Domain-Level Printer List Is Not Refreshed

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server

SYMPTOMS

When you use the Add Printer Wizard to add a printer, networked printers are listed at both the domain level and the server level. The list of printers at the domain level may not be correctly refreshed as printers on a server are removed, and the printers remain in the list. Printers at the server level are appropriately refreshed and removed from the list.

Also, no domain-level printers may be listed, even when there are networked printers at the server level in the printer browse list.

CAUSE

When a printer is shared, the share name is announced to approximately three servers in that domain. Then, the selection algorithm is re-announced every 10 minutes. Names are also re-announced when new shares are created on the server. The Spooler service listens to these announcements, adds the printer(s) to its list of printers, and records a time stamp. The time stamp is refreshed every 10 minutes. If a printer is not refreshed in 70 minutes, it is removed from the list.

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).

The "NetPrinterDecayPeriod" registry value specifies how long to cache a networked printer. The cache is used to present the list of printers when the browse list is used. The time-out value can be changed in the registry. This setting needs to be made on the print server.

The following registry entries manipulate client and server behavior in regard to print browsing:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print

DisableServerThread REG_DWORD
Range: 0 or 1
Default: 0 (false)
Set this to 1 (true) to disable the browse thread on the current computer. This thread is used to call other print servers to notify them that this printer exists.

ServerThreadTimeout REG_DWORD
Range: Milliseconds
Default: 36,000 (36 seconds)
Specifies the amount of time the ServerThread sleeps before it calls all the other print servers to notify them of the printers on this computer.

NetPrinterDecayPeriod REG_DWORD
Range: Milliseconds
Default: 3,600,000 (1 hour)
Specifies how long to cache a network printer. The cache is used to present the list of printers when the browse list is used.

RefreshTimesPerDecayPeriod REG_DWORD
Range: 1 - 5
Default: 2
Specifies how many times to inform the browse masters and backup servers per decay period. The default value is two times per hour. Do not set a zero value if you specify both RefreshTimesPerDecayPeriod and ServerThreadTimeout; the system will wait for the maximum of either the ServerThreadTimeout or the RefreshTimesPerDecayPeriod.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about printer browsing and printer browsing registry entries, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q161734 Windows NT Print Browsing Architecture

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbenv kbnetwork kbprint
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb