Disappearing Printers

[siuko]

Currently we are testing mapping the printer via GPP (but don't set it as default as it seems to try setting default to quickly which fails and then proceeds to stop the whole GPP mapping randomly)

 

We then set the default printer using a VBS login script based on the computer OU or computer name

 

Seems to be working well so far - but the test will be on monday when everyone is back from half term

[Sheridan]

I’ve had serious problems over the last couple of weeks, I was using GPP and item level targeting which was working about 80% of the time. But recently we’ve had random login issues across the network with logins hanging or taking 10 minutes, and I eventually found it always happened when processing the printers.

 

So I’ve reverted back to deploying printers with machine based GPO, and this is about 75% successful, but no more hung logins. Makes me realise MS are just not fixing anything and just continue to fart about adding features no one wants to their ‘updates’

[KK20]

We too are experiencing a spate of disappearing printers. In a room of 30 people half may get (random PCs, random people not always the same), other half may not - some days it all may work. All PCs are equal and they all use the same GPO. I have tried both preferences (log in times drop noticeably) or I have tried good old .vbs scripts (much faster login). In either case the printers may or may not appear. In all cases if the user double clicks the VBS then the printers ALWAYS appear - that is my current fix, there are shortcuts to the VBS script that maps printers to OUs. Printers are all "user" policies as staff get slightly different options.

 

we now have a trial in one room for "deploying" printer via the print server GPO deploy method. too early to see if this is working.

 

obviously usual event viewer fault finding etc. 1604 was much better for us (happened "occasionally") whereas 1709 was very noticeable. We have a few 1803 test machines but they arent a reliable indicator as they arent used as much.

Edited November 5, 2018 by KK20

[bigal06]

I’ve had serious problems over the last couple of weeks, I was using GPP and item level targeting which was working about 80% of the time. But recently we’ve had random login issues across the network with logins hanging or taking 10 minutes, and I eventually found it always happened when processing the printers.

 

So I’ve reverted back to deploying printers with machine based GPO, and this is about 75% successful, but no more hung logins. Makes me realise MS are just not fixing anything and just continue to fart about adding features no one wants to their ‘updates’

 

Is your hanging login linked to switch user or does it happen on any first login? I ask because we have been experiencing freezing login on switch user where it freezes login at the printer install process. I am working to resolve this but it seems to be linked to Smartboard / SIMS and switch user.

Edited November 5, 2018 by bigal06

[gshaw]

I've got a 3-pronged attack for this now...

 

• GPO deployed printers
  
• VBS script to re-map and set default
  
• user-launchable script Bundle to restart print spooler and run mapping script again
  

If the GPO doesn't get it, the VBScript should and if all of that somehow fails then the user can double-click a shortcut to restart spooler service (seems to bring GPO deployed printers down if missing) and if that still doesn't do it re-run the script again

 

The script I've knocked together looks at AD Sites and OUs to cycle through the PC location as quickly as it can then uses normal VBScript mapping method

 

				Select Case strComputerOU
				Case "ROOM1"
					objNetwork.AddWindowsPrinterConnection "\\printserver\ROOM1-COL"
					objNetwork.SetDefaultPrinter "\\printserver\ROOM1-COL"

 

@KK20 are you setting the scripts as Login Scripts in GPO? Also try Administrative Templates > System > Logon > Run these programs at user logon as that will only execute once the desktop appears, rather than the somewhat random behaviour of when Login scripts run depending on synchronous \ asynchronous processing etc.

Edited November 5, 2018 by gshaw

[Duke5A]

Is your hanging login linked to switch user or does it happen on any first login? I ask because we have been experiencing freezing login on switch user where it freezes login at the printer install process. I am working to resolve this but it seems to be linked to Smartboard / SIMS and switch user.

 

@Sheridan

 

I've noticed the same thing here. Windows 10 LTSB 2016, Server 2016 handling print queues and local profiles on clients. This never happened before migrating from VBS to GPP to handle printers. After imaging a lab on first login the printer install can take as long as 30 minutes. This only happens if one of the printers being installed on the client is unreachable on the network (powered off, network cable disconnected). It's either related to the new profile creation on the client computer, or the driver install process. I haven't had time to diagnose this beyond that though. One thing for sure it's never a problem as long as all the printers being installed via GPP are on and ready.

[Sheridan]

After much testing and verbose logging all I could see was ours were hanging during the printer gpp deployment and the printers were online at the time. It was random and sometimes permanent, other times login would complete after a 10 minute or so delay which is just not acceptable.

