Default printer Group Policy

I am deploying our new printers via group policy. We have a new printer in place and I am fairly familiar on how to actually deploy them. I am deploying the printers MOSTLY by user configuration and with that method, I am able to easily delete old printers and set the correct one as a default.
However, We have some computers that have multiple users. In that case, I am deploying the printers as a Computer configuration, not an employee configuration. My question is, how can I set the newly deployed printer as a default for all users that log on to that particular computer? Thank you.
This topic first appeared in the Spiceworks Community

Similar Messages

Set default printer group policy

I am deploying our new printers via group policy. We have a new printer in place and I am fairly familiar on how to actually deploy them. I am deploying the printers MOSTLY by user configuration and with that method, I am able to easily delete old printers and set the correct one as a default.
However, We have some computers that have multiple users. In that case, I am deploying the printers as a Computer configuration, not an employee configuration. My question is, how can I set the newly deployed printer as a default for all users that log on to that particular computer? Thank you.
This topic first appeared in the Spiceworks Community

I am deploying our new printers via group policy. We have a new printer in place and I am fairly familiar on how to actually deploy them. I am deploying the printers MOSTLY by user configuration and with that method, I am able to easily delete old printers and set the correct one as a default.
However, We have some computers that have multiple users. In that case, I am deploying the printers as a Computer configuration, not an employee configuration. My question is, how can I set the newly deployed printer as a default for all users that log on to that particular computer? Thank you.
This topic first appeared in the Spiceworks Community

Uninstall IE and set another web browser such as Chrome and FireFox as default using Group Policy

Hi there,
Please can anyone instruct me on how to uninstall IE and set another web browser such as Chrome and FireFox as default using Group Policy. Your help would be much appreciated.
Kind regards,
RocknRollTim
P.S. I was redirected by a forum user off the Microsoft Community forum.

IE can't be uninstalled. It's part of the operating system and cannot be removed. You can hide the icon but the engine is still on the machine and still must be updated.
This is a topic best suited for a Group policy forum.
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en
US/home?forum=winserverGP
Step one is to install the Chrome ADMX templates - see the link below for more detais:
Configuring Google Chrome via Group Policy | Jack Stromberg:
http://jackstromberg.com/2013/08/configuring-google-chrome-via-group-policy/
Of the two browsers, my personal preference is Chrome over Firefox. Firefox's add in model is too prone to developer insecurity.
My blog
Thanks Justin Gu for marking this as the proposed answer.
Thank you,
RocknRollTim

Default domain Group Policy

Hello,
In my new company, I noticed that the default domain controllers policy has been (largely) modified.
I thought it was a best practice to keep it clean (In case of restore).
So I would like to create a new GPOs for my DCs to move some of those settings out of the default domain policy.
For example, "Add workstations to domain". If I want to create a new policy for this particular setting, what kind of rules am I supposed to follow to make sure that my new setting will be applied before the default DC policy ?
Is the GPO Link order enough ?
Thank you

Hi,
Just a confirmation, did you mean that want to overwrite some settings in the
Default Domain Controllers Policy?
Within each domain, site, and OU, the
Link Order controls the order in which GPOs are applied. If several GPOs are linked to an organizational unit, their processing is in the order that is specified by the administrator, on the
Linked Group Policy Objects tab for the organizational unit in GPMC. The GPO with the lowest
Link Order is processed last, and therefore has the highest precedence. Since Default Domain Controllers Policy is linked to the Domain Controllers organizational unit, you can create a new GPO and link it to this Domain Controllers organizational
unit, then control thier order of them via Link Order.
If anything I misunderstand or any update, please feel free to let us know.
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
Justin Gu

Push default printer settings from server - setprinter.exe ?

Hi,
I need to push out some new default printer settings (mono and duplex) for 300 printers across about 12 x 2003/2008 print servers. All of these devices are already mapped by around 2500 WinXP/7 users, so reconnecting the devices for everybody is not
an option, nor is redeploying via GPO. I've read the following thread, which appears to explain what I need to do:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/winserverprint/thread/a0a9bb3f-db24-417d-9905-c310d068d3c6/
Firstly, I need the latest version of setprinter.exe, as the one I've got is date stamped April 2003, which I assume is the one that fails to work with devmode 9. Does anybody know where I can get this from?
Secondly, I think it says that the clients will periodically update themselves with the server's default settings. This is perfect, if correct. However, would anybody please be able to explain when these periodic updates take place?
Many thanks in advance !
Andy

