RDP printing

B

Brian

I innocently replaced a client's HP LaserJet 1150 printer with a LaserJet
P1006. Two days later, when he asked why he could not print, I found that he
had been printing via RDP on the 1150 for the last two years; the reason I
never knew it before was that it just worked automatically when he connected
via RDP - no need to install the driver on the server.

I have now spent six or eight hours trying to get the P1006 to print
consistently via RDP. This is a Windows XP Pro station at his home connecting
to Windows 2003 terminal server (member server in Windows 2003 SBS domain).

Attempts to get informaiton from HP have been fruitless, ranging from "this
printer does not have an Ethernet port, and here is a document on how to
share the printer for network printing" (first-line offshore technician) to
"this is a Microsoft problem" (second-line onshore technician) to "here are
some links on how to set up RDP" (from HP supervisor, the equivalent of
telling Dale Earnhardt how to use a manual transmission). Of course I already
have RDP set up and working; the 1150 was doing fine!

I tried installing the P1006 driver on the server after it did not work
without that. It works very inconsistenly, occasionally printing on the first
attempt and then simply queuing subsequent print jobs without printing,
necessitating a restart of the print spooler on the server, but most often
not printing at all.

I have also tried the registry fixes related to DOT4 printers; however, this
is not a DOT4 but uses the USB virtual printer port. I have also tried
removing all references to the printer from the registry on the server, to no
avail. I have also tried using ThinPrint client--also, surprisingly, I
suppose, to no avail.

My customer insists he needs the tiny footprint of the P1006, so going back
to the 1150 is not an option.

Any ideas?
 
T

TP

Hi,

This printer is not compatible with Terminal Services. Please see
the following document:

http://h20195.www2.hp.com/v2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA0-8465ENW.pdf

Even if it was compatible I would not recommend using it under
TS because it is host-based. Host-based printers use considerably
more CPU, RAM, and bandwidth on the server and therefore
are not good in a multi-user environment like TS.

You *should* be able to get it to work using a TS Universal Printer
Driver like Print-IT, Tricerat Screwdrivers, etc. You mentioned that you
tried Thinprint already so I am not sure why you were unable to make it
work. Did you contact Thinprint support?

You may want to suggest a different printer, for example the Brother
HL-2170W. It is not quite as small, but still has a pretty compact
footprint.

I recommend you remove the P1006 driver from your server right
away in order to avoid problems.

-TP
 
B

Brian

Thank you so much!.

Sorry about the delayed response. For some reason, I never got my e-mail
when you responded, and I just came back looking for a response.

It really bothers me that HP's tech support:

1. Had never heard of RDP--answered my questions as if asking about
networking.
2. At the supervisory level, sent me bonehead instructions on how to enable
RDP printing (i.e. check the box in RDP...)
3. Told me it was a Microsoft issue.
4. Could not direct me to the document you so kindly linked for me.
5. Could not even provide a list of RDP-compatible printers.

I could not find that link searching by Remote Desktop, RDP, etc. anywhere
on their site. I never thought to search by "Citrix".

Yes. I will remove every vestige of this printer, now that I actually have
some usable information about it.

I have not contacted ThinPrint, but I would rather just get him a printer
that works natively anyway.
 
T

TP

You are welcome.

These newsgroups are shutting down in a couple of weeks
so in the future you will want to ask your questions on
the MS technet forums. I frequently answer questions there
as well, although lately I have been a bit too busy.

Here is the link for the TS Forum, officially for Server 2008,
but it is fine to ask about 2000, 2003, 2008, 2008 R2, etc.

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/winserverTS/threads/

Here is the link for 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services (new name for TS):

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/windowsserver2008r2rds/threads/

-TP
 

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