Windows 7 Printing from Window Server 2003 to Win-7 Pro

[Harris2508]

I have a home based business. My primary PC is now running Win-7 64bit Pro very smoothly, except for the issue described below. We have a home network and all is well. There is also a server running Windows Small Business Server 2003 that is on a separate network. My PC is connected to both the home and server network.

Most of the data on the server can be used and printed from my PC as I just map the server drive/ directory on my PC. However, to use QuickBooks I need to go into the server via Remote Desktop. With XP, Vista and Win-7 RC 64bit I could easily print from the QuickBooks accessed by Remote Desktop from my workstation PC. Now I have Win-7 Pro 64bit and it is very difficult to get the Win Server 2003 to let me print from QuickBooks. The issue seems to center on drivers.

The Win Server 2003 to my surprise is a 32bit OS, at least on this installation. If I can get a 32bit driver on my Win7 PC the printing will proceed......for a time. Then the printer goes 'off-line' on the Win 7 PD and nothing prints. My PC is running Win-7 64 bit and it appears to just not want a 32bit printer driver......who can blame it!!

Putting a 64bit driver on the server seems (I don't know for sure) out of the question.

Anyway, all of this is kind of long and tedious to describe. I would appreciate any suggestions anyone may have.

Thank you very much for any thoughts!

--Bob Harris

 

[kevin from Chi-town]

I have a home based business. My primary PC is now running Win-7 64bit Pro very smoothly, except for the issue described below. We have a home network and all is well. There is also a server running Windows Small Business Server 2003 that is on a separate network. My PC is connected to both the home and server network.

Most of the data on the server can be used and printed from my PC as I just map the server drive/ directory on my PC. However, to use QuickBooks I need to go into the server via Remote Desktop. With XP, Vista and Win-7 RC 64bit I could easily print from the QuickBooks accessed by Remote Desktop from my workstation PC. Now I have Win-7 Pro 64bit and it is very difficult to get the Win Server 2003 to let me print from QuickBooks. The issue seems to center on drivers.

The Win Server 2003 to my surprise is a 32bit OS, at least on this installation. If I can get a 32bit driver on my Win7 PC the printing will proceed......for a time. Then the printer goes 'off-line' on the Win 7 PD and nothing prints. My PC is running Win-7 64 bit and it appears to just not want a 32bit printer driver......who can blame it!!

Putting a 64bit driver on the server seems (I don't know for sure) out of the question.

Anyway, all of this is kind of long and tedious to describe. I would appreciate any suggestions anyone may have.

Thank you very much for any thoughts!

--Bob Harris

Hey Bob...I don't think its your drivers. You have to set up local printing for RDP. I had the same scenario a few years back w/QB. I have to remember how I did it though...give me a few and I'll repost,

Edit; under your win7 RDP, go to the local resource tab and make sure printers is checked, then go into advanced and check the drive your trying to print from...please repost w/results

 

[Harris2508]

Thank you for your reply, Kevin. Yes, in the RDP Local Options I do have Printers checked. I checked 'advanced' and the only real choice of significance there is RD Gateway server settings which are set to 'auto'.

Before the final version of Win-7, the drivers on the 2003 server would show something like: "HP LaserJet 2300xxxx (from Bob, session 1). If this PC were not logged on and I went to the terminal that is actually connected to the server the printer would not even be listed. It only appeared when this PC is connected.

So, I'm thinking that there is something different in the way Win-7 handles the drivers than the Release Candidate did; that was version 7100 of Win-7. I did get the printing to work briefly by putting a 32bit driver on the Win-7 machine, but after a short time the printer goes off-line. Only with a 64bit driver will the printing continue with this version of Win-7. But whatever driver it is the SBS 2003 cannot talk to it.

This is kind of nuts, really. I really do think it's a matter of finding the correct drivers, but I'm kind of flumoxed on this one! I really appreciate your response and any further thoughts you may have, Kevin.

--Bob

 

[kevin from Chi-town]

I'm assuming you have the drivers for the printer installed locally on Win 7 and not on the server right?
And whats the printer make and model?

 

[Harris2508]

Thank you, again, for you interest. It's very much appreciated!

The printer is a Hewlett Packard LaserJet 2300dn that is connected to the home network router. Win-7 has a native driver for this printer that works very well. The server is a Dell PowerEdge 8 running Windows Server 2003, Small Buseinss Server. I'm told that the SBS 2003 is a 32bit system, hence the 64bit driver that is on Win 7 apparently will not work on the server. In the past, with Win-7 RC, which was also 64bit, the drivers worked well. When logging onto the server and using a printer one would see "HP LaserJet 2300 (from Bob)". Bob is the name of the PC in question.

So, I really think the trick is to find the correct balance of drivers. If I put a 32bit driver on the Win-7, the printer will work from the server only for a few minutes then it goes "off-line". So, without the 64bit driver on Win7 I don't think I can print to that printer at all.

Sorry for the long-winded explanation, just want to thoroughly answer your question.

Thanks again for any thoughts on this issue.

--Bob

 

[kevin from Chi-town]

My thoughts are the 64 bit win 7 driver shouldn't matter because thats what your printing from locally. So let me get this straight....your running SBS, and Win 7 through the same router that you have your HP network printer? If thats the case, maybe this is getting caught up in the router....or maybe there was a change in how RDP prints from RC to rtm.
Sorry if I'm babbling, I just worked 12 and am a little tired.

 

[jah59]

I ran into this same issue with a 64-bit Windows 7 laptop attempting to print to a Konica Minolta local wireless printer from a Windows Server 2003 while connected to it over remote desktop. Did you find any resolution to your problem?

Thanks,

John

 

[Harris2508]

Yes I did find the solution and it was a bit odd. The issue is being able to print documents that are on the server, in this case reports and invoices from QuickBooks, through a printer connected to a workstation. The same fix works for a Dell laptop which also is also running Win-7 although the 32-bit version. The trick is to install the same printer driver on both the server and the workstation. However, the genuine Win-7 driver will not install on SBS 2003. However, the driver for Vista will install on both. Doing this, when the workstation or the laptop is logged onto the server as Remote Desktop, the driver appears on the server. It appears with a notation similar to: HP LaserJet 2300 (from Bob1). Bob is the name of the workstation and the number 1 is the session number. With this arrangement all is working well.

I hope this helps.

--Bob