I have a client with several computers in their shop. One of the biggest problem I am finding is that using the Administrator login, I am able to print to the network printer. However if I log in as a user, the printer does not appear to be installed. So I end up installing the drivers again.

Is this normal? Or is this because they ghosted each machine from a ghost image?

thankc. CC

Ummm Is the driver sat on the main HDD on the network you should leave a copy of the driver there and then just do a run command from any PC and install the driver once not forgettig to set the correct priveledges to allow software install from any terminal or it will be reverted back if the correct priveledges arent in place.

HowTo Push Globally Installed Printers Across the LAN

Local Printers are installed by default for all users.
However network printers shared by another windows share are only installed for a particular user. To push install a set of network printers for all users on all computers on your LAN:

1.) familarize yourself with the following cryptic command and do NOT ever forget that DLL commands are CaSesEnSitivE. In the following, "PrintUIEntry" has to be capitalized in this particular way.

Generate a list of commands for printers:
rundll32.exe printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /?

Enumerate globally installed printers on the local machine:
rundll32.exe printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /ge

2.) Edit Printers.txt, replacing my printer names with your printer names. These are printers that will be installed on all machines.
DO include the \\UNC slashes.

3.) Edit Machines.txt, replacing the machines to push printers to with your machine names.
Don't include the \\UNC slashes.

4.) Drop the .txt extension to make PrintersAddGlobal.cmd

5.) Put all three files in the same folder on a network share and run the script as an admin.

6.) A few moments (sometimes minutes) after a user logs in, all these printers will show in the "Printers and Faxes" folder. Also works on Win2000.

Your Done

Or do it much, much more simply:

Don't install the network printer as a network printer but as a local printer.
To do this, choose to install a new local printer, create a new local port, call the port "\\servername\printersharename" and install the printer as normal.

That is great for two computers and 2 printers. But when you have many printers and many computers, the command line and batch files always win. Why would i want to wait for the "Add a Printer" wizard - way too slow.

Have tried this on windows XP under AD with me having domain admin rights.

Machines.txt:
SouthLab Room118 2100
SouthLab Room 119 1320

Printers.txt:
\\WINDEVPRINT\SouthLab Room118 2100
\\WINDEVPRINT\SouthLab Room 119 1320

...have also tried WINDEVPRINT with FULL UNC path.

When I run this I get the error:
"unable to add the per machine printer connection"
"The printer spooler service is not running"

Have checked that printer spooler service is running, as well as restarting it to make sure as well as rebooting PC.

Any ideas?

Do the target machines have firewalls installed? If yes, then have you allowed Windows management services?

Remove Spaces?, NetBios has 15 char limit?

The printer share names you listed have spaces in their names and are very long. Not all implementations of NeBIOS support such long machine names with spaces. Until you are more comfortable, i would shorten the names and remove spaces.

Did you download the example Machines.txt and Printers.txt file and follow the format in those files?

Machines.txt should contain the names of Windows Workstations, your post makes it look like printer names.

Printers.txt should contain the name of Printer shares.

Test installing one remote printer while sitting at a single workstation. Remember, PrintUIEntry has to be capitalized EXACTLY as written:

rundll32.exe PrintUI.dll,PrintUIEntry /ga /n "\\WINDEVPRINT\SouthLabRoom1182100"

When you get this working, sitting at that same workstation (with domain root privilege) try installing on a remote workstation.

rundll32.exe PrintUI.dll,PrintUIEntry /ga /c \\RemotePC /n "\\WINDEVPRINT\SouthLabRoom1182100"

Thank you for your responses.
This was to be a quick way of sorting out problems for a large number os students, but as time was pressing decided to do it the hard way - per machine.
Shall look at this again in future.
Many thanks.