Default Windows NT Spool Directory and Permissions

 Last reviewed: August 27, 1996
Article ID: Q137503
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5 and 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5 and 3.51

SUMMARY

This article discusses the default Windows NT spool directory and minimum permissions required for the spool directory.

MORE INFORMATION

Windows NT spools print jobs by default to the following directory as the they are processed: 

   %SystemRoot%\SYSTEM32\SPOOL\PRINTERS
The print jobs are then sent to the print device, and each job is deleted from the directory once the print job is complete.

It is possible for the administrator of a Windows NT print server to manually instruct Windows NT the location for placing the spool files, if for example there is a concern for disk space. For additional information regarding the moving of the spool file location, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q123747
   TITLE     : Moving the Windows NT 3.5 Default Paging and Spool File
After following the instructions in the article above, the administrator must make sure that the path specified actually exists. If it does not exist, Windows NT uses the default spool directory.

The directory structure of the new spool file location may be created on a FAT, HPFS or NTFS partition. The spool file can reside on a compressed NTFS directory. If you create the spool file on an NTFS directory, the administrator can make the necessary changes to the permissions of the directory. Minimum requirements for permissions on the directory are as follows: 

   Name                      Type of Access
   -----------------------   --------------
   Creator\Owner             Full Control
   Administrators            Full Control
   BuiltIn\Account Unknown   Change
   System                    Full Control
The default permissions on the directory are as follows: 

   Name                      Type of Access
   -----------------------   --------------
   Creator\Owner             Full Control
   Everyone                  Full Control
   Administrators            Full Control
   BuiltIn\Account Unknown   Change
   System                    Full Control
The administrator of the Windows NT print server does not have to share the new spool directory. Specifying the new spool directory in the registry and the minimum user permissions on the new directory allows users of the print server to print their jobs as before. These changes are transparent to the end user, requiring no changes on their part.

KBCategory: kbprint
KBSubcategory: ntprint
Additional reference words: prodnt 3.50 3.51 SpoolDirectory

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Last reviewed: August 27, 1996
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