Hi,
There is a tool named "setprinter.exe" tool in the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit.
Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit can be downloaded from the link below:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9D467A69-57FF-4AE7-96EE-B18C4790CFFD&displaylang=en
As far as I know, there is no Windows Server 2008 Resource Kit for download, some of the MS Press have some books include Windows® Server 2008 Security Resource Kit
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/book.aspx?ID=11841&locale=en-us
Windows Server® 2008 Resource Kit (bundle)
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/book.aspx?ID=10345&locale=en-us
You may find ll the entire RESOURCE KIT on CD attached with the book.
Windows Server 2008 R2
==================
No resource kit Tools & Support tools are available for 2008R2...everything is on the OS already
Secondly, I think it says that the clients will periodically update themselves with the server's default settings.
>> Do you mean group policy refresh? By default, computer Group Policy is updated in the background every 90 minutes, with a random offset of 0 to 30 minutes. In addition to background updates, Group Policy for the computer is always updated when the
system starts.
Hope this helps!
Best Regards
Elytis Cheng
Elytis Cheng
TechNet Community Support

Group Policy Printers errors

Hello everybody,
We have a problem since few weeks with printers deployment.
Intermittently, they are not deployed and we have errors 4098 in Event ID with codes :
- '0x8007000a The environment is incorrect'
- '0x8007007a The data area passed to a system call is too small'
- '0x80070005 Access denied'
Our server is a Windows 2008 R2 and clients are Windows7.
We have already read these topics :
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/24dfd6c0-b460-40a7-ad18-13e404b361e7/group-policy-printers-dissapearing-from-client-machines-intermittently
It was already enabled (Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Group Policy\Printers Policy Processing ->
Do not apply during periodic background processing)
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Server_Software/Active_Directory/Q_26220975.html
We have tried to delete printers at logoff but nothing changed.
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/7d3809c4-9f36-4412-9c9f-d82614ba3eb9/printers-not-applied-error-4098-0x80070005-access-is-denied
By default we have everybody can print. To be sure, we have added "Domain Computers" but same result.
We have tried to create :
- New GPO to deploy old printers queues => no changes.
- New printers queues and deploy with old GPO => no changes.
- New GPO to deploy new printers queue => no changes.
Our GPO is set like this :
- [Computer configuration/Policies/Administrative Templates/System/Group Policy]
○ Configure printers preference extension policy processing => all enabled
○ Configure user Group Policy loopback processing mode => Merge
- [User configuration/Preferences/Control Panel Settings/Printers/Shared Printer/printername]
○ General => Sharepath
\\server\printername
○ Common => Remove this item when it is no longer applied
In a desperate hope we have reinstall completely some clients but we still have sometimes "Environment is incorrect".
We don't know anymore what to do…
Can you help us please ?

Hello,
Do you have installed the latest Microsoft hotfixes on your server / client
KB2537549 - Cannot deploy a printer by using a GPO if read-only domain controllers
are exclusively used in the domain environment in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2. This hotfix contains the most current version of PRINTER Group Policy Preferences for Windows 7/2008 Post SP1.
KB2647753 - Update rollup for the printing core components in Windows 7 and
Windows Server 2008 R2.
KB2526028 - Printing performance decreases in Windows 7 or in Windows Server
2008 R2.
KB2618574 - Print Spooler service saves the NetBIOS name of the print server
in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
A list of other post-SP1 hotfixes can be found here...
Links to post
SP1 hotfixes for Windows 7 Service Pack 1
Links
to post SP1 hotfixes for Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1
List of performance
hotfixes post SP1 for Windows 7 SP1
Jan

MBAM Group Policy Problems

I am trying to install and configure MBAM 2.0. I have installed all of the components on two separate servers. Server 1 has sccm 2012
integration and gpo policy templates. Server two has the rest. When I load Group Policy Management the templates do not appear. I have manually extracted and copied the templates in the local policy definitions and still nothing. Any ideas?

