To set up a print server, start the Configure Your Server Wizard by doing either of the following:
On the Summary of Selections page, view and confirm the options that you have selected. If you selected Windows 2000 and Windows XP clients only on the previous page, the following appears:
- Add printers to this server using the Add Printer Wizard.
If you selected All Windows clients on the previous page, the following appears:
- Add printers to this server using the Add Printer Wizard.
- Add printer drivers to this server using the Add Printer Driver Wizard.
To apply the selections shown on the Summary of Selections page, click Next.
After you click Next, the Configure Your Server Wizard runs the Add Printer Wizard once for each printer that you want to add. If the wizard finishes and you choose to share at least one printer, your server can be used as a print server. If you cancel the Add Printer Wizard, the Print Spooler service remains installed. If you cancel the Add Printer Wizard and no printers are shared, the server does not add the print server role.
Important
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If the printer you want to share supports Plug and Play, do not run the Add Printer Wizard. Plug and Play printers complete the configuration steps in the Add Printer Wizard automatically. If the printer you want to share supports Plug and Play, click Cancel.
This section describes the following steps in the Add Printer Wizard:
Local or Network Printer
On the Local or Network Printer page of the Add Printer Wizard, choose one of the following options:
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To configure this print sever to send print jobs directly to the printer, click Local printer attached to this computer. Typically, print servers send print jobs directly to the printer. A printer with its own network adapter is considered to be a local printer. If you want to send print jobs directly to a printer with its own network adapter, click this option.
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To configure this print server to forward print jobs to a second print server, click A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer. For example, you can configure a print server at a branch office to forward print jobs to a print server in the main office. You might do this if regulations require you to create printouts of daily transaction logs and store them at the main office. If you want to do this, click this option.
Note
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The A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer option is included here because this dialog box is used on all computers running a Windows Server 2003 operating system so that users can connect to a network printer. If you need to print from a computer that is not a print server, click A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer.
After you finish, click Next.
After you click Next, one of the following wizard pages appears:
New Printer Detection
If you selected the Automatically detect and install my Plug and Play printer check box and the wizard is unable to detect any Plug and Play printers, this page appears. Click Next.
To complete the steps on the Select a Printer Port page, see Select a Printer Port.
Select a Printer Port
If you selected Local printer attached to this computer, this page appears.
On the Select a Printer Port page, choose one of the following options:
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If a cable connects the printer directly to a port on the print server, under Use the following port, click the name of that port. LPT1 is the most commonly used port for this type of printer.
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If the printer has its own network adapter and you want to send print jobs to the printer through the network, click Create a new port, and then click the type of port that you want to create. If you do not know what type of port to create, Standard TCP/IP Port is recommended.
If you click Standard TCP/IP Port, and then click Next, the Add Standard TCP/IP Printer Port Wizard starts. In the Add Standard TCP/IP Printer Port Wizard, click Next. On the Add Port page, type the name or IP address of the printer. The IP address is usually listed on the printer configuration page. As you type the name or IP address, the wizard completes the Port Name field for you. Click Next.
The wizard attempts to connect to the printer. If the wizard is able to connect, the Completing the Add Standard TCP/IP Printer Port Wizard page appears, and you can click Finish. If the wizard is not able to connect, the Additional Port Information Required page appears. If you think that the address or name you entered is not correct, click Back, retype the name or address, and then click Next.
If you are sure the address or name is correct, select one of the following device types to identify the printer network adapter:
- Standard is the default. If you click Standard, click the manufacturer and model of network adapter from the Standard list.
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If the printer network adapter uses nonstandard settings, click Custom and then click Settings. The Configure Standard TCP/IP Port Monitor page appears. Specify the settings that are recommended by the manufacturer of the printer network adapter, and then click OK.
After you finish, click Next.
Specify a Printer
If you selected A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer, this page appears.
On the Specify a Printer page, choose one of the following options to configure your print server to forward print jobs to another print server:
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If the print server that you want to connect to is available on the network, click Browse for a printer, click Next, and then, under Shared printers, click the server and printer from the list.
