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Removing User Printers on a Terminal Server in Mass

Is there a way to clean up user defined printers on a terminal server?

Let me give you an example of what I have run across.

User 1 has logged onto the terminal server.
User 1 then created a printer and gave it the name MYPRINTER, he used the IP address to connect. This printer is located in the office.
The terminal server already has a printer named "OFFICE 1". It is not shared, it is an IP printer. It is the one located in the office.

Now I have each user with a different printer name for the same system printer.

This creates confusion. As well, when OFFICE 1 goes down, I simple re-point the server printer OFFICE 1 to another IP of a printer that is working, OFFICE 2. However, those users with custom printers names for the same printer complain because their print jobs continue to go to the dead printer.

I want to clean up this mess by forcing everyone to use the same printer name .

What is the best way to
1) Remove all the custom (user setup) print names. I would like to do this without having to go to each users log-on.
2) Make available to everyone's printer selection list the core group of printers they need.

Thanks

johnb6767

How about a login script to wipe the subkeys under the following?

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Printers\Connections

Could even run a script to mount all the user profiles and then wipe that key....

There are a handful of other values under "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Printers\Settings" for network printers, but they are just remnants....

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David_Ingledew

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HCSHAW

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David
Good information. I need to add back a printer to ALL USERS that was deleted yesterday. The PRINTUI.DLL seems to be the way to go, but I have not had and success getting it to show up on all users available printers. What am I doing wrong?

C:\WINDOWS>rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /ga /c\\ala-trmsrvr /n\\Ala-Sxe\DReport1

ala-trmsvr is the Terminal server that all users needs to have the printer show up on. The printer is actually defined on ALA-SXE and is shared out. The printer is currently showing up under ADMINISTRATOR since I orginally added them for checking the printers from one server.

Running the command reports no errors.

Hoping on a users session that is already logged in, I do not see the printer appear in their selection list.

Any idea as to what is happening? I can't find any logs to do some trouble shooting.

Thanks
Harry

David_Ingledew

It doesn't log unless set to if i remember right
Let me check my scripts....

OK, use /in instead of /ga (/ga require administrative rights from what I can see.)

C:\WINDOWS>rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /ga /c\\ala-trmsrvr /n\\Ala-Sxe\DReport1
becomes...
C:\WINDOWS>rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /in /n\\Ala-Sxe\DReport1

HCSHAW

ASKER

It seems like I have everything I need to do the clean up. Thanks for all the suggestions and examples.