apache user authentification problems

Hi, i wrote a php script, which shows a "printer-friendly" version of the current website. However, since the php safe_mode is turned to "on", i had to make use of a workaround to be able to display all users files with this script. Instead of accessing it via files, i use a fsockopen() connection and then work with the received page. So, everything worked just fine, until one user tried to use the print-script in a password protected area. (A simple apache user authentification) Since my script uses fsockopen() it comes up with a blank page, because it cannot load the page without the proper user&pass. I tried to get the $_SERVER vars, but since the script is in a different directory, the user authentification vars get lost as soon as you click on the print-script link. So, here is my question: Is there any way, i can make the printer script realize there is a password protected area (the server doesn't use .htaccess files; all user auths are defined in the httpd.conf) and then: - if possible: use the previously entered login details to get the page - or: ask for a second login and then use that one to open the page Thanks for your help, Duncan