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If the print server that you want to connect to is temporarily unavailable on the network, click Connect to this printer (or to browse for a printer, select this option and click Next), and then, in Name, type the server and printer names.
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If the print server that you want to connect to belongs to another organization and is available on the Internet, click Connect to a printer on the Internet or on a home or office network.
Important
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Use the options on this page only if you want your print server to forward print jobs to another print server. If this is not what you want, click Back, click Local printer attached to this computer, click Next, and then follow the steps in Select a Printer Port.
After you finish, click Next.
For this configuration path, you can skip some of the following steps in this document. To continue the instructions for this configuration path, see Completing the Add Printer Wizard.
Install Printer Software
On the Install Printer Software page of the Add Printer Wizard, under Manufacturer, click the printer manufacturer, and then, under Printers, click the printer model.
Note
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Write down the manufacturer and model that you select, because you will need this information later if you use the Add Printer Driver wizard to install printer drivers for other Windows-based clients.
If the manufacturer or model is not listed, try each of the steps outlined in the following table, in sequence, to install the correct printer software.
| Step | Comments |
|---|
Check the configuration printout to confirm the exact spelling of the name of your printer manufacturer and model. | The Manufacturer and Printers lists show the official product names, which might be different from the names that you normally use. |
Click Have Disk, locate the driver files, and then click OK. | If you have printer driver files stored somewhere else, follow these steps. For example, the printer manufacturer might include a CD-ROM containing driver files in the packaging of the printer. |
Click Windows Update. | If you want to look for new or updated drivers that are available from Microsoft as part of Windows Update, click this option. When you click Windows Update, the Manufacturer and Printers lists change to show only the drivers that are available from Windows Update. If the printer is not listed, return to the original list by clicking Back, and then clicking Next. |
Select the manufacturer and model of a compatible printer, and then click Next. | To determine which printers are compatible, consult the user guide for your printer. Also, some manufacturers list compatibility information on their Web sites. |
After you finish, click Next.
Use Existing Driver
If you add an additional printer that is the same manufacturer and model as one previously installed, the Use Existing Driver page appears. Decide whether to keep the same driver or replace it with a new one. If you select Replace existing driver, the wizard reinstalls the driver files.
After you finish, click Next.
Name Your Printer
On the Name Your Printer page of the Add Printer Wizard, the default name is the manufacturer and model of the printer. You can change this name so that the printer is easier to use and administer. When using applications, users often select a printer from a list that displays the names of the available printers. To help users decide which printer to select, the application might also list the location or a comment.
Under Do you want to use this printer as the default printer?, click Yes or No. Your response applies only when you print from an application that is running on this print server. Your response does not set this printer as the one that clients use by default.
After you finish, click Next.
Printer Sharing
Important
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You must share at least one printer for this server to act as a print server.
On the Printer Sharing page of the Add Printer Wizard, Share name is selected by default so that the printer is shared. The default share name is the first 8 letters of the printer manufacturer and model, without spaces. You can change this name so that the printer is easier to use and administer.
For compatibility with clients that run MS-DOS or earlier versions of Windows, type a share name that follows these rules:
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The share name contains only letters, digits, and the period (.).
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The share name contains no more than eight letters and digits, and, optionally, followed by a period, which is followed by no more than 3 letters and digits.
After you finish, click Next.
Location and Comment
On the Location and Comment page of the Add Printer Wizard, in Location, type a description of the print server location, and then, in Comment, type a comment. This step is optional, but recommended because this information makes it easier to use and administer your print server. Many applications display the comment or the location when the user prints a document, so that the user can choose the most appropriate printer.
After you finish, click Next.
Print Test Page
On the Print Test Page page of the Add Printer Wizard, choose whether to print a test page to confirm that the printer is ready to use.
Note
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The test page does not print immediately when you click Next. Instead, it prints when you finish the wizard.
After you finish, click Next.
Completing the Add Printer Wizard
On the Completing the Add Printer Wizard page, the Restart the wizard to add another printer check box is selected by default. If you leave it selected and click Finish, the wizard restarts to add another printer. If you have finished adding all of the printers that you want to share on this server, clear this check box, and then click Finish.
