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Q231616: INFO: Terminal Server Console-Directed Pop-Up Print Error Box

Article: Q231616
Product(s): Microsoft C Compiler
Version(s): winnt:4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbprint kbOSWinNT400 kbPrinting kbWinNT4sp6fix kbGrpDSNTDDK
Last Modified: 11-SEP-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0, Terminal Server Edition 
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SUMMARY
=======

When trying to print from a Terminal Server (TS) version 4.0 client to a printer
(on LPT1) on a TS server, the Printers Folder error dialog box pops up with the
following message on the server side, and not on the client side:

  Error writing to LPT1: for Document test page: The device is not ready. Do
  you wish to retry or cancel the job?

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT Server
version 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. For additional information, please see the
following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q152734 How to Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack

This problem was first corrected in Windows NT Server version 4.0, Terminal
Server Edition Service Pack 6.

MORE INFORMATION
================

Steps to Reproduce the Behavior
-------------------------------

Configuration:

- Windows Terminal Server version 4.0, build 419: SP3.

- Terminal Server Client for Windows NT x86, Windows NT 4, SP3.

- Printer installed on Terminal Server: Any.

1. Open the Terminal Server client session and log on.

2. Unhook the printer cable from the machine (Terminal Server).

3. Print a test page from the Terminal Server client.

4. Wait for a while.

5. Notice that Printers Folder error dialog box, with the following message, is
  on the Terminal Server, and NOT on the client:

  Error writing to LPT1: for Document test page: The device is not ready. Do
  you wish to retry or cancel the job?

Explanation:

The above situation could be a problem for the following reasons:

- The error dialog box coming from the spooler goes to the TS console, and

- It would seem that the print queue would get paralyzed until an Administrator
  takes care of the error dialog box on the console.

The error dialog box displays on the TS Console by design in Terminal server
version 4.0, because the general rule was to display the error where the printer
is attached.

Client Printers:

This case is handled similar to the local printers. The error dialog box goes to
the client, which owns that printer; otherwise, it goes to the console. The
reasons for this design are as follows:

- The printer problems can be easily fixed by the person sitting near the
  printer instead of the user who initiates the job.

- MS-DOS programs, which must NET USE a shared printer, do not transmit a
  WinStation Logon ID. Therefore, it is impossible to determine the initiator
  of the print job.

- Systems on the network do not have WinStation Logon IDs.

The error dialog box could be sent to the initiator if the information is
available, or sent to the owner if the information is not available. However,
this would be inconsistent from the user's viewpoint.

Local (System) Printers:

This case is the same as the standard Windows NT Server printer handling. Both
the multiuser environments and the "server in a closet" case are handled.

A Windows NT Server alert is sent to the printer Administrators. This alert,
however, is sent only once per job if the dialog box keeps timing out, to
prevent the overnight flooding of the error messages. If the dialog box is
answered, then the ALERT is re-armed in case the job hangs up again.

The local printer pop-up dialog box is sent to the console. This error dialog box
times out in 5 minutes if the server is enclosed. If this message is not
answered in 5 minutes, however, the job is not deleted. This is to prevent
spooler threads from getting buried in the message box, preventing the printer
Administrators from deleting the job and/or the printer.

Because the spooler relies on blocking in a message box until an answer is
received, the message box is still created on the console with the standard
5-minute timeout. This allows for the correction of the printer problem in less
than 5 minutes, or an automatic retry of the job occurs in 5 minutes if the
server is "in the closet". If someone purges the job from the Print
Administrator during the 5-minute wait, the job is deleted when the message box
times out. This keeps the printers from locking up when there is no console
access, but still allows resuming faster when someone fixes the printer problem
and answers the console.

This is not the "ideal" way to handle the printer error pop-up dialog box for the
remote logon user because the client doesn't receive any notification about this
event and is left in the dark. This problem has been rectified in Windows 2000
where the error dialog box goes to the correct client session.

Additional query words: Terminal Server

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Keywords          : kbprint kbOSWinNT400 kbPrinting kbWinNT4sp6fix kbGrpDSNTDDK 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400search kbNTTermServ400 kbNTTermServSearch
Version           : winnt:4.0
Issue type        : kbinfo

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