Disappearing Printers

[Katy]

I wanted to add in my experiences. And it has been making me doubt my own sanity.

 

The issue of missing printers plagues certain combinations of computers and users. Some users have lots of issues and some computers seem to be really problematic. (Profile linked).

 

I have tried pushing printers out with group policy user configuration which has worked really well with windows 7 but seems broken with windows 10. I have also used print management to deploy them. This also seems broken with windows 10 and is also not as flexible as group policy since I can target by iprange and user when using the latter. Currently I use both, because ....reasons.

 

When the printers are missing, they don't show up in devices and printers, though sometimes they don't show up there but do in office and other applications. Sometimes they show up as unidentified devices.

 

When they are not available to applications, getting users to run a fix_printers.bat fix which simply calls GPUPDATE works, and quite rapidly at that. I am still testing this. So far though 90% of the time it works 100% of the time.

 

On the whole windows 10 seems to be a broken operating system that barely manages to do the basics required of a business OS. I have had so many BS issues with basic tasks that it has become one of my most hated operating systems. It is clunky and bloated without improving anything from windows 7. In fact it seems to have more in common reliability wise with windows 98 than windows 7.

 

End of rant.

 

I'm going to try the gpupdate fix on the next few that complain about no printers here and see how it goes (We deploy via GPP).

 

It's ridiculous that 2 years after RTM (and numerous updates) that Windows 10 still can't have printers in a networked environment reliably.

[ICT_GUY]

Just one thing to add. And please if anyone is using Server 2016 as their domain operational level with a server 2016 print server and has issues please for the love of all that is Holy comment below.

 

 

My domain operating level is server 2012, the print server is 2012 R2.

 

 

I have a terrible feeling that some of the problems I am having are due to not running server 2016 with windows 10. Anyone have experience either way please confirm or deny.

[ADMaster]

Just one thing to add. And please if anyone is using Server 2016 as their domain operational level with a server 2016 print server and has issues please for the love of all that is Holy comment below.

 

 

My domain operating level is server 2012, the print server is 2012 R2.

 

 

I have a terrible feeling that some of the problems I am having are due to not running server 2016 with windows 10. Anyone have experience either way please confirm or deny.

 

 

I have two DCs 2012r2 and 2016 so I'm at 2012 r2 functional level.

My print server is 2012 r2.

I don't have this issue.

[Katy]

I'm going to try the gpupdate fix on the next few that complain about no printers here and see how it goes (We deploy via GPP).

 

It's ridiculous that 2 years after RTM (and numerous updates) that Windows 10 still can't have printers in a networked environment reliably.

 

Running gpupdate doesn't fix it for us, have to restart the computer and 90% of the time they come back.

[NetworkServices]

I had this issue when I started testing with Windows 10 but eventually got it working. I probably should have documented the steps I took fully but I think (and emphasis on 'think') the GPO setting that fixed it was Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/System/Group Policy/Configure Logon Script Delay = Disabled.

 

By default Windows 10 waits five minutes after logon before processing GPOs/Scripts so that it hits the desktop faster.

 

I also set Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/System/Group Policy/Specify startup policy processing wait time = Enabled (15 seconds). Not sure if this actually had any impact though.

[mrbios]

Well i recently seem to have made this issue a lot less of an issue, i've not had anyone come to me with an issue in over a week with printing.....

 

I set "Run in logged-on users security context" on each of the printers in my GP and made sure i was using the FQDN for all the printers rather than just printserv (though i've done the latter before so i don't think it was that)

[Duke5A]

I think @mrbios was on to something mentioning security rights on the printers. A little while back I experienced this issue with a single print queue that I had altered the rights for - I removed everything except a single user account and administrators. What resulted was the printer would come and go almost at random. I could refresh policy and it would show up again sometimes and disappear the next. User laptop was running Windows 7 with a local profile. After adding 'Everyone' back to the list it stopped disappearing. All of the other printers on the print server have the default security rights setup.

 

 

I can't recall where I read it now, but on a tech blog there was mention of Windows sometimes using computer credentials when adding printers initially.

[petben]

We run a global add printuientry /ga command at startup, and get this erratic error, “no printers installed”. Log off/on and they’re there. Even if we don’t delete profiles, with 1500 user profiles potentially on each machine, this cant be a reliable solution? There will always be new users logging in who don’t have profiles. Win7 has been just fine for years.

 

Tried GPO deployment (admittedly on win7) a couple of years ago, it was a nightmare of random missing printers.

 

There must be something we can do that’s rock solid, it seems so simple.....

[Sheridan]

I think we've tried just about every suggestion on here, and on other forums - and W10 still can't be relied on to show printers!

