# Can only print when logged in as Administrator



## snteran (Jan 10, 2006)

Very strange!!!!! We have a work station that we have shared a HP LJ 4000 printer. You can print when the system is either logged in as administrator or not logged in at all. However if a user is logged into the computer, you can not print. I logged in with my account which has admin rights and I can still not print to the shared printer. So basically the system has to be logged on as admin or not at all for someone to use the printer.

Any ideas?

Thanks


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## watfordoutlet (Apr 28, 2007)

Hi,

When you try to print using a user account do you get an error message? If so, what is it?
What operating system are you using?

This may be a rights issue. Try logging in with the account that was used to add the printer. Then go into the properties of the printer and give the other users printing rights.


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## snteran (Jan 10, 2006)

Sorry about not put the O/S. We use Windows 2000 Pro on our workstations. I first thought if might be a rights issue but I logged in with my username which has total admin/domain rights. I then added the main username to the Admin group for the computer. Still a no go. I then delete the lpt1 port and all the printer drivers, still a no go. My computer is next to this computer so I was able to add the printer and share. This is very strange, I can't believe we could not get this printer to share. I did try give complete right for managing printers and documents but that did not help. I appreciate your thoughts but I guess this one will go unsolved.

Thanks,


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## jchavez903 (Apr 22, 2007)

This may sound dumb, and it maybe something you already tried. I would remove the printer from all the workstations you have it added to. Then I would deinstall it from the host workstation. Try reinstalling it logged on as "Administrator." Not being logged on is strange. I have found (using xp as host and win2000 pro workstation) that someone has to be logged on the host pc (most of the time...hey it's windows). It is one of the reasons I have been considering a wired/wireless printserver. Of course you need to see if your workstations really see it. Check it out using My Network Places on the workstations.

Anyway that's my WAG.


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## snteran (Jan 10, 2006)

Thanks for the suggestions. I initially installed the printer with the admin account however that did not work. The printer we added was on an old workstation that we actually disposed, so that workstation is now gone. The weird thing is that the printer works fine shared from my PC installed the same method I used on the other workstation. Oh well.

thanks for the suggestion.


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## Odessit05 (Apr 24, 2007)

Go in as Administrator. Righ click the printer, click sharing and security, click advanced, click take ownership and specify Administrator account as the new owner. Then you can change permissions for the printer and assign permissions to user accounts who you want to be able to print. Make sure you remove Everyone group.


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## jchavez903 (Apr 22, 2007)

NT/WINDOWS/XP all spawned from the same seed...almost. You might check your print services and see who owns the process's. Thanks to DIGITAL going belly up you now have a strong flavor of VMS in XP/Win2k. Who ever heard ACL'S and Windows spoken in the same breath before win2k it's just not about devices anymore it's about processes. Also administrator is not the top dog on the user list. It is System. It should own system wide processes. Run taskmanager (another VMS/UNIX ism) and see how many processes are owned by System (or should be owned by System). Try looking at your event viewer and search for those system or application bo bo's you see related to your printer problem. If your really feel spunky, try messing with the service properties under "login as" and don't forget local security polices while your there. If you have XP Home, don't feel left out. You just have to come up in the safe mode.

There is a System hack out there to login as SYSTEM. I do it all the time in VMS or as Root (single user) in unix. I just don't trust windows. There must be a very specific reason they don't share (no pun intended) that guy with the rest of the system admin world. It must be all that object oriented programming ca ca. Then programmers would have to be careful and really think about they are doing before they do that voodoo. Maybe you could get one to clean up after him or herself. At least the Network Geeks do that...I am just kidding...sorta.


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## snteran (Jan 10, 2006)

Well, I did see that the System was the user that added the printer. Or I'm guessing that is the case, since I went to the eventlog and it shows and entry: Printer Driver HP LaserJet 4000 Series PCL for Windows NT x86 Version-3 was added or updated. Files:- UNIDRV.DLL, UNIDRVUI.DLL, HPLJ4000.GPD, UNIDRV.HLP, PCL5ERES.DLL, HPC4500U.DLL, hplj5si.hlp, TTFSUB.GPD, UNIRES.DLL, STDNAMES.GPD. Then for User it shows System. I did notice that the owner was Admin and this is the same way that I have it setup on my machine. I'm not to concern that I have to have the printer connected to my machine, there are only a couple of people that print to this printer any ways, but I still don't get how I am able to install the printer the same way and it works on mine and not on the other workstation. I see that System installs the printer on both stations and that Admin is the owner of the printer. I have learned that most of the issues concerning printers are usually straight forward, unless you are dealing with Citrix, but for the most part you add a printer and then share and it all works fine. All this user/admin/system accounts just seems like a very big stretch. I do appreciate the input but I'm leaving this one alone, it's working and that is good enough for me.

Thanks,


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## jchavez903 (Apr 22, 2007)

Sorry for ramble. Sometimes I do get on a high horse. I just been around awhile and have a lot of exposer to a lot of technical disciplines not only in the IT, but other stuff too. I went to a MCSE boot camp last year and after my turn of sharing...all the instructor could comment was that I was"ancient f****ing history." Yes we even use citrix where I work. It is a thin client gui front end for some IBM legacy systems. Hence the problem interfacing them to a device that was designed around object oriented programs. I guess I am with you I'm going to let that horse lay.


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