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Hello,
I am having an issue where I cannot see any printers when I add a print server to my Print Management. When I look at the properties of the print server after I have added it in print management, everything is blank and when I navigate to another tab in the Properties window, I get a popup error message box stating "server spool directory location is invalid".
This is on my local machine where I have added this print server, however , when I add the same print server on a virtual machine, I am able to see these printers.
Any idea on how to fix this, a search online pulls up the same error however the fix/answer is linked to an old Microsoft support article that 404's.
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Hi Chris#99,
Have you received my solutions? Or did my solution help you in any way? Looking forward to your reply, and please attach your specific repair results and a more specific problem description so that we can better help you.
If you found the suggestions in the above reply helpful, you can rate the reply as "Helpful" to help others with the same problem.
Best Regards,
Mosken- MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist
Hi Chris#99,
Welcome to post in Microsoft Community. I'm Mosken, let me help you figure it out.
According to your description, I knew that you get an error when adding a printer to your computer, but it works fine in a virtual machine. Is that right?
First of all, it is recommended that you try to restart the related services. Please run Command Prompt as an administrator ("Win" logo key + "Q", enter "cmd", select "Run as administrator"), and enter the following commands one by one.
net start DcomLaunch & net stop DcomLaunch & net start DcomLaunch
net start Spooler & net stop Spooler & net start Spooler
net start RpcEptMapper & net stop RpcEptMapper & net start RpcEptMapper
Then run the printer troubleshooter. Win + R to open "Run", enter "msdt.exe /id PrinterDiagnostic" and follow the prompts.
Then confirm the device is correctly recognized as a printer in Device Manager, or try uninstalling, restarting the system, and then re-adding the device. "Win" + "X" > "Device Manager" > "Print Queue", find your printer, then right click > "Uninstall device".
Then it is recommended that you try to update the printer driver. It is recommend you go to the official website of your device manufacturer to download the corresponding model driver, and then install it manually. After the driver installation is complete, it is recommended that you check if the device works properly, and then restart to check again.
The above steps are provided based on the information I have learned so far, I wish that will be helpful to you. If your problem still cannot be solved by these steps, you could tell me the specific situation in the next reply. I will continue to assist you in solving the problem.
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Best Regards,
Mosken- MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist