Re: printers disappear

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

Ensure your print spooler is running.

From the command prompt, type

net start spooler

(and hit enter!)

Cari
www.coribright.com

 

[Amy Wolfe]

This is a recurring problem with multiple users in a
Windows XP environment. Printers disappear upon an
attempt to print a random Word or Excel document. The
user gets an error message saying they are unable to
print because a printer needs to be installed. When we
restart, the printers return. Although the solution
below may solve the issue, we require a more permanent
resolution since most of our users rely on IT support
personnel (me) who may not always be available.

We were told by an IT professional that this is a known
issue and installing the latest Windows XP Service Pack
would resolve it; it has not.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks.

 

[Amy]

I did install SP1 on all pc's, specifically for resolving
this issue. It did not work! I also did try the 'net
start spooler' suggestion. It says 'The requested
service has already been started', and the printers did
return. Is this a once and done action or might this
user have to type the 'net start spooler' again? If it
is a temporary solution, then I cannot expect users to
perform this action every time their printers disappear.
I need something permanent I can do now for all users to
prevent this from happening to them again.

Anyone? Thanks so much!