Default printer is not holding

[Linda]

We are using NT 4, SP6, roaming profiles. Some users are complaining that the default printer is being reset upon startup to the printer that is the last one listed in the Printers folder. Any clues on how to troubleshoot this?

Thanks!

- Linda

[charlotte]

I would suspect that they logged into a machine that had that printer set as the default. The setting would have been uploaded to their roaming profile when they logged out and would have followed them back to their own machine.

[Linda]

Thanks for the suggestion. I confirmed that this is not the case in our situation. I can change the default printer and immediately log back in at the same computer and the default printer setting will not hold.

It appears to me that the copy of the local profile is not being uploaded to the server's copy of the roaming profile when users log out. I understand that this is the process--when the user logs out if the local profile has a newer timestamp, the local profile is uploaded to the server. Instead, when logging in, our users often get the message, "Your locally stored profile is newer than your roaming profile stored on the server. Do you want to use your locally stored profile?" It appears that our users must answer Yes in order to retain any changes they made (such as to the default server). They generally answer No, and I think that is perpetuating the problem.

Any idea why the local copy of the profile is not being copied to the server automatically? Is it a matter of making sure the computer clock and server clock are set to the same time?

- Linda

[BOTTO]

There is a key in the registry that will delete the profile, so each time the user logs on they get the profile from the server. In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsNTCurren tVersinWinlogon edit or add value "DeleteRoamingCache" type REG_DWORD set it to 1.

[Linda]

Botto, let me understand how deleting the local profile would help.... Let's say I'm at my office computer and I have a roaming profile. I change my default printer to "Office" and I log out. The default printer change should be uploaded to the roaming profile upon logging out.

Later, I log in to the office from my home computer. My computer at home has the registry set to the key you provided to delete the local profile. So, I get my roaming profile. My default printer should then be "Office," right? I change the default printer to "Home" and I log off. The change to the "Home" printer should now be uploaded to the roaming profile.

Now I'm back at my office, and I log in. My computer has the registry key set to delete the local profile, so I get the roaming profile. The default print is "Home," right?

Is my scenario correct? It seems to me that if people are logging in to more than one computer, then the only way to keep the default printer setting at the various computers would be to use the local profile, as it would have the default printer that they used from that computer. However, if they changed their wallpaper or made an important registry change, they would not be able to see it from both the home and office computers if they always chose the local profile when logging in, which seems to defeat the benefits of the roaming profile.

I don't get how this was designed to work.... I must be missing something. And, the more I think about this, the more confused I'm getting--I don't even know how they can select a home printer if it's not part of their profile in the office! Can someone enlighten me? (We are using Citrix for home access.)

By the way, we have a tech in our office who is adamant that you will corrupt your roaming profile if you log in to two computers simultaneously. Is that correct?

[BOTTO]

First of all, there is no way that you are going to screw up your profile by logging into more than 1 pc. The last PC you log off of will be your most current profile.
As for your printing, not familiar with Citrix, or really dealing with remote access using roaming profiles, but the thought process you went with sounds right. Once you change any setting and log out, the next time you log on, same PC or not, your settings should follow you.

[Linda]

Thanks for the info, Botto. It sounded pretty fishy to me that logging onto multiple PCs would corrupt a profile.

I suspect we have something else going on here that is preventing the uploading of the local profile to the server upon logging out. Thanks for letting me know I'm on the right track.

- Linda