 

The best we've got so far is with targeted GPO deployment on the user, depending on the PC they're logging on. This either a) works b) fails due to it being unable to install the driver (and the correct drivers are on the server) or c) fails with the 'incorrect parameter' error which usually means a logoff and logon are required.

 

So its a pretty hit and miss affair. Most of our users are so used to the crappyness of W10 they accept the fact that printers may or may not appear!

[Katy]

Best I've managed is a powershell logon script which sits in an infinite loop attempting to add the printer, success (or number of tries > 10) breaks the loop. This works better than any of the actual ways you're supposed to deploy printers (and when it fails to add, the second iteration through the loop usually succeeds so it's not sitting there forever). Only thing I've noticed since getting printers always working is that it randomly says "Unable to connect" to random printers hosted on anything older than 2016...

 

Although it may just be that people were that used to having to log off and back on to get a printer at random intervals that they stopped reporting it.

[FN-GM]

It has stopped happening here without any explanation!

[mrbios]

Most of our users are so used to the crappyness of W10 they accept the fact that printers may or may not appear!

 

I don't really get that comment, it's a better OS than 7 was, and apart from this sporadic printing issue (which appears to have gone away for me at the moment) it does everything better than its predecessors. What don't they like?

 

It has stopped happening here without any explanation!

 

Same! How strange....

[Netwacky87]

Same! How strange....

 

Same - Odd couple but rare now!

[FN-GM]

It must have been a Windows Update that fixed it....

[mrbios]

It must have been a Windows Update that fixed it....

 

Can we get that comment stickied to the top of the entire forum? I'd like to mark this flying pigs/blue moon/rocking horse poop type of occasion

 

EDIT: those of you still having issues, are your clients fully up to date?

[petben]

The clients are win10 1803, the print server 2012 r2. I guess win10 would be happier with a 2016 print server...

[petben]

We are installing using printuientry /ga script and occasionally getting:

 

event 513

"Group Policy was unable to add per computer connection \\print1.sls.local\D7. Error code 0x57. This can occur if the name of the printer connection is incorrect, or if the print spooler cannot contact the print server."

 

ideas??

[ICT_GUY]

From what I have found out about the issue and how I fixed it.

 

The issue seems to be delayed group policy processing. I have a batch file on the desktops named FixPrinters (ico of a printer) which just runs GPUPDATE this brings back the printers. This keeps people happy. Most of the time the printers are either there or appear by themselves. The batch file just hurries it along some.

[petben]

We are having good success populating the reg key with the names of the required printers:

HKCU\Printers\Connections

 

This works fine for Office and Edge, but for Applications that seem to bring up the older style printing dialogue box, like IE, it doesn't work, those REG keys obviously aren't looked at.....any ideas? We need IE to be able to print.

[Duke5A]

If printers are failing to install on login, then check the Application Log in Event Viewer. Any failed printer connection will be dumped in there and if you see it then odds are your chosen deployment method is working. If you don't see an error in the log then I would fault the deployment script/GPO/GPP or whatever is used.

[CyberDrac]

One of my colleagues had some time to look at the issue and seemed to narrow it down on our sites to the following ...

 

"After some digging, it appears that the '0x80070057' error experienced at most sites seems to be related to "Point and Print Restrictions". After disabling point and print restrictions in Group Policy in the computer policy (Computer Settings>Policy>Administrative Templates>Printers>Point and Print Restrictions = Disabled), no error is received and the printers get mapped consistently at first login. Without it, printer mapping is inconsistent and usually applies after a few minutes or at the next login."

 

... again, this may be specific to our configuration, but if your symptoms and the associated error code match you may wish to consider it.

[Chuckster]

Weirdly enough, MS are suggesting to disable Point and Print if you see any errors in the event viewer re: drivers etc.

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/2618460/event-id-s-commonly-associated-with-point-and-print-restrictions

[Sheridan]

We're still getting a lot of the "Group Policy Object did not apply because it failed with error code '0x80070709 The printer name is invalid" using targeted user preferences. Printer name is correct and drivers are on the server.

 

Daft thing is, for 10 logins on that PC, 5/6 will work, the rest get the error. Same happens across the board. No particular reason as physical hardware/OS image are the same, and the users are the same groups. Teachers getting well pee'd off with the unreliability of printing in 10 and I can't say I blame them, I just wish I could offer a solution!

[petben]

we are also getting the same behaviour despite 1803, all the updates etc.

 

we need to involve MS in this, we can produce clear evidence from many different environments that this needs to be investigated by them..

[Garacesh]

I don't know if the issue has gone away here or if staff have just stopped bothering to report it.. I suspect it may be the latter.