Installing Printers

To add a printer to the system in Windows 2000, as in Windows NT 4 and Windows 95/98, you use the Add Printer Wizard. If you've configured printers in any version of Windows since Windows 95, you'll find that the process is similar in Windows 2000.

To change the default behavior of the Add Printer Wizard for clients, servers, or both, use the Group Policy snap-in, covered in Chapter 9.

After adding a printer using the Add Printer Wizard, you'll need to set up the appropriate permissions for the printer, set up any installable options with which the printer is equipped, and set the printing defaults. See the Changing Printer Options section later in this chapter for more information.

To enable Macintosh clients to print to the print server, use the Windows 2000 Add Component Wizard to install Macintosh print services, and make sure that the server is running the AppleTalk protocol. To allow clients that use the LPR service (such as UNIX clients) to print to the server, install UNIX print services, and make sure that the LPD system service is started if it's not started automatically. You'll find more on UNIX printing in Chapter 22 and more on Macintosh printing in Chapter 23.

Adding Local Printers

Physically connecting printers to the print server isn't popular these days, but sometimes you'll still want to do it.

If you're using a USB or IEEE 1394 connection to the printer, Windows automatically detects the printer and installs it on the server as soon as you plug the printer into the server (although you are prompted for drivers). In Windows 2000 Server, the Add Printer Wizard automatically shares the printer and publishes it in Active Directory unless you select Do Not Share This Printer on the Printer Sharing screen. In Windows 2000 Professional, the default is to not share the printer unless you select Share As on the Printer Sharing screen—then the printer is shared and published.

Whether the computer is a print server or simply a workstation, understanding the process of installing a printer under Windows 2000 is helpful. (All versions of Windows 2000 handle adding local printers in the same way.) To use the Add Printer Wizard to set up a local printer that is physically connected to the system, follow these steps:

1. Connect the printer to the appropriate port on the server.
2. Click Start, choose Settings, and then click Printers to open the Printers folder.
3. Double-click the Add Printer icon to start the Add Printer Wizard.
4. Click Next in the first screen to begin using the Add Printer Wizard.
5. Select the Local Printer option, select the Automatically Detect My Printer check box (Figure 8-3), and then click Next.

   If you're installing a Plug and Play (PnP) printer, always select the Automatically Detect My Printer check box in the Add Printer Wizard. If you don't select this option, Windows 2000 detects the printer the next time the system is rebooted and attempts to install the printer a second time.

   

   Figure 8-3. The Local Or Network Printer screen of the Add Printer Wizard.

6. Click Yes. Windows 2000 displays the New Hardware Found dialog box when it locates the printer. If Windows 2000 has the appropriate drivers for the device, it installs them automatically.
7. If the printer wasn't detected, run the Add Printer Wizard again, but this time clear the Automatically Detect My Printer check box in the Local Or Network Printer screen, and then click Next.
8. In the Select The Printer Port screen, shown in Figure 8-4, choose the port the printer is attached to, and then click Next.
9. Select the manufacturer and model of the printer from the Manufacturers and Printers dialog boxes and click Next. Or, click Windows Update to view a list of updated drivers and click Have Disk to provide a driver disk.
10. Enter a name for the printer in the Printer Name text box. Enter the share name for the printer on the network.
11. Choose whether to share the printer by selecting either Do Not Share This Printer or Share As. If Share As is selected, provide a share name for the printer.

    

    Figure 8-4. The Select The Printer Port screen of the Add Printer Wizard.

12. Enter the location name for the printer in the Location box. (See the Creating Location-Naming Conventions section earlier in this chapter for information on choosing a location-naming scheme.) Describe the capabilities of the printer in the Comments text box.
13. Print a test page by clicking Yes in the Print Test Page screen, and then click Next to display a summary of the printer installation. To change the installation choices, click Back; otherwise, click Finish to complete the installation.