IP port printer and remote desktop connection to 2003 Server

We have a server running Windows Server 2003 and I need to know how I can make our local branch printer which uses port IP_10.0.0.4 print from the remote desktop session.

The printer drivers have been installed on the server however when selecting to use local resources it doesn't seem to import printers which operate off the IP port

Any ideas how to get the IP printer to print from the remote desktop.

All machines run XP Pro

Can't you just install that printer on the server itself? That way you wont have to worry about mapping it across the remote desktop connection.

how do you do that? We do not have a server in our branch office. We use our broadband modem/router for our network. Is it possible to install our local printer onto the remote server?

Oh, I suppose not. I did not realise the remote connection was so remote that it was on another network.

So does anyone know how to have remote deskop recognise a local network printer?

Have you tried this part of your remote desktop configuration?

using disk drives???

Or ticking the printers box?

I've tried the printers one and it doesn't work. It only imports certain port types (and IP isn't one of them!)

I just tried with all the boxes ticked and it still doesn't import.

The problem is because it is a local network printer (ie. not connected to one computer directly!)

Where is the computer that your are remoting into physically located at and where is the printer located.

You should be able to remote into the server and install the network printer using the add a printer wizard on the remote server. Since the printer works off TCP/IP it shouldn't be a problem as long as it is a shared resource.

I found this but don't know if it works.

Good find grinch2171, looks like it can do the job. I hope it helps

I found this thread via Google, and it almost helped me...



This reasoning makes a lot of assumptions. It is quite possible that the person trying to accomplish this feat does not have administrative access to the remote server. The remote server might also be accessed via the WAN, in which case, it is highly questionable to assume that it has access to come back over the WAN and access a network printer on the LAN of the RDC *client*.

This was almost useful, but it assumes the printer is mapped in the client under a hostname and not an IP address:

http://sti.pooq.com/Tech/RemoteDesktopPrinting

I am not a sysadmin (especially a Windoze one), so I might be missing some other things, but I looked for and found another way to do this, and I think it'd work for most every situation and be easier for people who have a fear of the CLI to follow:

First, go here: Start -> Printers and Faxes

Choose the "Ports" tab

Now, if you click the "Enable Printer Pooling" checkbox (or something like that), you are then allowed to select more than one port in the list above. So go up to the list and leave the original port checked, but in addition, check LPT1 (or whatever port you want, as long as it's known as a local port to Remote Desktop Connection).

This way, the next time you start a remote desktop connection, as long as you have the share local printers option enabled therein, it should automatically find the network printers you have on that "fake" local port (and yes, you can "pool" more than one network printer onto the same "fake" local port).

Remember to log out and back in again after you change the port settings for Windoze to actually recognize them.

Hi, to make no assumptions this is my advice which has worked for me.
If you have no admin rights on the system then you may need your admin to help.

Remote Desktop will not share TCP/IP printers. This is how you get it to work.

Install the printer onto your network (tcp/ip), then have one computer which does not use the printer install locally and share to your network. On your computer which is using remote desktop, install the printer from the shared file on the computer which will not be using the printer. You'll find that the printer is available from remote desktop.

D

Sorry for replying to an old thread, but I wanted to let people know that I used pdontthink1 and it worked great.

One additional piece of info, I had to set that printer as my local default printer for it to show up in RDC.

Just echoing cpatr... 3 years and a new operating system (Win 7 on the client, though still XP on the Remote) later, this is still the way to do it. And many thanks to pdontthink1: I'd done this trick on my previous desktop, but had completely forgotten how to do it by the time I replaced that machine; I was scrabbling around till I found this post.
One wrinkle: to get it to work, I had to Add the Printer as a Local rather than a Networked printer on the remote machine, and disable the Plug and Play search. Then I got to a drop-down list of port numbers, and I had to find the Port number (TS035 in my case - it's going to be something like that) associated with the "fake" local port from the client machine. After that, it was all obvious.
Take home message: thanks again to pdontthink1.