Connect To Printer Option May Disappear After Group Change

ID: q105193

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT operating system version 3.1
Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1

SYMPTOMS

When a User who was once a member of the Administrators group is changed to another group (removed from the Administrators group), the Connect to Printer option in Print Manager may disappear.

If the User has never logged on to their account while a member of Administrators, this problem does not occur. Once that account has been used at least once and the User is then placed in another group, the Connect To Printer option disappears.

RESOLUTION

There are currently two workarounds to this problem:

Use Create Printer rather than Connect to Printer and to specify the network path to this printer. The disadvantage to this is that the printer driver will have to be loaded locally.
-or-
Recreate the account for this user without first giving this user Administrator rights. The disadvantage of this is that all the users settings, personal program groups, and other customized information will have to be recreated.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 3.1 and Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Problem

1. Create 2 users in the User Manager. For reference, let us call

   one user User1, the other User2. Place User1 in the Power Users
   group, User2 in Administrators.

2. Log off, then log on as User2. Open Print Manager and note the

   availability of the option to Connect To Printer on the Printer menu.

3. Log off, then log on as User1. Again, note the availability of the

   Connect To Printer option. This user, as a member of the Power Users
   group, demonstrates the fact that a Power User should see this option.

4. Log off, then log on as Administrator. Remove User2 from the

   Administrators group and place this user into the Power Users group.

5. Log off, then log on as User2. Note that the option to Connect To

   Printer is no longer available.

Additional query words: prodnt

Keywords          : kbtool
Version           : 3.1
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: August 17, 1998