cannot install network printers without administrator access

[coparofl]

hi forum peeps,

quick question, we are piloting our windows 7 build at our company and we are trying to remove users having local administrator access to their machines.

however we have hit a snag, we cant install printers via the network as a normal user, we need to be logged in as an administrator.

any ideas?!

 

[Lordbob75]

When it pops up with the UAC prompt, is there a password option? The whole point of UAC is User Account Control.

I will try to replicate this though, and see what I come up with.

~Lordbob

 

[Kirsch]

This link may be of some help:

how to allow all user install printer

 

[Lordbob75]

I was not able to replicate the problem. Perhaps you have UAC turned up a level higher?

~Lordbob

 

[coparofl]

hello thanks for your reply

we have on the image UAC set to never notify,

are you sure your logged on as a standard user?

 

[kegobeer]

I don't think there's any way around it. When you lock down the system, unfortunately it prevents a standard user from installing any printer.

 

[Lordbob75]

hello thanks for your reply

we have on the image UAC set to never notify,

are you sure your logged on as a standard user?

Odd. I used standard settings (I created a standard user and tried to add a printer).

~Lordbob

 

[stpbby]

Your trying to install a network printer shared from a print server? does it prompt for credentials when it tries to install the driver?

How exactly are you trying to install the printer?

My usual method is to go to \\printserver\ and double click on the printer. If you do not have the proper access windows will prompt for admin creditials when it tries to install the driver.

If this is the way you are doing your printer installs I dont believe there is a way around it, there may be a gpo you can push out for local computer policies. If your using win2k8 server, you may be able to push printers out using the new GPO's in win2k8.

 

[coparofl]

thats exactly how I am trying to do it stpbby, and that is exactly what happens,

if i turn on 'notify' for UAC, it does prompt me to enter an account that has appropriate permissions to install the printer, and then if i enter my domain admin credentials of course it works,

however, we want to turn uac off 'set to not notify' and have a standard user be able to install the printer. but... when you have UAC set to 'not notify' you receive an access is denied error. and the install fails.

 

[Lordbob75]

Try it this way then:

Open devices and printers
Add Printer
Networked Printer
Let it scan, or choose not listed (then type in the location, ie \\server\printer)
Let it install drivers

Does that work?

~Lordbob

 

[coparofl]

thats what I do bob

is it really working for you?

 

[Lordbob75]

thats what I do bob

is it really working for you?

Yes, that is the way I do it.

It could be that having it set to no notification just automatically answers no, so you may need to change it up one level and try it.

~Lordbob

 

[stpbby]

yeah, the UAC in win7 is actually useful in that respect.

This is how we have it setup at our company, as we do not want users to install printers on their own.

You can setup a GPO to allow users to install printers, by default the setting is set to not allow users to install.

Here are a couple of posts with useful info about setting up a gpo to allow for this.

Allowing regular users to install their own printers

Control Printer Driver Installation Security

 

[stpbby]

Sounds like your users are locked down where they cannot install drivers. Can they install software at all? If it is prompting you for admin credentials when you try to install a print driver, then they do not have privileges to install software, especially not drivers.

The solution for this is a gpo to allow users to install print drivers or have your users setup as local powerusers.

In win2k8, you can push printers to users via group policy without using vbscript (new to server2k8) this may also be worth a try. But I tried to do this and it did not seem to work unless the driver had previously been installed.

 

[coparofl]

still failed bob.

it was this that did the trick!

Control Printer Driver Installation Security

 

[coparofl]

thanks stpbby!

and thanks everyone for their comments

 

[Lordbob75]

still failed bob.

it was this that did the trick!

Control Printer Driver Installation Security

Ah yes, that would do it.

~Lordbob

 

[stpbby]

Right on! I'm glad it worked.