a scan. After the scan is saved, the Pml Service automatically returns to the stopped state.

Thought you might want to know what I discovered about the Pml Service.


----------



## patful

Thanks, libit and kniht. I never thought of checking the registry for Services. I set it to manual with no problems on startup. Yay! I then checked my ink levels and cleaned the print heads with no trouble whatsoever. I guess those functions are independent of the PML service. Of course, they still don't work on return from hibernation, but that's not a big deal. My cheapo printer doesn't have a scan function, so the PML service will never come into play. One note: as I was just looking at the security/advanced/owner settings for the printer, "administrators" was listed as the owner, not my name. Strange, since I've never used the administrator account. I just changed it over to my name, and I can probably change the PML service over to disabled through Services now. I'll check on next restart. Thanks again for all your help!
Pat


----------



## patful

Follow-up: after changing ownership to myself, I again tried disabling PML through Services. Surprise! It still wouldn't let me. I guess HP doesn't want anyone fooling around with their software. The registry is the only way to go. Thanks again libit and kniht.
Pat


----------



## nakrugt

having this problem so far, although it says I don't have the authorization to change the start-up settings I can change. This warning shows up only after you have installed an hp product and I hate it... so, just turn it off in msconfig>services and it goes away...

a bit late... but I have just come...


----------



## patful

Thanks for your reply. I never really figured out what HPZipm12.exe accomplished, I've never had any trouble with the printer or accessing the ink levels without it running. Even though the HP has worked better for me than competing brands' higher-end models, I still would never buy another because of all the clutter it created. Thanks again.


----------



## augie666

Hi, googling the mysterious behavior of my new HP-printer's driver i found this thread. A topic not mentioned in the thread is that the driver also makes external connect attempts. In my case it calls 192.221.106.126:80 and 8.12.211.126:80. Anyone knows why? Kind of strange place to check ink-level... or report it. Or, worse, is my computer now part of a HP-bot-net 
/Mike


----------



## MAUPAT

I experienced the same problem as augie666: My PC kept wanting to connect to 8.12.211.126. I'm using an HP printer over a LAN, and based on augie666's experience, I had a look at the printer settings. I disabled the "SNMP Status Enabled" button found on the configuration page of the TCP/IP port used by the printer. It seems to have done the job!


----------



## appyface

I grew VERY tired of having to go into the registry to change the settings on the PML driver service, and then rebooting my machine, so I could use it whenever it was needed. Then I had to change the registry back to disabled, and reboot, to get rid of it until the next time I needed it.

The reason you get the "ERROR 5 Could not start service" message is from security settings on the service.

Here is a way to fix this so you can manipulate the PML driver from Services without having to use the registry and boot the machine each time.

I am on WinXP Pro SP2 and have full administrator privileges, this worked for me. YMMV 

*****WARNING***** 
 THESE INSTRUCTIONS MANIPULATE THE REGISTRY DIRECTLY AND COULD CAUSE LOSS OF DATA OR STOP THE MACHINE FROM BOOTING!!!  
ALWAYS HAVE A CURRENT BACKUP BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES, AND ALWAYS BE PREPARED TO RESTORE THE OS IF THE MACHINE WON'T BOOT FROM DISK. 
*****WARNING*****

None of the above warnings are likely to apply, as the worst thing that *should* happen is you'll have to reinstall the printer. But don't say I didn't warn you that messing with the registry can be bad thing if you don't know what you're doing 


1. Locate another service in the Services display in computer management, that you CAN manipulate to start and stop, change to manual, disabled, etc. This one will be the model or example you will use, to change the PML service's security.

2. Launch regedit and locate the 'example' service. The branch is: 
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\

The name your 'example' service is under may be different than what is displayed in Services. Don't grab just any service here, be certain you locate one you can manipulate in the Services display.

3. Locate the PML driver service. It should be here:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Pml Driver HPZ12

4. Expland the PML service entry on the left and display the Security branch. There should be a VALUE in the right-hand pane also labeled 'Security' which is REG_BINARY and has a long value in it. Rename this on on the right from 'Security' to 'Security Old' so you can easily put it back it if you need to. 

(Alternately you can export the security key and save it somewhere.)

5. Go to the 'example' service and view the Security key and value there. Double-click the value name of Security, on the right, to get a box with all the binary data in it. Highlight the entire contents of the box. TAKE CARE TO HIGHLIGHT EVERY BYTE and press CTRL-C to copy it.

6. Go to the PML service's Security key, and in the right-hand pane right-click and choose "new" "binary value" and name it: Security. Double-click the name and paste (CTRL-V) the 'example' security data and save it.

(Alternately you could export the 'example' service's Security key, edit the .reg file to point to the PML driver branch instead, and import the new values.)

7. Now close all your open programs etc. and do a normal reboot of the machine. When windows comes back up, you should be able to manipulate the PML service from the Services display without having to go back into the registry.

If you ever reinstall the printer or apply an update, you may have to fix the Security entry again...

Hope this helps someone...

--appyface


----------

