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Q262202: Cannot Install Printers on Terminal Server w/SP5/SP6 Installed

Article: Q262202
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): 4.0 SP5,4.0 SP6
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbenv kberrmsg kbprint
Last Modified: 06-AUG-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 4.0 SP5, 4.0 SP6, Terminal Server Edition 
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IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you 
modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore 
the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the 
registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS
========

When you attempt to install a printer in Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server with
Service Pack 5 (SP5) or Service Pack 6 (SP6) installed, you may receive the
following error message:

  Server on which the printer resides does not have a suitable <Printer>
  driver installed.

CAUSE
=====

This behavior can occur if you are attempting to install a new printer that does
not have a driver in the trusted path. SP5 or SP6 makes changes to the registry
that provide for the enhanced stability of Terminal Server by not allowing
printer drivers to be installed from untrusted paths.

RESOLUTION
==========

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems
that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot
guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor
incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

To install the printer, you must modify the registry:

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).

2. Locate and click the following key:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Providers\LanMan
  Print Services\Servers

3. Set the following registry values:

  Value Name: LoadTrustedDrivers
  Data Type: REG_DWORD
  Value: 0

  Value Name: EnablePrinterSecurity
  Data Type: REG_DWORD
  Value: 0

4. Quit Registry Editor.

5. Restart the server.

After you make this change, administrators can install new printer drivers. After
the drivers are installed, users can add the new printers based on these
drivers.

NOTE: Before you install a new printer driver, make sure that it is compatible
with Terminal Server. You may want to install and test the driver in a test
environment before you install the driver on a production server.

After you have installed the drivers you need, you should consider setting the
registry back to its original settings:

  Key:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Providers\LanMan
  Print Services\Servers

  Value Name: LoadTrustedDrivers
  Data Type: REG_DWORD
  Value: 1

  Value Name: EnablePrinterSecurity
  Data Type: REG_DWORD
  Value: 1

Restart the server after making these changes.

In summary, when EnablePrinterSecurity is set to "0", then the client looks for
drivers in TrustedDriverPath\2 folder. When it is set to "1", it looks for
drivers under TrustedDriverPath.

Example:

Case 1: EnablePrinterSecurity is set to 0
------------------------------------------

  [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Providers\LanMan
  Print Services\Servers]

  "AddPrinterDrivers"=dword:00000000
  "LoadTrustedDrivers"=dword:00000001
  "EnablePrinterSecurity"=dword:00000000
  "TrustedDriverPath"=REG_EXPAND_SZ:\\printserver\print$\W32%PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE%

In this case, the client pulls the driver from \\printserver\print$\w32x86\2

Make sure the drivers are in \\printserver\print$\w32x86\2

Case2: EnablePrinterSecurity is set to 1 (only admins can add the printer)
-------------------------------------------------------------------

  [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Providers\LanMan
  Print Services\Servers]

  "AddPrinterDrivers"=dword:00000000

  "LoadTrustedDrivers"=dword:00000001

  "EnablePrinterSecurity"=dword:00000001

  "TrustedDriverPath"=REG_EXPAND_SZ:\\printserver\print$\W32%PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE%

In this case, the client pulls the driver from \\printserver\print$\w32x86

Make sure the drivers are in \\printserver\print$\w32x86 (note that it doesn't
look for "2" folder)

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

For additional information, click the article numbers below to view the articles
in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q239536 How to Load Printer Drivers from Trusted Source Only

  Q238070 Computer May Hang if Multiple Terminal Server Users Connect to a
  Remote Printer and Print Simultaneously

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbenv kberrmsg kbprint 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400search kbNTTermServ400sp5 kbNTTermServ400sp6 kbNTTermServSearch
Version           : :4.0 SP5,4.0 SP6
Issue type        : kbprb

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