 

We don’t have user switching and it didn’t seem to be only related to first logins, as we have about 40 printers in the policy I was concerned about the impact it was having.

 

After removing the gpp policy and deploying printers to the machine instead we haven’t had a single hang, logins are back to normal speed and printers appear 75-80% of the time, which is as good as it gets with windows 10!

[bigal06]

Disabling the 'SMART Helper Service' has stopped our login freezing at printer install with switch user. We still install the printers twice in login script to ensure they get allocated 100% of the time.

[Sheridan]

Disabling the 'SMART Helper Service' has stopped our login freezing at printer install with switch user. We still install the printers twice in login script to ensure they get allocated 100% of the time.

 

How are you doing this in the script, by user or machine? We’ve tried doing this with the printui dialog for the machine policy but it just seems to ignore them

[bigal06]

How are you doing this in the script, by user or machine? We’ve tried doing this with the printui dialog for the machine policy but it just seems to ignore them

 

User script using Kixtart. Similar to the VB examples by using case statement based on machine name and then install twice:

 

CASE $ROOMNAME = "RM13"
	ADDPRINTERCONNECTION($ISU)
	ADDPRINTERCONNECTION($ISU)
	SETDEFAULTPRINTER($ISU)

[adrianjones]

I had a similar situation with disappearing printers using Group Policy or GPP, I reverted back using a logon power-shell script:

 

Code:

Add-Printer -ConnectionName "\\printserver\printername"

$Printer = Get-WmiObject win32_printer | where {$_.name -match "printername"}

$Printer.SetDefaultPrinter()

[Mujja]

I had a similar situation with disappearing printers using Group Policy or GPP, I reverted back using a logon power-shell script:

Code:

 

I've set today aside to finally get a reliable solution to deploy printers.

 

We're deploying from the printer server with a vbs logon script to set the default printer. For the last few days when I have time I've been using testing group policy preferences with limited success.

 

Today I tested 3 logon scripts.

 

"rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /in /q /u /n"\\server\printer" works every time but displays a connection progress bar on the Desktop.

 

Tried various vbs scripts with limited success.

 

And last a powershell script with the code from adrianjones and it's worked every time, applied to Computers with merge or to Users.

[Driftingashore]

I don't want to get my hopes up, but after deploying the following registry key (which I found in this technet thread) I'm having trouble replicating the problem again; previously I could replicate it like clockwork..

 

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Providers\Client Side Rendering Print Provider] "RemovePrintersAtLogoff"=dword:00000001

 

 

Wish me luck..

[arjanver]

We use redirected startmenu's and i have placed a gpupdate script inside the startup folder within the startmenu, and our printer problems are gone.

[meakjoe]

I don't want to get my hopes up, but after deploying the following registry key (which I found in this technet thread) I'm having trouble replicating the problem again; previously I could replicate it like clockwork..

 

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Providers\Client Side Rendering Print Provider] "RemovePrintersAtLogoff"=dword:00000001

 

 

Wish me luck..

 

We've also been testing this method, and it works succesfully on a new build without any entries in the registry, but on an existing build where multiple users have already logged on and off and multiple entries exist within the Client Side Rendering Print Provider, it still exhibits the same behaiviour as before.

 

We're still testing and hoping that once a user who exists within this registry area logs on and off, the new registry key will kick in and remove the entries, so it should never happen again for them...

[siuko]

We ended up going back to VBS scripts

 

We have one on logoff that clears all printers

 

The logon script also clears the printers (just in case they restart the pc rather than shutting down)

 

This has been the most reliable way for us

[witch]

All our printers are installed by logon script . I will look into adding a logoff script to clear the printers I think

[siuko]

DefaultPrintByOUStaff.vbs - Map and set default printers by OU or computer name - all I changed was our FQDN as it had our MAT name in it

RemovePrinters.vbs - Clear all network shared printers on logoff

[FN-GM]

I don't want to get my hopes up, but after deploying the following registry key (which I found in this technet thread) I'm having trouble replicating the problem again; previously I could replicate it like clockwork..

 

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Providers\Client Side Rendering Print Provider] "RemovePrintersAtLogoff"=dword:00000001

 

 

Wish me luck..

 

@Driftingashore how did you get on with this please?

[Driftingashore]

I don't want to say for certain as I'm quite sure teachers stopped reporting missing printers on Windows 10 and I'm worried about jinxing it, but I can't replicate the problem anymore and anytime I've tested on random PCs the printers are always appearing as they should, which is a stark difference to behaviour before I applied the key (via Computer Configuration GPP for what that's worth).