By default the Group Policy Management console will look for templates at a central SYSVOL location (a so called central store). Likely you have a PolicyDefinitions folder in
\\domain.com\sysvol\domain.com\Policies and then you need to add the MBAM ADMX and ADML files to that location to be able to see those settings when managing group policies. The reason for this is
that the central store has precedence over local group policy templates.
Blogging about Windows for IT pros at
www.theexperienceblog.com

Group Policy Preferences - Registry change - time targetting

I have a customer who wants to change the timeouts etc on a screensaver based on the time of day.
Users often leave a machine open and on(with Bloomberg info) and work using another machine while they keep an eye on the Bloomberg one.
The plan is to have these machines running Bloomberg have a long screen timeout during the working day, and then go back to the default screensaver timeout after that so the users don't have to continually enter a password.
Looking at GPP it needs to be done via a registry change.
I've created the policy (screensaver, lock and screensaver on are all set (3 reg updates), then 2 time targeted additional reg updates for the screen saver timeout), but the policy only applies at logon or a forced gpupdate. It doesn't update when
the time change occurs.
If I run a "gpupdate /force" the policy does change based on time. I have tried a scheduled task for "gpupdate / force" and that didn't apply the change.
Is GPP registry just not up to the job for time scheduling with a registry change, or am I doing something wrong?
All machines are Win7 pro x64

Hi JaseFromLodon,
To make it work ,we can set this policy to have a check.By default, computer Group Policy is updated in the background every 90 minutes.We can change this time to "0" instead of creating a task schedule and the update will be performed every 7
second.
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Group Policy \Set group policy refresh internal for computers
Here is a link for reference
Group Policy refresh interval for computers
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc940895.aspx
For the time range faeture ,I am sorry I didn`t explain the issue clearly .
Pay attention to the "note " in step 13 of the link as you posted .
"Make sure you allow for the policy refresh interval (default 90 minutes with a 20% random offset) when configuring the start and end time. This means you might want to start applying the policy 2 hours before the start of business (e.g. 6:30am) to make
sure all the computers are configured with the Business Hours Power Plan before people login in the morning (e.g. 8:30am)."
The time targeting feature doesn`t mean the preference settings will be applied according to the specific time we have set .It means the preference settings will be applied to the machines whose time is included in the time range .Please pay attention to
the explanation of the time range features carefully (the screenshot I have posted).
Manually "gpupdate /force "will work .I suspect the task schedule hasn`t been set correctly .Please check the running history of this task schedule.
Best regards

Group Policy - Computer Startup Scripts - Add/Set Default printer

Good Morning.
Let's say we have 2 offices, A and B, and only 1 user. The user is using Roaming Profiles. Each office has its own printer.
What I am trying to do, is make a Startup script that is specific to the COMPUTER being logged into so when any user logs into that computer, they get the printer in that office defined and set as default.
I am able to do this successfully with my script but ONLY if i have the script be on the USER side of GP (i.e. in the Logon script section)
That is great that that is working however, when my user goes to Office B, they still get mapped to Office A's printer if I use that method.
So I figured I could just modify my GP and run the same script from the STARTUP section of the computer, rather than the LOGON section of the user. It does not work.
Here is my script:
Set WRFCUNetwork = CreateObject("Wscript.Network")
PrinterPath = "\\fileserver\MAINTELLER"
PrinterDriver = "PrinterDriver"
WRFCUNetwork.AddWindowsPrinterConnection PrinterPath, PrinterDriver
WRFCUNetwork.SetDefaultPrinter "\\fileserver\MAINTELLER"
This is where I Have the script placed:
     Computer Configuration -> Windows Settings -> Scripts(Startup/Shutdown)
Once i'm in there, I double click Startup, click Add, and select my script which is named:
     MainPrinterSetup.vbs
I have this GP applied to ONE OU, and that OU has ONE computer in it (my test computer)
I login with a brand new user called "testuser" (creative, huh?) and basically nothing happens
except they log in and have some Microsoft Document Image Writer printer set as default (which by the way sure does slow the PC down to the point of it almost being broke if anyone actually tries to print to that by accident)
No Main Teller Printer, no anything.
The strangest part about this is, if i apply this script to the user LOGON scripts, it works fine, the printer is there, and is set as default. (but see above why that wont work for my situation)
So obviously the script works fine, but I guess i'm missing something when it comes to applying GP's to Computers rather than Users.
Can anyone shed some light as to why the script is not running (i'm guessing the script isn't even attempting to run, rather than failing, but i have no way to know that)
Thank you in advance!!
Derek Conlon
Network Administrator
WRFCU
EDIT: Here are the PC's info that i'm working on:
     Server: Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition (where my GP's are created and managed with AD)
     Target PC: Windows XP Professional SP3
EDIT #2: I manually navigated to the Script file after logging in and "opened" it and it added and set the default printer no problem. the issue is definately with the script running at startup.

