ts printers disappear requiring server reboot

[duncan]

i have win2k ts running ms access application for the
clients. there are about 10 printers installed that
normally work well. intermittently, the ts clients dont
get any printers on login - once this happens, no client
will get any printers at all. the ms acess application
works, but cant print any reports because there are no
default printers installed.

i have sp4 installed, and most of the time it works well.
but always breaks when i am away...

rebooting the ts server brings everything back to normal
until the next time - maybe several weeks later.
any ideas?

 

[Vera Noest [MVP]]

Next time this happens, check if the problem can be solved by
stopping and restarting the printer spooler service, rather than
the whole TS.

This kind of problems is neaarly always caused by a 3th party
printer driver, which is not completely compatible with TS.
The general rule is to *never* install a 3th party driver, instead
you should map printers to a native, supported driver. Check here
for more info:

275495 - Printer Redirection or Upgrade May Not Work Because of
Signed Ntprint.inf File
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=275495

Suggested mappings are here:
Client Printer Autocreation Matrix
http://www.printingsupport.com/matrix.htm