 

For us, users would never get printers the first time they login after a computer had rebooted, but printers would then appear (for them) every login until the next reboot. Since deploying the key things seem like they're working as they should be. Of course, YMMV.

[2097]

Also dont forget to see if the drivers for the printer is "Packaged"

 

I noticed with server 2019 and windows 7 clients, if the driver is "False" under "Packaged" then the printer prompts to install a driver.

[smarties11]

I noticed when looking at Microsoft's GPO spreadsheet for Windows 10 1809 that they have updated the settings to configure group policy extension processing, at Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\System\Group Policy. You now have the ability to disable background processing for individual extensions. As soon as I saw this, I wondered if this may have some impact on the disappearing printers issue? I.e. if you disable background processing for GPP printers using the 'Configure Printers preference extension policy processing' setting? This would effectively mean that GPP printer settings would only apply at logon. Is it possible that it is this refresh of settings that causes the printers to disappear?

 

In our environment, I am 99% there with Win10 printer issues. I can get them to appear at logon 100% of the time using GPP by setting a scheduled task to refresh user policy at logon. This runs hidden via a .vbs script so is transparent to the user. However, we still have occasional issues with the printers disappearing. For some users this happens fairly frequently i.e. once or twice a day; for others it is rare or non-existent.

 

I've disabled background refresh of the GPP printers this afternoon - will report any updates...

 

Whilst on the topic of printers - yesterday we had a whole suite on Win10 computers that couldn't login - stuck at the applying printers stage. I knew there was an exam next door and that they turn off the shared printer in there to stop other rooms printing to it so suspected this was the cause. I restarted the print spooler on our print server which allowed the logons to progress and then tested later and indeed, if the printer is off it causes logons to wait indefinitely for the printer to be online again, which seems crazy. Has anyone else seen this issue?

Edited March 12, 2019 by smarties11

[KK20]

in the past, if we used GPP then we found that printers would add sequentially and if a printer wasn't available the logon would slow down. Using our venerable W7 .vbs script this would not be the case and logon would progress whether the printer was on or offline. GPP meant we would rarely get missing printers, script meant we would occasionally get missing printers. So we scrapped GPP and use the script method; In the end we simply put a shortcut to our universal printer .vbs on the desktop - users would double click the shortcut to get printers if they were missing (and this would work every time). Our printers are mapped depending on OU so this method works nicely for us. There are no exceptions in our hierarchy. Local printers are never removed and have always worked.

[ICT_GUY]

I push out the printers now with a combination of print manager and group policy.

Print manager installs the drivers.

Group policy attaches the network printer (sometimes).

A shortcut on the desktop called "fixprinters" runs gpupdate which brings the printers back to life if they disappear.

I assume that this issue will go away once the domain operational level is raised to at least server 2016 (we are currently 2012).

[_techie_]

Hi.

Been following this thread with interest over the last few days, as we have battled with printing inconsistencies, including printers not mapping at all, or disappearing entirely.

We had used a KIXstart script for years on XP and 7 without issue.

 

We are mandatory profiles for kids and teaching staff, but local profiles for office users.

Windows 10 LTSC 2019 with 2016 Printserver, Papercut, and Kyocers MFDs.

 

 

I have now made a bit of breakthrough, which I believe isn't documented particularly well!

If you have follow me printing and nice MFD's, by default Windows 10 tries to obtain flashy images and graphics for the devices for control panel. To do this it goes online and obtains device metadata. If your using a proxy like we are (Smoothwall) this is blocked and the printer queue on the machine seems to get stuck at: "Device setup in Progress" in control panel...printers.

If you head over to the Settings...Printers you should also see the same devices, but any that are stuck at "Device Setup in Progress" in control panel, are stuck with a blue progress bar underneath it in Settings.

This seems to halt the entire print queue from being displayed for normal users in both local and mandatory profiles.

 

https://www.tsf.net.au/windows-tips/speed-up-a-printer-install-device-setup-in-progress-in-windows-10/

Adding the key in (or change it to 1), and this stops the process of getting this metadata entirely.

If you manually change it, then reboot, then log back in with a cached profile...Control Panel Printers complains with a yellow bar above it that more information can be displayed from the internet.

This seems to solve it for me at the moment.

 

Let me know if this helps anyone, as I was going crazy with printer inconsistencies after going to Windows 10 for Academic parts of the school. Offices had been on it for a year, but they have location based level filtering for the PCs for other reasons (Team Viewer sessions, etc etc).

 

Hope this helps someone!

Cheers

Mark