Configuring printers for all users on Windows 2000 and XP workstations

Question

How do I configure printers for users on Windows 2000 and XP workstations?

Symptoms

Printers in Windows 2000 and XP are user based. This means that normally all printers would have to be added manually for each user on each workstation. In a Ranger environment this would entail disabling Ranger and logging on as each user.

Printers need to have been added manually for each user on each workstation.

Cause

Printers in Windows 2000 and XP are user based.

Resolution

Microsoft offer a number of solutions to facilitate printer management. We recommend you familiarise yourself with these scenarios and decide which is best suited to your environment.

   

1. Copying a pre-configured profile to the workstation's default profile.
2. Using mandatory profiles   
3. Letting users select and configure their own printers 
4. Using the NT tool Con2Prt.exe
5. Using Ranger Rollout

Instructions

1) Copying a pre-configured profile to the workstation's default profile.

Configure printers on a machine by configuring all available printers and setting the default. Then, copy the current user's profile to the Default User profile.

The next time a new user logs onto this machine, the default user policy will pre-configure their printers automatically to the saved settings.

This method is best used when different printer configurations are required for different machines. It is used where all machines in one room are required to default to a specific printer. The disadvantage of this method is that this process of manually configuring printers and copying the profile has to be performed on each workstation individually.

Note also, this method only works when users are configured to use local profiles, as the user's printer settings are held on the machine in the user's local profile. Any modifications to printer settings will require all local user profiles to be deleted and a new pre-configured profile copied to the default user's profile.

2) Using mandatory profiles provides an all user solution by copying the NTUser.dat from a fully configured user into the server's NETLOGON directroy as a .MAN file. This method is not compatible with roaming profiles and may cause other registry and profiles problems.


3) Letting users select and configure their own printers

This method would require the relaxation of a number of Ranger security settings to allow users access to the Add a printer wizards. It is the method recommended by Microsoft.

4) Using the NT tool Con2Prt.exe

An old Microsoft NT4 tool exists called Con2Prt.exe which connects and disconnects printers via a DOS command line command.

Using this utility as described will provide a user with a list of printers available to the workstation they are logging on at. The list of available printers and the default printer can be defined per machine usually on a room basis.

File required: Con2Prt Printer Files.zip
Containing: Con2Prt.exe, Printers.bat, Info.txt

Instructions:

Extract all the files in the zip into a network folder. The examples assume files are copied into the \\server\ranger\utils directory.

Add the following line into your logon script.

Call \\server\ranger\utils\printers.bat

On each workstation, add a "Location" environment variable defining the location name

• Use Control Panel System Advanced Environment Variables System Variables
• Add a variable called "Location". Set its value to the room name. (The sample Printer.bat looks for room names such as "Room23" "Room31" etc.)

Modify the Printers.bat file to configure the path to the Con2Prt exe, the name of your printer shares and appropriate room names.

Usage:

When a user logs on the Printers.bat batch file will run from the login script. This will first delete all defined printers, then depending on the room name (set in each machine's Location environment variable) will add available printers and set the default printer for that session.

Windows 2000 and XP machines will automatically install necessary drives from the server so no further configuration is necessary on each workstation.

The user should only see and be able to print to the room-specific printers.

5) Using Ranger Rollout

Ranger can also provide a neat solution via ranger Rollout and package builder. It works with roaming profiles but will configure the same printers and default settings on all workstations.

The solution relies on Ranger Rollout's ability to capture both machine changes and changes made to the current user's registry during package creation. When a package is deployed to a workstation the changes made to the HKEYCURRENTUSER registry when the package was originally created are also copied to the machine so that every user that subsequently logs on will automatically have those changes added to his/her roaming registry.

This provides a solution to the NT printers issue by allowing printer settings to be captured in a package and then the package deployed to all machines.

Method:

• Log on to a workstation with no printers configured.
• Ensure the user has not been used on other machines with printers defined. Use a new user or delete the user's roaming profile and server based NTUser.dat before logging on.
• Log on as a user with Domain Admin access.
• Run PackageBuilder.exe from the server's Ranger directory. Follow the wizard steps to start package creation.
• Install and configure printers as appropriate.
• Run PackageBuilder.exe from the server's Ranger directory again. Follow the wizard steps to complete the package creation.
• Using LAN Ranger deploy the package to other workstations.
• Log on to other workstations and as other users to test. Users should automatically see the configured printers.

Testing

Login with a new account and ensure printers have been mapped.