I wanted to clarify a few things:
1. While it is true that printer connections are usually per user, it is definitely possible to create "global printers". There are a number of ways to do this, but two methods that come to mind are using:
a. "Rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry" option with the "/ga" switch. The "/ga" switch is the key here since it allows you to deploy printers "per machine" instead of "per user". More information
about this is available at:
http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/NetPrinterAllUsers.htm
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee624057%28WS.10%29.aspx
http://www.computerperformance.co.uk/Logon/logon_printer_computer.htm
http://www.robvanderwoude.com/2kprintcontrol.php
b. The Print Management console that is available in Windows 2003 R2 and higher can help you deploy printers "per machine" in addition to "per user". More information about this is available at:
http://www.czsolution.com/print-management/print-management/print-management-console.htm#DeployingPrintersByGroupPolicy
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753109%28WS.10%29.aspx
2. As Guy mentioned, Group Policy Preferences can help set the default printer. But there is another way to accomplish this. The problem with the computer startup portion is that it runs before the user logs in. And applying this script
in the login script section would not work per computer unless you used loopback processing. So another way to do this is to place a script that sets the default printer into the "All Users" startup folder. Items in the "All Users"
startup folder run for any user that logs into the computer, but it runs in the user's context. So, this script would effectively set the default printer on a "per machine" basis. The script method is a cruder way to approach the problem,
but it will help get the job done. Here are some resources on setting the default printer via script:
http://www.intelliadmin.com/index.php/2007/08/set-default-printer-from-a-script
http://www.computerperformance.co.uk/ezine/ezine17.htm

Group policy preference for creating printers setting the wrong printer as default

Hi
We have a a group policy preference applied to users. At the moment we create a shared printer and set it as default for all users in a specific OU. Now we need to add another shared printer. I have updated the policy and set it to create
the new shared printer and have set item level targeting to the same OU as the first printer. I want to keep the existing printer as the default, however when the policy runs, the new printer is created fine but it is set as the default
printer. Is this because it has been added last ? There doesn't seem to be a way of changing the order that the printers are applied.
Both printers are Shared printers and are set to Create
The existing printer (printer A) is set as the default printer. It is targeted at the London OU.
The new printer (printer B) has NOT been set as default. It is targeted at the London OU.
No other options have been set.
When the policy is applied both printers are added but printer B is being set as the default.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
G

Hi G,
>>however when the policy runs, the new printer is created fine but it is set as the default printer. Is this because it has been added last ? There doesn't seem to be a way of changing the order that the printers are applied.
Before going further, what's the operating systems of our clients? Here, I need to double confirm that the checkbox of
Set this printer as the default printer... is not selected in the new GPP Printer item. Besides, we can change the orders of the printer items. To do this, select the printer item, right click, click All Tasks, and choose Move Up or Move
Down to change the order.
Best regards,
Frank Shen
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact [email protected]

Problem Pushing Printer Preferences through Group Policy

Most of the time, networked printers that we push through group policy preferences show up just fine on our clients (Windows 7). About 1 in 10 computers fail however, and it's driving me up the wall! The computer that fails is not consistent, meaning I can
reboot a computer and the printer then shows up correctly. It may not, however, a week later. Fairly random. Looking through the application event log, I uncovered this:
The user 'myprinter' preference item in the 'mygrouppolicy {7EDE8A14-773C-4E43-93AE-050240E0B204}' Group Policy object did not apply because it failed with error code '0x800706ba The RPC server is unavailable.' This error was suppressed.
Again, this error does not occur all the time, though if I reboot a large group of computers, it will definitely show up on 1 or 2 of them. At this point, I'm looking for any suggestions for a next step. Thanks!
-Peter

