You may not see the Printers and Faxes icon in Windows Explorer on a remote computer, and you may not be able to add a printer to a remote computer by using a command-line tool in Windows Server 2003 (883789)

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Windows Server 2003, when you use Windows Explorer to browse a remote computer, you may not see the Printers and Faxes icon on the remote computer.

Additionally, when you try to add a printer to a remote Windows Server 2003-based computer by using a command-line tool, the printer installation may not be completed, and you may receive the following error message:

Operation could not be completed. Either the printer name was typed incorrectly, or the specified printer has lost its connection to the server.

CAUSE

This problem occurs if the remote procedure call (RPC) endpoint for the spooler is not turned on in Windows Server 2003.

If the computer that is running Windows Server 2003 does not have any local shared printers, the RPC endpoint for the spooler is not created. If the computer has a local shared printer, the RPC endpoint is created after the local spooler is initialized. The time that is required to initialize the local spooler varies depending on the number of local printers.

Note The Printer and Faxes icon that you see when you browse a remote computer is a graphical representation of the RPC endpoint. The RPC endpoint for the spooler enables remote administration of the server's printing services.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods.

Method one: Use Terminal Services or a script to add a printer on the remote computer

From a client computer, use Remote Desktop to connect to Terminal Services on the Windows Server 2003-based computer. After you make the Terminal Services connection, use Add Printer in Printers and Faxes on the Start menu to add a printer to the Windows Server 2003-based computer.

For additional information about how to use a script to add a printer by using Prnadmin.dll, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

321025 How to programmatically create a printer and printer port by using PrinterAdmin (Prnadmin.dll) with a Visual Basic script in Microsoft Windows 2000

189105 How to add printers with no user interaction in Windows

Method two: Use Terminal Services to configure the Allow Print Spooler to Accept Client Connections policy setting on the Windows Server 2003-based computer

Use Terminal Services to connect to your Windows Server 2003-based computer.
Click Start, click Run, type mmc, and then click OK.
On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in.
On the Standalone tab, click Add.
In the Available Standalone Snap-ins list, click Group Policy Object Editor, and then click Add.
In the Select Group Policy Object dialog box, click Browse.
Double-click the name of the computer that is running Terminal Services, click the policy name, and then click Finish.
Click Close, and then click OK.
Double-click the policy name, double-click Computer Configuration, and then double-click Administrative Templates.
Click Printers, and then double-click Allow Print Spooler to Accept Client Connections in the details pane.
On the Setting tab, click Enabled, and then click OK.

For additional information about how to script Group Policy-related tasks, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: