GetPrinter() call fails with error code 124

Question

Hi all,
I am researching whether I can use the Winspool API to print to a printer using the printer's IP address.  So far, I have not had any luck.
Hopefully, someone can help me understand why I am receiving a 124 error code, or, let me know if what I want to do is possible.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks!
This is the error I get from GetLastError() after calling GetPrinter() to get the size needed to declare the PRINTER_INFO_2 structure:
An unexpected error occurred when executing the test.
Error Code = 124.
Error Message = The system call level is not correct.
This is the test code I am using in my research.  OpenPrinter() always succeeds, but, GetPrinter() always fails.
// Header File
#include "stdafx.h"
#include <WinSpool.h>
void GetPrinterInfoTest(CString printerName);
void GetFormattedSystemErrorMessage(DWORD errorCode, CString& errorMessage);
// CPP File
using namespace std;
int _tmain(int argc, _TCHAR* argv[])
    UNREFERENCED_PARAMETER(argc);
    UNREFERENCED_PARAMETER(argv);
    GetPrinterInfoTest("\\\\xx.xxx.xx.xx");  // Note: please replace the formatted string with the printer IP address
    return 0;
void GetPrinterInfoTest(CString printerName)
    HANDLE hPrinter = NULL;
    int length = printerName.GetLength();
    LPTSTR printerNameBuffer = printerName.GetBuffer(length);
    ::OpenPrinter(printerNameBuffer, &hPrinter, NULL);
    DWORD cbNeeded = 0;
    if (!::GetPrinter(hPrinter, 2, NULL, 0, &cbNeeded)) 
        CString errorMessage;
        GetFormattedSystemErrorMessage(::GetLastError(), errorMessage);
        CString testResultMessage;
        testResultMessage.Format("An unexpected error occurred when executing the test. \n%s", errorMessage);
        cout << testResultMessage;
void GetFormattedSystemErrorMessage(DWORD errorCode, CString& errorMessage)
    // Get system error and convert to message
    LPVOID lpMsgBuf = NULL;
    ::FormatMessage( FORMAT_MESSAGE_ALLOCATE_BUFFER | FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM,
                        NULL,
                        errorCode,
                        MAKELANGID( LANG_NEUTRAL, SUBLANG_DEFAULT ), // Default language
                        (LPTSTR) &lpMsgBuf,
                        0,
                        NULL );
    // Copy to CString to avoid memory leak
    CString formattedMessage( (LPTSTR)lpMsgBuf );
    ::LocalFree( lpMsgBuf );
    errorMessage.Format("Error Code = %lu.  \nError Message = %s",
        errorCode,
        formattedMessage);

Answer 1

Hi Rupesh, Shu,
Thank you for taking the time to help me with my questions.  :-)
Rupesh: Regarding my call to GetPrinter():
  DWORD cbNeeded = 0;
    if (!::GetPrinter(hPrinter, 2, NULL, 0, &cbNeeded)) 
As I stated before in my first post:
This is the error I get from GetLastError() after calling GetPrinter() to get the size needed to declare the PRINTER_INFO_2 structure:
An unexpected error occurred when executing the test.
Error Code = 124.
Error Message = The system call level is not correct.
So, this call I am making to GetPrinter() is not retrieving information about the printer yet.  It is only performed to get the buffer size needed for my subsequent call to GetPrinter().
Shu: the reason why I pass in NULL into GetPrinter() is because I haven't declared the PRINTER_2_INFO buffer yet.  Once I get the required buffer size from GetPrinter(), I will declare the PRINTER_INFO_2 buffer, and then pass that into
a second call to GetPrinter() to get detailed information about my printer.