Question : Assign default printer

I have a problem scripting the default printer in a few classrooms.

I have a few classrooms with their own printers. If I add a default printer as an administrator that won't show up when an other user logs in. So I thought I'd fix it with a group policy assigned startup script. However the script doesn't work as it should during startup, but works fine if any user account clicks on it after startup. So I guess it's a per user setting that can't be used with the "start up" gpo, but should be used with the "log on" gpo. An old colleague said that even though it's a user policy setting I could put it on an OU with computer accounts. However I didn't get that to work, should it?

The reason I wanted to put the gpo on an OUs with computer accounts is that I'm working at a school and many classrooms have their own printers. The students are not always in the same classroom so putting the gpo on the different class OUs isn't the best way to do it. I also thought about doing an log on script that contains all the printers but I am not sure how best to check how the right computer gets the right printer.

I got the script from http://www.neowin.net/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t374050.html

Code Snippet:

         
             ' Begin Script
Option Explicit
Dim objNetwork, strUNCPrinter
strUNCPrinter = "\\SERVER\PRINTER"
Set objNetwork = CreateObject("WScript.Network")
objNetwork.AddWindowsPrinterConnection strUNCPrinter
 
' Here is where we set the default printer to strUNCPrinter  
objNetwork.SetDefaultPrinter strUNCPrinter
'WScript.Echo "Check the Printers folder for : " & strUNCPrinter
 
WScript.Quit
' End Script

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Answer : Assign default printer

Ok, so I've just had a thought - I believe all you need to do is enable loopback processing in MERGE mode, and then assign a LOG ON script under the USER configuration and apply it to the computers.

So, if your OUs are divided into classrooms, and you want all users who are in a specific classroom to have a specific default printer, you would need to enable loopback policy processing for EACH classroom OU (can be done through a single GPO applied to a root OU containing the classroom OUs if that's how you have it set up, provided they contain only the computer accounts, and that the user accounts are separate elsewhere).

Once this setting is enabled in Merge Mode, you will then need to set up individual GPOs that apply the LOG IN script under the USER CONFIG settings to the same OUs.

So, to try and simplify/summarise that load of babble above (sorry I'm in a bit of a hurry!!), you need to first ensure loopback policy in MERGE mode is enabled for ALL the PCs in question. (Computer Config > Administrative Templates > System > Group Policy > enable the Loopback Policy option.). Then ensure that each separate classroom OU also has a GPO containing the relevant logon script (the script that has the necessary printer name in it!) applied as well.

Anyway, any questions whatsoever, just ask, and maybe if we break it down you'll have a better chance of understanding it. :)

Pete