removing GP printer connections

[VoodooV]

I'm on a 2003 AD domain and I'm trying to build a dozen computers for one of our departments.

I build an image, and while doing so, I put the computer on the domain to get a current set of WSUS updates. At some point I take the computer off the domain and I image it and now I'm deploying the to the various computers.

What I failed to notice was that when I put it on the domain to get the WSUS updates, I also got the printer that was deployed via a GPO. After the image is deployed to the target computers, they get put back onto the domain with different computer names and into a different OU with a different GPO that deploys a different set of printers.

The problem is that for some reason, the original printer seems to be sticking around. This isn't a per-user deployment, its a per-computer.

I think I managed to solve it...sorta. After I put the image on one of the computers, prior to going back on the domain, I hunted through the registry for all instances of the printer name and deleted them. That appears to have done the trick. But what's the best practice here? Shouldn't that original printer have gone away once I took it off the domain? or failing that, when I put the imaged computer back onto the domain into the target OU, once the policy refreshed, shouldn't the original printer have gone away then? If the registry fix is the way to go, which registry key in particular is the one to delete instead of deleting all references

In the meantime, as an interim measure, when building images, when I need to go onto the domain to get WSUS updates, I put the computer on the domain in an OU that doesn't have printers deployed to it.

Thanks in advance!

[JedMeister]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong: From my experience it seems that once defined as enabled via GPO (such as your unwanted printer), policy items have be selected as disabled to remove them. Simply returning them to the undefined state does not undo the fact they are enabled. I found this out the hard way when I first set up a 2k3 AD network a number of years ago, and didn't read enough before I started 'playing'. Doh!

I think its probably good practice to have an 'initial generic setup' OU that only defines the policies that are going to be applicable for all users/computers across the whole domain. That way on the first run (in the PC's new home) only the appropriate GPO will be applied.

[VoodooV]

Well it looks like I was wrong, removing all instances of the printer name in the registry is not doing the trick. They seem to be eventually coming back.

Now normally this is not a problem, most users simply don't notice the extra printer or don't care.

But what happens is if some users go into their Printers folder, it will list the extra printer and the status will be "opening" but shortly afterwards, a spoolsv.exe application error will appear:

"instruction at"0x75bc7140" referenced memory at "0x000000ab" the memory could not be read."

The computer account is in a completely different OU from what it originated from. How do I get rid of whatever is still trying to point the computer to the printer that's assigned to a different OU

[JedMeister]

The Printers have to be coming form somewhere! Perhaps you could construct a start-up script for each area that checks for and deletes (if necessary) any irrelevant printers?