Problem Pushing Printer Preferences through Group Policy

Question

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

Answer 1

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,
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