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Windows 2003 Small Business Cannot Connect To Shared Client Printer

I have a server with Windows 2003 Small Business Server on it. One of my clients has a shared printer on it, which the server can see in the directory, but yet it is still unable to connect to it.

I tried installing Netbios on both, but that did not help.

I tried to connect to it via the direct name i.e. \\computer\printer, but that did not help.

If I try and browse, I can see the computer, but not the printer, even though the browser isn't supposed to show any computers without shared printers on them, but that did not help.

The client connects to the server and access folders and programs there no problem.

Another client on the domain can connect to and install the printer. So it's probably not a firewall printer on the client side.

The server can connect to other shared printers on the domain, so it's probably not a firewall problem on the server side.

There are no third party firewalls installed on anything, and the Windows firewall does have the printer and file sharing exclusion activated, and exceptions are allowed, on all computers.

I tried to uninstall and reinstallt he printer, but that did not help.

The clients are all Windows XP.

I tried to uninstall the printer, and connect with a parallel port rather than USB, and that did not help.

I have rebooted the client many times, but that did not help.

So what else coukld it possibly be, and how do i fix it???

Thanks, it's driving me absolutely nuts!!!

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haswandi

Have you tried to manually install the printer on windows 2003 SBS first? The driver on windows XP and windows SBS might be different.

I usually will manually add the printer on my server first then when it prompted to which printer port it is connected, I will select the network option instead of local / usb /parallel
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How do i configure the network port? It doesn't have an IP address, it's not a network printer, it has to be shared through the client.
Also, I can't even get to the driver installation stage, the connection to the printer that starts that process is refused somehow.

P.S. I am logged in as a domain administrator on both server & client computers. Even tried to sign in as different domain administrator accounts just in case, but no luck!!
client as in the windows xp machine?
Yes, cl;ient as in windows XP machine.
did you shared the printer on the windows xp machine? Right click on the printer and click sharing
Yes, it's share on the XP machine. Net share verifies this too.
Plus, one of the other client PCs does connect to that printer and installs it just fine.
FYI, not only is the printer shared, but under privileges the everybody group has been given full access, just in case.
alright..
could you see the printer share from the windows sbs?
When I am in the add new printer browse, the computer is listed, indiciating that it detects some sort of shared printer, but I cannot "expand" that computer to see the printer listed there. If I am in the add new printer directory, the printer is shown there, but trying to connect it rejects the attempt. So I can partially see the shared printer in browse, and fully see it in the directory, but can never connect to it.
Seems like permission problem.

Do you have the same username / password on both xp and SBS? I believe you do not have some sort of centralized DC environment setup where all the username / password is stored and supplied from the SBS? and all XP logins are authenticated by the SBS?
you mention that it is a USB Printer , can I ask make and model?
sounds to me like file and print sharing is not working or set up correctly on the client (XP) machine, in order to test this you should create a folder on the client machine, share it and grant full access to all users, you should be able to see this then from the server.

Also with SBS 2003 you need to logon to the domain from the client machine and watch that ther are no user profiles being loaded that are preventing you from file sharing.

Yup, Epxon FX-2190 dot matrix, USB and Parallel, same problem with both interfaces.

The other client can connect and install the printer, so trying to figure out why a client can get to it but not the server? Even if there's a problem with the file and print sharing, why would it work with one but not the other? If anything, i might expect the client could not find it but the server would be able to, but AI have the opposite problem.

There are not other users logged onto the network, not even other clients powered up at the moment. Driving me nuts!!
Is there a Windows 2003 Server Operating System  server  Driver for this printer ? The Server would require its own Driver surely,  From what you are saying that is the only difference that I can see. Try this ... connect the printer directly to the server box... and see if you can print from the server.  that would be why your other client machines can avail of the printer but not the server .
Problem with that is, the server fails to connect to the printer long before it ever gets to the driver selection.
normally on old dot matrix printers one had to use a specific "print server"  which was a box that was connected to the printer and respectively to the LAN, software was delivered with this box for installation onto the client and server machines. I also notice that Epson make a "network" version of this Printer FX2190(N). surely if the one you have worked without an issue on a network then there would not be a requirement for a "network" version. I would look at this closer dot Matrix printers tend to have a mind of their own sometimes :-)
This is not an old dot matrix printer,we just bought it a couple weeks back,  so it shouldn't need a special print server. The one I have works fine on another client computer, shared out exactly the same way, so it's probably not the printer. I'm thinking that the reason for a network version of the printer is for environments where they need the printer to remain available at all times, regardless of whether or not a computer it is connected to is powered on or not.

