This is an error I receive when adding printers on Windows server 2003. I cannot set any of the existing printers to the default printer.
I cannot print preview or print from Excel, MS Access, Adobe Acrobat and several other products.
I can print from Word as well as IE7.
If I log out as the user and then log back in as administrator I have no problems.
The current user is a member of the administrators group, so it is not a “rights” issue.
I have also gone into the Group Policy editor and checked that the [print] components do not specifically stop the user from using the printer.
I am reluctant to just delete the user profile and recreate for 2 reasons.
1. It is seems to be an inelegant solution because it circumvents the problem instead of solving it and
2. I need to understand the underlying mechanism that seem to have failed that brought this problem about.
I have reviewed many of the discussions related to this topic on the internet. Most seem to point to the policy-type of problem.
There have been several references to a possibly corrupt registry key. One solution suggested that I log into the working profile and copy out the [device] section of the registry and then import it into the malfunctioning profile.
When I tried this, I found that the specific key was missing from the working profile and so could not export it.
I have been going through TECHNET and several of the other resources to no avail. Maybe I am just being a complete dork/idiot/dunce. I’m not sure.
Has anyone found a solution to this yet?
Sean
