Disconnecting Network Printer Leaves Registry Settings (188697)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0
This article was previously published under Q188697
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

Users who delete their network connected Windows NT logical printer and then re-add the logical printer find that their printer settings remain the same as when they set them previously. This may become a problem if the user wanted to delete all of the default settings for the printer by removing the printer and re-adding it or if an administrator changed the printer driver on the server and kept the logical printer share name the same.

CAUSE

Two values in the registry under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER are not deleted. The following registry keys contain network printer information for the currently logged on user:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Printers\DevModes2
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Printers\Settings

Both keys contain a UNC value to the printer with REG_BINARY data. This data contains the printer and document settings. When a user deletes the logical printer in the printers folder, the above values are not removed but the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Printers\Connections key for the network connected printer is removed. This causes the printer to appear to have been removed. Normally this behavior does not cause a problem to printer functionality if the printer is re-added. The exception to this is if the printer driver is changed, the new driver may possibly store different information in the DevModes and Settings keys. Because the keys are already there, the new information is not pulled down to the client computers HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

To completely remove the network printer settings, use the following steps:

  1. In the Printers folder on the workstation, delete the network connected printer.
  2. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Services.
  3. Select the Spooler service, and then click Stop.
  4. Run Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
  5. Delete the following registry keys:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Printers\DevModes2
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Printers\Settin
  6. Restart the Spooler service.
When a new driver is installed for a logical printer and it is totally different, another workaround would be to rename the share. When a client then attempts to connect to the newly shared printer, new unique entries are created and populated with the correct driver settings information.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 3.51 and 4.0. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:7/16/2004
Keywords:kbprb KB188697
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