So what else could be causing this printer to be found on other clients, but not on the server? Why is the computer locking out the server only, and how is that even possible?
What type of software on the server is trying to print to the printer ? is it a Dos package ? Erp ? Windows software etc..? why do you need to Share it over the server? why do you need to print from the server? thanks
BTW you never answered my previous question in relation to Printer drivers, I cannot see a windows server 2003 Driver available for this printer...
you said in a previous post
"Problem with that is, the server fails to connect to the printer long before it ever gets to the driver selection."

you were not specific... have you tried to connect the printer LOCALLY to the Server.. in other words directly to the USB port, to see if it will install, the reason that I ask this is as follows, if this then prints directly from the server it means that the server is correctly configured (with drivers etc) to print to this port, if not then you wil save yourself a lot of time
The server is unable to connect to the printer during the installation process. It's not that it can't print to it, it can't even find it for installation. It shows up in the directory, but when you select it and try to install the printer, an error message that the computer cannot connect to the printer comes up. This does not happen with another client computer though. It has to be shared and accessible from the server for our inevntory software to use it. I haven't worried about drivers yet, because I can't even get the server to find the unit to install a driver for it. I don't know whether or not there is a server 2003 specific driver, but even if there is and I had it in my possession, I would not be able to install it for that printer, since the server is unable to connect to the printer during the first stages of the usual installation process. Sorry if I am being repetitve, I'm just trying to give you as complete a picture as I can.

Thanks, Jason.
Now I have the exact same problem with a brand new computer out of the box, and a completely different printer. What am I missing here, it can't be this complicated.

I join the domain, printer and file sharing are open in the Windows Firewall, install the printers on the client PC, it ends up added to the directory, but when the server tries to find it, it does see it in the directory, but it is denied when it tries to install the shared printer. Do I need to add something to my Snapgear 560U gateway???
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you say in quote 18/03/10 12:20 AM, ID: 27782733 just above that windows  Firewall is correctly configured... nobody would have solved your issue after this information , Like searching for a needle in a field  of Haystacks - Happy you got it solved though...
sounds to me like file and print sharing is not working or set up correctly on the client (XP) machine- I wrote this  in a much earlier post... you failed to check it... If you do not do what experts advise you then you will not resolve the problem quickly - see the post 12/03/10 02:06 AM, ID: 27635808  
just for the record
sounds to me like file and print sharing is not working or set up correctly on the client (XP) machine- I wrote this  in a much earlier post... you failed to check it... If you do not do what experts advise you then you will not resolve the problem quickly - see the post 12/03/10 02:06 AM, ID: 27635808  
just for the record
I did check when you had asked me to and was able to share the files and folders at that time, but not printers.The firewall was disabled on the computer, but the problem was that it was automatically restarting itself without notification when I logged it onto the domain.  The end solution was to manually disable the firewall service that was automatically restarting when I logged onto the domain, which nobody had suggested I try.

I don't mean to offend anybody here, but which comment other than mine better explains the solution to the problem?
Is there a way to accept one solution, but grant the points to another

 Just because I tracked down the problem on my own in the end, does not mean that the contributions of others were not extremely helpful, or that I do not appreciate their time and effort any less.
Thats fine, I am not offended , not at all, I wont split hairs with you, granted you did resolve the problem in the end on your own, just it was that the firewall was blocking file and print sharing as soon as you were on the domain... which meant you should have tested the basic  functionality of this , as I suggested... in the "live " environment.  Have a good weekend... regards Patrick