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I have searched to see if this has been asked before but it doesn't look as though it has.

I have been asked to take a look at a server printing issue which to be honest is a little beyond me at the moment.

The printer is a HP M177fw, it is attached to a Netgear Prosafe 1gb switch and everyone on the network can print except for the server which is Server 2008 R2.

The printer is installed and detected. I can ping the printer IP address, I can view the web interface and print a test page from there, however when I print from any other means I can see the item appear in the queue and disappear almost instantly with no print to be seen.

The user account (administrator) trying to print has full access to the server, the printer driver has 'everyone' set to allow access to everything just to rule out permissions.

I am now beginning to wonder if some other security settings have been put in place to stop printing but i'm afraid I don't know where to begin.

I have applied a Microsoft Fixit designed to fix issues with the spooler service, the spooler service has been stopped and restarted, I have even created another user account to see if there was an issue with the user account itself.

Any and all help would be greatfully received.

Kindest regards

tmd

Added note: drivers have been updated but I am unable to update firmware with an error stating the printer is not attached even though I can ping and view the web interface. This printer has also been replaced by my colleague with no difference.

The printer has been installed using the GUI, and also after removing the printer for a reinstall by IP and searching for the driver only package.

Added note: The printer drivers have been uninstalled via the Control Panel and I have also deleted all ghosted entries as per instructions below. The printer has been installed via the GUI with basic drivers only and the software package does detect and install the printer, however printing still fails.

SFC /SCANNOW has been run 100% all ok with no violations or errors.

Following instructions below I was able to find that there were errors with permissions over the 'printers' folder where 'Local Host' wasn't allowed to do anything.

Thank you all for the assist!

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  • I can view the console and print a test page directly from the console - What do you mean by that? What console are you referring to? Do you mean the web interface of the printer?
    – joeqwerty
    Mar 27, 2015 at 15:25
  • you're quite correct, it is the web interface for the printer. Thank you.
    – Craig Sunderland
    Mar 27, 2015 at 15:40

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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You may need to reinstall the print drivers. You can download and install them from here: http://support.hp.com/us-en/product/HP-Color-LaserJet-Pro-M170-Multifunction-Printer-series/5303438/model/5303443/drivers.

Completely uninstall the drivers and delete the disconnected device by using the devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices 1 environmental variable. Then reinstall the print drivers.

Another possibility is that the OS is corrupted. run SFC /scannow at the command line to check for system issues.

I would also recommend updating the Firmware also as this reduces installation issues.

Make sure that you get the basic drivers as the full driver comes with tons of bloat and other junk.

Don't forget to select your OS as Server 2008 R2 so that you get compatible drivers...

Hopefully this helps!

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  • The latest drivers have been downloaded and installed however I am unable to run the firmware update. Each attempt there informs me that the printer is not attached even though it is. I've never used the devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices environment variable, would you be kind enough to explain how this is used in this scenario?
    – Craig Sunderland
    Mar 27, 2015 at 16:07
  • Did you remove the drivers as I instructed?
    – Elliot Huffman
    Mar 27, 2015 at 16:07
  • Also, is there a GUI installed or is this a core installation?
    – Elliot Huffman
    Mar 27, 2015 at 16:08
  • This printer has been added to the server by both full GUI install and by adding the printer by IP and searching for the driver from a driver only package.
    – Craig Sunderland
    Mar 27, 2015 at 16:11
  • ok, uninstall the drivers using the above method.
    – Elliot Huffman
    Mar 27, 2015 at 16:12
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After changing the permissions to allow 'Local Host' full access, instead of seeing documents with a status of 'spooling' and dissappearing from the print queue, there are '*.tmp' files now appearing in the 'printers' folder.

My colleague has now confirmed that since altering the permissions of the 'printers' folder, prints have been flying out.

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  • Great to hear! What do you mean folder prints?
    – Elliot Huffman
    Apr 7, 2015 at 18:19
  • Edited my comment to make more sense.
    – Craig Sunderland
    Apr 12, 2015 at 11:42

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