Adding Workstation Print Drivers for Windows 2000 Printers


The following document details the steps for installing print drivers on workstations in order to print to Windows 2000 print servers. Windows 2000, Windows95 and NT4 workstation operating systems are covered. Contents: · Windows 2000 Client Method 1 – Add Printers by Searching the Active Directory Method 2 – Adding Printers from the Web Method 3 – Adding Printers from the Control Panel / Printers Window · Windows95 Client · NT 4.0 Client
Windows 2000 Workstation Printer Installation There are several methods possible for installing print drivers on a Windows 2000 workstation.
1.	The easiest appears to be by searching the Active Directory. This allows you to search for printers by location or name as well as particular printer capabilities. Since it relies on replication, added printers might not show up immediately.
2.	Using the Web is also fairly easy and allows you to check on printer status. This can also be done by Unix workstations.
3.	Using the Control Panel / Printers Window is basically the same as in previous versions of NT with the addition of the additional search capabilities.

Method 1: Adding Printers by Searching the Active Directory
1.	From the Taskbar, select Start / Search / Printers

Basic Search
1.	Select the Printer Name, Location or Model you want to search fo
2.	Click on the Find Now button to display a list of printers that meet your criteria

3.	Double click on the printer you want to connect to. This will automatically install any necessary drivers.
4.	You can change the sort order by clicking on Name, Location, Model or Server Name.
Feature Search In addition to the previous criteria, you can also search for printers that have particular features such as double sided, color, resolution and speed.

Advanced Search Additional search criteria can be made using the Advanced tab

Fields that can be included in the search criteria are:

Method 2: Adding Printers from the Web
1.	Start Internet Explorer on a workstation .
2.	Enter in http://server/printers where server is the name of the server you want to query. If you are not logged into the domain where the print server is, you will be prompted for a user account that is.
3.	Click on the printer you want to add
4.	Click on Connect to install the necessary drivers and add it to Control Panel / Printers
5.	The initial screen shows all printers on that server and their: Name, Status, Location, Print Jobs, Model, and Comment

6.	Clicking on a printer will bring up the specific printer queue detail
7.	From here there are three sections: View Document List – Shows current documents in the printer queue Properties – Shows the Printer Properties Device Status – Shows items such as power save and paper tray status All Printers – This brings up the window with all the printers on the server Printer Actions Pause Resume Cancel All Documents Connect – Installs print drivers Document Actions Pause Resume Cancel
8.	Clicking on Connect will install the necessary print drivers

Method 3: Adding Printers from the Control Panel / Printers Window
1.	Go to Control Panel / Printers or Start / Settings / Printers
2.	Click on the Add Printer icon
3.	Click on the Next button

4.	Select Network printer
5.	Click on the Next button

The Active Directory Method Browsing for a Printer Method
The Active Directory Method
1.	Check Find a printer in the Directory
2.	Click on the Next button

3.	Browse to the domain where your printer is located

4.	You can use the same search capabilities as in the previous method
5.	Click on the Find Now button
6.	Highlight the printer you want to install
7.	Click on the OK button

8.	Go to Finish Windows 2000 Printer Install
Browsing for a Printer Method
1	Check Type the printer name, or click Next to browse for a printer

2.	Browse to the server where the printer is located and double click

3.	Go to Finish Windows 2000 Printer Install
Finish Windows 2000 Printer Install
4.	Select whether you want this as the default Windows printer
5.	Click on the Next button

6.	Click on the Finish button