mimi8118
asked on
Can't print or change printer properties in RDP session
I have a new bare installation of win server 2008 r2 foundation set as DC with 8 local PCs connected on the LAN, installed RDS & 5 CALs for remoting. I have 3 win xp pro client PCs that remote in to run 1 application. I have installed printer drivers on the server that the remote PCs use. I installed Print & Document services & Remote Desktop services.
The local users on the LAN have no problems at all printing. The remote PC users have no problem connecting to the server & the user's session shows the local printer when remoting in but when a test page is sent to it, nothing is printed. If I try to look at the printer properties, such as sharing, security, etc., they are greyed out. Even if I remote in as admin, my printers transfer but all property options are greyed out. If I choose to look at the security & choose the user such as admin, the option boxes to allow print, manage docs, manage printers, etc. are all greyed out. I have added users to the printer operators group but still no change.
Is there a setting in group policies that I am missing or do I need to install or uninstall roles?
Thanks
The local users on the LAN have no problems at all printing. The remote PC users have no problem connecting to the server & the user's session shows the local printer when remoting in but when a test page is sent to it, nothing is printed. If I try to look at the printer properties, such as sharing, security, etc., they are greyed out. Even if I remote in as admin, my printers transfer but all property options are greyed out. If I choose to look at the security & choose the user such as admin, the option boxes to allow print, manage docs, manage printers, etc. are all greyed out. I have added users to the printer operators group but still no change.
Is there a setting in group policies that I am missing or do I need to install or uninstall roles?
Thanks
Hi,
You may not be aware, but Server 2008 R2 has a feature called Easy Print, which gets around the need to install printer drivers on the server itself, as it was required on Server 2003.
I must say it does work flawlessly. Locally defaulted printers seamlessly map across into the RDS environment. You're going to need to apply a few updates for everything to work as expected.
- For your Windows 7 clients, it will work out of the box as is.
- For Vista clients, I would recommend updating the RDC client to 7.0: http://support.microsoft.c
- For your XP clients, you need to update them to RDC 7.0 and install .Net 3.0 SP1: http://support.microsoft.c
I would recommend uninstalling the printer drivers you have installed and setup, as this may duplicate the printers that appear on the RDP session and confuse users and yourself when troubleshooting.
For more information see this link: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rd
Let me know how you get along.
You may not be aware, but Server 2008 R2 has a feature called Easy Print, which gets around the need to install printer drivers on the server itself, as it was required on Server 2003.
I must say it does work flawlessly. Locally defaulted printers seamlessly map across into the RDS environment. You're going to need to apply a few updates for everything to work as expected.
- For your Windows 7 clients, it will work out of the box as is.
- For Vista clients, I would recommend updating the RDC client to 7.0: http://support.microsoft.c
- For your XP clients, you need to update them to RDC 7.0 and install .Net 3.0 SP1: http://support.microsoft.c
I would recommend uninstalling the printer drivers you have installed and setup, as this may duplicate the printers that appear on the RDP session and confuse users and yourself when troubleshooting.
For more information see this link: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rd
Let me know how you get along.
ASKER
Thanks for your response. I found that even with updates to the client PCs, Easy print still had some problems with some printers. I changed the group policy for remote desktop services / printer redirection from "not configured" to "enabled" which forces easy print to be used first. No luck, even with print driver installed on server. I then changed it to "disabled" and it printed immediately & allowed sharing, properties, etc. to work. Not greyed out anymore.
Hmmmmm.....??
Thanks.
Hmmmmm.....??
Thanks.
I would like to say remove the printer drivers you've installed for say one of your printers and let Easy Print try, even though you have configured GPO.
Just to ask, when you mentioned that you've "still had some problems with some printers", could you describe in a little more details what problems you've been having? Print output not as expected? What make / models are these printers?
Just to ask, when you mentioned that you've "still had some problems with some printers", could you describe in a little more details what problems you've been having? Print output not as expected? What make / models are these printers?
ASKER
Most problems were on my test printer, HP Color CP1518ni.
It would show up as default printer in my session but I could not get it to print a test page or txt page. Nothing ever got to the printer. I would go into the properties of the printer but any & all settings that should be able to be changed such as sharing, user permissions, etc. were greyed out. I've already tried what you recommended with no luck. As soon as I disabled easy print, all worked fine. I agree that having print drivers on the server is not recommended but easy print from XP PCs, even with the updates, wouldn't work.
Thanks,
It would show up as default printer in my session but I could not get it to print a test page or txt page. Nothing ever got to the printer. I would go into the properties of the printer but any & all settings that should be able to be changed such as sharing, user permissions, etc. were greyed out. I've already tried what you recommended with no luck. As soon as I disabled easy print, all worked fine. I agree that having print drivers on the server is not recommended but easy print from XP PCs, even with the updates, wouldn't work.
Thanks,
Can you disable "enable advanced printing features" on your HP and try again.
How to disable "enable advanced....": http://www.papercut.com/kb
How to disable "enable advanced....": http://www.papercut.com/kb
ASKER
I removed the pseudo HP printer from the server & it printed & properties are working fine.
When the pseudo printer driver is removed, does it leave anything behind? Will I have to reboot the server to completely remove it? Just for future referenceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Thanks for your help!!!
When the pseudo printer driver is removed, does it leave anything behind? Will I have to reboot the server to completely remove it? Just for future referenceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Thanks for your help!!!
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
The advanced print options are greyed out when I connect to my remote desktop server - even logged in as domain admin. How can I change the advanced print options?
thanks
thanks
ASKER