Hello Modab,
If you reboot server the printer is redeployed properly. It is possible that when the printer is deployed the network is still not prepared properly so the RPC error
is popped up. Please try the following suggestions:
1. Disable Fast Logon feature
Enable the
[Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ System \ Logon \ Always wait for the network at computer startup and logon]
group policy.
Logon Optimization
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa374350(VS.85).aspx
Description of the Windows XP Professional Fast Logon Optimization feature
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/305293/en-us
2. Group policy application issue may occur because of Gigabit NIC. Please try the suggestions in the following steps and KB.
a.
To prevent your network adapter from detecting the link state(For Windows Vista/7):
Run the following commands one by one:
netsh interface ipv4 set global dhcpmediasense=disabled
netsh interface ipv6 set global dhcpmediasense=disabled
For Windows XP, you can see
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/239924
b.
Contact the vendor of the network card or visit their web site to obtain updated drivers for the Gigabit NIC.
Examples of NICs known to exhibit this issue:
- Broadcom Gigabit Adapter
- Intel Gigabit Ethernet PRO Adapter, Intel Pro/1000
- Intel 82544EI-based XT Gigabit Adapter (82540EM chipse)
- Compaq/HP NIC dual interface 10/100/1000 doing teaming (HP NC7170)
- Dell Inspiron laptops using an on-board Broadcom BCM4401 NIC
c.
A sever may have a Dual Port NIC or multiple NIC's with one port or NIC set to Disabled. The disabled port or NIC should not be at the top of the binding order in the Network
Advance Properties.
1.
Click Start, point to Settings, and then click "Network and Dial-up Connection".
2.
On the Advanced menu, click "Advanced Settings".
3.
On the "Adapters and Bindings" tab, in the connections list, select the NIC that the clients use to connect to the server and move it to the top of the list.
d.
Turning off STP can cause issues in your network if a loop ever develops. If you are running a Cisco Series switch or any other switch that runs Spanning Tree, it is best to
leave spanning tree turned on, but enable PORTFAST on all the ports except uplink and fiber trunks.
326152 Cannot connect to domain controller and cannot apply Group Policy with Gigabit Ethernet devices
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;326152
3.
Remove all of 3rd-party software such as firewall software.
4. Set a registry value to delay the application of Group Policy.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2421599
      http://support.microsoft.com/kb/840669
Brent Hu,
Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread. ”

Group Policy Printer Error

I am getting the following warning in my Application Log:
Code Snippet
The user '<Printer Name>' preference item in the 'Default Domain Policy {31B2F340-016D-11D2-945F-00C04FB984F9}' Group Policy object did not apply because it failed with error code '0x8007007b The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.' This error was suppressed.
This fires off about every 1.5 hours. Is there a way to root out and stop this warning?
Thanks!

It is being reapplied through background refresh, which happens about every 90 minutes. Remove the printer mapping from your Default Domain Policy and you'll stop getting the error message.

How do I set firefox as the default browser in Windows Server 2012 Group Policy Editor?

Hello, I am unable to set firefox as the default browser despite multiple different attempts to do so using group policy.
I have:
- Set a registry command (targeted at 32/64 via a WMI query) to reset the opening command as shown below:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\http\shell\open\command
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -osint -url "%1"
- Set a powershell logon script to run (that does run):
firefox.exe -silent -setDefaultBrowser
Despite setting the above it seems the client computers browsers are not affected by the settings above. When the script runs or if I run the command above a UAC window pops up and requests that I accept the command (for the setDefaultBrowser) but even if I click yes as an administrator it does nothing.
Since GPO in 2012 has changed perhaps there is something that I am missing? Do I need to somehow disable Windows Internet Explorer from achieving default browser status?
Please do not reply if you will suggest that I use Internet Explorer Maintenance (since this function in GPO has been disabled since IE10)
My DC is Server 2012, my client computers are Win7 32/64.

The above reply does not take into account that I am trying to use GROUP POLICY EDITOR to make it the default browser.

Group Policy for "let printer determine color" in Adobe Reader X

I need to make a group policy to activate the "let printer determine color" for a huge group of users/pcs, as the reader prints the wrong colors now.
It only needs to activate this single thing. The pcs are running Adobe Reader 10.1.0. Can anyone please help me?

Do you have the Enterprise Deployment documentation for Acrobat/Reader?

Setting Default Outlook Signature By Group Policy

Hi
I am attempting to standardise our company's email signature for all users. A contact supplied me with a VBA script which generates a signature based on the user's AD information. This works great but I would like group policy to set this signature as default
to prevent users from making changes. From various Google searches, it seems that the default signature can be set by GP, but I can't seem to make sense of any of the posts that I find. This may be because I am new to GP and don't understand the context. Any
suggestions as to what would be the best way to approach this?
Thanks
Steve

Hi Steve_Flynn,
According to your description, you would like to set default Outlook signature using group policy. Right?
Based on my knowledge, the signature file is located in the path %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft \Signatures on Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8. And then we need to configure the related registry key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\x.0\Common\MailSettings or
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\x.0\Common\MailSettings.For more information, please refer to the following article:
How to deploy a default email signature in Outlook
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2691977/en-us
We can deploy the signature file and configure the registry key via Group Policy to resolve the issue. For your information, please refer to the following article to learn more:
Configure a File Item
Configure a Registry Item
What's more, please refer to the following article to learn how to realize it via a script:
Setting Up Outlook E-Mail Signatures
Regards,
Lany Zhang

Default printer Group Policy

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for