Connecting to network printer(s) using net use

Question

I was asked to add pinters to all users on a terminal server. There is a VPN connection between the terminal server and the network where the printer is installed.

I do not have much experience with network shares, but I managed to connect to the printer manually. (win+r > \192.168.xx.xx). After entering my credentials (Domain: ADAM.local) I see the shares in explorer, including a couple of printers. Double-clicking a printer adds it to the "printers and devices" and I am able to select it as a printer wehn trying to print a document.

I was hoping to be able to use "net use" to write a script that will connect a user to the printer on startup.

I tried using net use * \\192.168.xx.xx <password> /user:ADAM.local\printACC /persistent:yes to connect to the network share. This results in an error: System error 67 has occurred. The network name cannot be found.

Could anyone help me with the syntax and parameters for the net use command?

Answer 1

You can't use the net use command.

You do have a few options however. If you have a 2008 Domain, you can use Group Policy to deploy your printers.

If you don't have a 2008 print server, you'll need to use a login script. Add the following line to your login script:

cscript \\domain.local\NETLOGON\Printer.vbs //B

After that, add a file, call it Printer.vbs and put the following in it.

Option Explicit
Dim objNetwork, strPrinter1,strPrinter2,strPrinter3

strPrinter1 = "\\servername\printerx"
strPrinter2 = "\\servername\printery"
strPrinter3 = "\\servername\printerz"

Set objNetwork = CreateObject("WScript.Network") 
objNetwork.AddWindowsPrinterConnection strPrinter1
objNetwork.AddWindowsPrinterConnection strPrinter2
objNetwork.AddWindowsPrinterConnection strPrinter3

WScript.Quit