[1607, au] Printers nightmare

[Badaz52]

Hi all,

 

We are having an absolute nightmare with windows 10 and it adding our network printers either via group policy or con2prt login script. It has taken us a while to pin it down but it looks like the first time a user logs in on a particular machine it will not map the printer. Once a local copy of their profile is cached the next time they login the printer will map and work properly.

 

We have cached profiles set to delete after 5 days of inactivity which means that this issue will return on a weekly basis and if a user logs into a machine they haven't been on in a while.

 

Obviously getting the users to log out and back in all the time isn't really an option.

 

I have seen a few people on Technet talk about this problem but couldn't find a fix.

 

Anyone had this?

[Katy]

We find that printers randomly don't map on Win10 with no relation to when the user last logged on, if it's their first go etc. We also have printers randomly vanishing halfway through the day. Printers are split over a 2012R2 server (normal printers) and a 2008R2 server (followme copiers, can't move the software without expensive support renewal). They are mapped using GPO preferences.

 

We've always had problems with Windows and printing since windows 8 but it's never been this bad.

[Badaz52]

We find that printers randomly don't map on Win10 with no relation to when the user last logged on, if it's their first go etc. We also have printers randomly vanishing halfway through the day. Printers are split over a 2012R2 server (normal printers) and a 2008R2 server (followme copiers, can't move the software without expensive support renewal). They are mapped using GPO preferences.

 

We've always had problems with Windows and printing since windows 8 but it's never been this bad.

 

How are you managing it? I assume you haven't been able to find a fix?

[Katy]

How are you managing it? I assume you haven't been able to find a fix?

User phones up complaining, we say "Try logging off then back on again". It seems to only affect a few random office based staff but we've run out of things to try, nothing gets logged and we've spent ages messing with drivers etc.

Sometimes affects teachers but they don't do that much printing* so it's just very bad luck if they pick the time with no printers attached to try any printing.

 

We've tried VBS scripts, group policy preferences, kixtart scripts etc and it appears to work then the next day "I've no printers" so we settled on GPP and putting up with the issue in the hope that a windows update fixes it.

 

*They do an insane amount of photocopying instead of printing

[Badaz52]

Do you enable slow link detection in your workstation gpos?

[Katy]

Do you enable slow link detection in your workstation gpos?

No, don't think I do, can't see it in any of the enabled settings, but we do "always wait for the network at computer startup and logon".

[FN-GM]

We are having issues as well, its a real pain!

[mdrabble]

We're another place having same issues with printers being hit and miss with logging off and on again the only way to get them appearing again.

 

Currently have then assigned using GPP. I was going to look at VBS and power shell but as other have tied in don't think I'll bother.

 

Printer names/shares - do you have spaces in the names? I do at the moment and thinking of changing spaces for underscores.

[FN-GM]

We're another place having same issues with printers being hit and miss with logging off and on again the only way to get them appearing again.

 

Currently have then assigned using GPP. I was going to look at VBS and power shell but as other have tied in don't think I'll bother.

 

Printer names/shares - do you have spaces in the names? I do at the moment and thinking of changing spaces for underscores.

 

We have the same issue with and without spaces.

[free780]

Anybody used powershell scripts? Where GPP doesn't work is this when using loopback replace?

[Katy]

Anybody used powershell scripts? Where GPP doesn't work is this when using loopback replace?

Ours are applied to the user rather than computer, via GPP (as it's the only way to get share based printers rather than locally installed/TCPIP), we then specify which printers apply to which computers by using the item targeting based on computer machine group membership.

 

Never tried using a powershell script. In the past when we have had printers fail to map it shows an error such as "The printer name is invalid" in the event log, but log off and back on again without changing anything and it suddenly is perfectly valid and maps. Doesn't make any sense, it's like Microsoft forgot to test Windows 10 being used with GPP printer mapping.

[FN-GM]

I don;t use GPP and have the problems. It happens when I deploy via the print management console.

[skell]

We use this method for Windows 10. Works a treat, cuts down logon times as well.

 

https://www.atumvirt.com/2013/11/dramatically-reducing-logon-time-to-desktop-by-moving-from-group-policy-preferences-to-powershell-logon-script/

[FN-GM]

I don't really want to use a script, we have completely moved away from them.

[skell]

I was like you once. I thought that scripts were "old hat" and "outdated" and "urg, scripts".

 

I think you should give this one a try!

[Geoff]

I have a powershell script that adds printers based on a database. Users self manage their printers via a web page. Alternatively there is a Powershell GUI app they can run to pointy clicky things.

 

I have found you have to wait around 20 - 30s after logging in on our hardware for printer mapping to work. This is due to using rubbish printer drivers that aren't natively written for Win10. We've standardised on about 3 drivers now and fixed the issue.

[zag]

No need for scripts really these days.

 

We just share printers on a print server, then just put a shortcut to that server on the users start menu.

 

When they need a printer they simply go to start >> printers and double click on the appropriate printer.

 

It works quite well assuming you already have the drivers installed on your workstation image.

 

We dumped all the login script stuff years ago and its helped my sanity

[Spenketh]

I had the same problem with printers not deploying correctly, it's just one of those things that users rely on too much so we ended up getting print management software to resolve the problem.

 

Whilst GPP did seem buggy in terms of deployment I must say we have no issue with deploying some of our fiddly printers via vbs script.