Question about recomposing and printers

[mclark]

We are testing a View 4.5 deployment. I have been recomposing desktops once a month or so to refresh them after updating the base VM with Windows Updates, etc. Users install their own network printers that they use in their desktops - we do not automatically install printers based on location or IP address or anything. I just found out/realized today that when I do that, the printer drivers for user-installed printers disappear, thus making the printer not work. The printers in this case are Canon ir{xxx} copier/printers. The user can go into the printers folder and update the driver to re-download it, but that will not work for a real deployment. I'm wondering what others are doing for this, or what I can do so that the drivers don't get wiped off with a recompose. I was thinking that I would have to put the drivers for all the different printers we would possibly use in the base desktop VM, but I am not sure if that is the answer. If it is the way to go, I can do it, I just want to check before taking the time to load all the different drivers.

Thank you!

[chillware1]

exact same issue here... hoping to find out more info on this as well..

From what I've seen so far, thinprint might be the answer. view has a slimmed down version of thinprint included w/ the agent. I need to do some more research on it however.

[chaz112182]

we use a centralized windows printer server and after a recompose this does not happen.  users who connect via direct tcp/ip port to the printer run into this same issue so we just throw their printer up on the print server and that takes of it.

[mclark]

These printers are on a centralized print server on the domain, we do not do direct TCP/IP printing. Yesterday, after I had recomposed, a user could no longer print. We looked at the printer and Windows had some message about the driver. We updated it from the centralized print server, and then they could print again. Every time after I have recomposed we have seemed to have some sort of printing issues.

[kgsivan]

1. Install printer driver and configure on the base snapshot image

2. Recompose to that snapshot image

Will this solve your problem ?

[mclark]

That is what I thought I would need to do. Basically I was thinking of installing all the printers on the base image to get the drivers on there, then deleting the printers and leaving the drivers. I just wanted to put the question out there and see if that was the best choice (and what others were doing), or if there was something else that would be better.

[kgsivan · Accepted solution]

The driver installation happens to the OS disk. So if the new image doesnot contain the same driver system will lose the configuration, and it is expected. Only sytem identities and User profile and data is possible to retain througout the maintenance operations (recompose/Rebalance etc.)

Aslo please note that View doesnt maintain the "All User" Profile.

[VMMikeC]

mclark,

What directory server are you using? If you are using Windows 2008, have you considered deploying printers through group policy preferences?

http://www.msserveradmin.com/the-one-reason-you-should-use-group-policy-preferences/

Hope this helps,

Mike