Problems with displaying PDFs & Saving to PDF

Hi,

I hope this is the right forum to ask, as I think the problem is related to my installation of OSX, not to a specific software:

After a system install, I usually slim down the system/hard-drive and remove most of the printer drivers from the OS's library folder. This is because I never print anything from this laptop. I do keep a few printer drivers though, i.e. the ones I know I might use on the odd occasion.

The only thing I sometimes do is to export a file as a PDF (from Word/Excel/Preview...). So usually, I go to "Print", then select "Save as PDF..."
I sometimes even have to do this with a file that IS a PDF already. (This is because some protected PDFs don't allow a "copy & paste", but they do when they're duplicated via the "Save as PDF" option.

This used to work alright last time I used the feature. But now, in "Preview" the "Save as PDF..." option is greyed out. And when I try from within Acrobat or Safari, I get this error message:
"Saving a PDF file when printing is not supported. Instead, choose File > Save."

Can someone here tell me: What am I missing in the System's preferences or library folders, in order to save as pdf from within Preview or Safari?

First question - what is the existing file type you are attempting to save?

Next, you still need to provide at minimum what version of OS X you are using.

Is this a single file you're trying to save and giving you problems, or have you attempted it with multiple files of the same type?

OS 10.6.5

I'm trying to open a PDF and then print it, and in the print dialogue save it back as a new pdf. This is something I've done in the past to get around the following problem:
The original pdf is password-protected, so I can't copy anything from it. Once "printed" into a new pdf, the password protection is gone. (All I want to do is copy some statistical data from the PDF into an ExCel spreadsheet).

Give this a try.

Save Safari-loaded password-protected PDFs - Mac OS X Hints

Doesn't work. The pdf's I'm using have been e-mailed to me. (Sales reports at the end of every month). Even if I open them from within Safari as a local url (file://...) and "download" them back, they're still password-protected.

In the past, I could always use the "print to pdf" trick. And on my mom's macbook it works –*but not on mine. I know it's got to do something with Acrobat or printer drivers...