June 16, 2011

Printers On Thin Client

Suppose we have a WIndows 2008 Server and a thin client with IP as follows:

Server IP: 192.168.0.1
Thin Client IP: 192.168.0.10


Adding printer:

First we need to make sure that in thin client printer has been properly connected and printer (or some times prining) has been enabled in thin client.

Now from Server (192.168.0.1), you need to add the printer.

While adding the printer, select only the "Local printer attached to this computer option."

Leave the other two boxes unchecked and click Next.

Check the "Create a new port" box and use the drop-down to select "Standard TCP/IP Port."

On the following screen, you need to furnish the IP address of the printer ( ie IP Address of Thin Client).

After that, select your printer and continue until completion.

DOS Printing Or DOS apps to print from the printer

Go to Printers and Faxes and right click the printer. Select Sharing and then enable sharing, and provide a name for the shared printer or accept the default name (remember what you named it -- you'll need it in the next step. Also provide the name which is less than 8 character).

Open a command prompt (a "DOS" window) and type:

net use lpt1: \\servername\printersharedname /persistent:yes
Or
net use lpt1: \\192.168.0.1\printersharedname /persistent:yes


That command captures the print jobs sent to LPT1 by your DOS app, and redirects it to the printer. The "persistent" switch means that the command will load automatically everytime your PC starts.

To "undo" the command, at a command prompt just type:

net use lpt1: /delete