When you click Finish, the wizard installs the printer driver files. Then, if you chose to print a test page, the wizard attempts to print that page. If the printer does not receive the test page, you might have selected an incorrect port. However, if the printer receives the test page and prints it incorrectly, you might have selected an incompatible manufacturer and model.
When you started the Configure Your Server Wizard to configure this server as a print server, you selected one of the following options on the Printers and Printer Drivers page:
- Windows 2000 and Windows XP clients only
- All Windows clients
If you selected All Windows clients, the Add Printer Driver Wizard starts after you click Finish in the Add Printer Wizard. You can use the Add Printer Driver Wizard to install client printer drivers onto the print server, which can then automatically distribute them to clients.
Note
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The Add Printer Driver Wizard does not communicate with the Add Printer Wizard. Therefore, the Add Printer Driver Wizard does not automatically run once for each printer that you add, and it does not automatically install drivers for the same manufacturer and model of printer. Instead, you must decide how many times to run the Add Printer Driver Wizard, and each time it runs you must decide which manufacturer and model of drivers to install.
If you selected All Windows clients on the Printers and Printer Drivers page of the Configure Your Server Wizard, the Add Printer Driver Wizard starts after the Add Printer Wizard. If you cancel the Add Printer Driver Wizard, the Print Spooler service remains installed, and any printers you have added remain, but the additional client driver files are not installed on the server, and therefore the server cannot distribute those drivers to clients.
This section describes the following steps in the Add Printer Driver Wizard:
Printer Driver Selection
On the Printer Driver Selection page of the Add Printer Driver Wizard, select the manufacturer and model of a printer that is shared on this print server, and then click Next.
Important
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The Add Printer Driver Wizard does not automatically select a manufacturer and model for a printer that you have already added. Instead, it selects the first manufacturer in the list, and the name of the first printer model (in alphabetical order) made by that manufacturer. If possible, select the manufacturer and model of a printer that you have added. If you select a different manufacturer or model, the wizard installs drivers that might not work correctly with your printer.
Processor and Operating System Selection
On the Processor and Operating System Selection page of the Add Printer Driver Wizard, select the client operating systems and processors.
Drivers for your server operating system are installed automatically when you add a printer. As a result, one of the following is selected automatically and you cannot remove it: Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 for x86–based processors, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 for Itanium–based processors, or Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 for x64-based processors.
After you finish, click Next.
Completing the Add Printer Driver Wizard
On the Completing the Add Printer Driver Wizard page, the Restart the wizard to add another printer driver check box is selected by default. If you leave it selected and click Finish, the wizard restarts to add another printer driver. If you have finished adding all of the printer drivers for all of the printers that you want to share on this server, clear this check box, and then click Finish.
After you complete the Add Printer Wizard and, if necessary, the Add Printer Driver Wizard, the Configure Your Server Wizard displays the This Server is Now a Print Server page. To review all of the changes made to your server by the Configure Your Server Wizard or to ensure that a new role was installed successfully, click Configure Your Server log. The Configure Your Server Wizard log is located at systemroot\Debug\Configure Your Server.log. To close the Configure Your Server Wizard, click Finish.
Before you start to use your print server, we recommend the following steps:
Removing the print server role
If you need to reconfigure your server for a different role, you can remove existing server roles. If you remove the print server role, each client that sent print jobs only to this print server will be unable to print until you reconfigure the client to send print jobs to a different server. Also, each printer managed only by this print server will be unable to receive print jobs until you reconfigure another print server to send print jobs to that printer.
To remove the print server role, restart the Configure Your Server Wizard by doing either of the following:
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From Manage Your Server, click Add or remove a role. By default, Manage Your Server starts automatically when you log on. To open Manage Your Server, click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Manage Your Server.
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To open the Configure Your Server Wizard, click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Configure Your Server Wizard.
On the Server Role page, click Print server, and then click Next. On the Role Removal Confirmation page, review the items listed under Summary, select the Remove the print server role check box, and then click Next. On the Print Server Role Removed page, click Finish.