Printer somehow embedded in user profile: renders printers unusable

[larry_llama]

Hi,

We are running in a network scenario where we've just replaced the
computers. As part of the driveimage, we installed two printers. We
have a login script that sets the default printer according to where
the user logs in.

The problem is, the "old" printers are somehow embedded in the users'
profiles from the previous computers. We have named the "new" printer
drivers on the computers to match the old and in fact they are the
same printers. Nothing has changed on that end of things. However when
the user logs in, they see two of each printer in the printers and
faxes window, and none of them work. The only way to make them work is
to remove all of them and manually re-add them.

If we leave the printers uninstalled in the raw image, when the user
logs in their "embedded" printer shows up in printers and faxes, but
it will not connect and we can't even open the properties window for
them.

Additionally, if we do not have the printers as part of the image, the
login script fails. So clearly these "automatically generated"
printers are completely bogus.

How can we get rid of these phantom printers that show up whenever
someone logs in?

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Alan Morris [MSFT]]

Are you using rundll32 to create the connections? If you specified the /ga
option, you will need to use the /gd option to remove them

http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/NetPrinterAllUsers.htm

--
Alan Morris
Windows Printing Team
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[ln];kbhowto

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[larry_llama]

I am using the add printer wizard to create the printers on the new
machine. I think the same process was used on the old machines too.
The problem is that the printers seem to be following the users around
on their roaming profiles, and when they log into the new computers,
they end up with duplicate printers and none work. We are not having
trouble removing the printers, but we'd like to not have to tell the
users to remove and re-add the printers.

What I am hoping is for a method to do one of the following:
a) remove the printers en masse form the users profiles (printhood
folder is empty for every user -- the printers appear to be embedded
in ntuser.dat)
OR
b) "copy" the printers from the old computers to the new so that they
"match" whatever is in the user profile and work as they did before
instead of duplicating

Thanks so much!

Sean

Are you using rundll32 to create the connections? If you specified the /ga
option, you will need to use the /gd option to remove them

http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/NetPrinterAllUsers.htm

--
Alan Morris
Windows Printing Team
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base here:http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[ln];kbhowto

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Hi,

We are running in a network scenario where we've just replaced the
computers. As part of the driveimage, we installed two printers. We
have a login script that sets the default printer according to where
the user logs in.

The problem is, the "old" printers are somehow embedded in the users'
profiles from the previous computers. We have named the "new" printer
drivers on the computers to match the old and in fact they are the
same printers. Nothing has changed on that end of things. However when
the user logs in, they see two of each printer in the printers and
faxes window, and none of them work. The only way to make them work is
to remove all of them and manually re-add them.

If we leave the printers uninstalled in the raw image, when the user
logs in their "embedded" printer shows up in printers and faxes, but
it will not connect and we can't even open the properties window for
them.

Additionally, if we do not have the printers as part of the image, the
login script fails. So clearly these "automatically generated"
printers are completely bogus.

How can we get rid of these phantom printers that show up whenever
someone logs in?

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[larry_llama]

I figured it out. Created a login script that kills all subkeys and
contents of HKCU/Printers/Connections