How to get all those printers onto your new server without recreating every one of them.

For some more tips on printing issues click here.

Since this article was written Microsoft has come out with a utility called Printmig for NT 4.0 and 3.51. This should work on Metaframe and Winframe both. Be sure to read the included KB article on how to run it. Download it by clicking here.

Remember to backup registry with rdisk before messing with it. Here we go.

First stop the spooler service by going to control panel-services applet and click on spooler and then click on the stop button.br. On the server with the printers that are already set up

Run Regedt32.exe

Go to hkey local_machine-system-currentcontrolset-control-print-Printers

Go to registry and Save the key from the registry menu. Save it to your local drive under the file name of- Printers making no extension.

Copy the file Printers to the server that you need to put the printers on. Create a printer of each type that you have on your system first in print manager on the new server that needs the printers so that the drivers can be loaded, then run regedt32.exe and go to hkey local_machine-system-currentcontrolset-control-print and go to registry and restore key from the menu choose the Printers file you copied over from the original server and press restore making certain that the above registry key is the highlighted key.

Stop and restart the print spooler. Voila instant printers!!

It works!

This procedure can be done with any tree or hive in the registry you want to move to another server.