Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure to back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows registry
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How Shared Printers Are Found
When a user chooses to browse for a printer in the domain, a
remote procedure call (RPC) (EnumPrinters) is made to the browse master.
EnumPrinters returns only the computers in the browse list that have set the
printer flag (SV_TYPE_PRINT) in their host announcements.
For more information about how the master browser is selected, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
102878
Information on browser operation
Below is a network trace fragment that illustrates a client
browsing a Windows NT print server.
Client Request
FRAME: Base frame properties
ETHERNET: 802.3 Length = 1042
LLC: UI DSAP=0xE0 SSAP=0xE0 C
IPX: NetBIOS Packet - 6112.08003E3046DE.455 -> 6112.02608C3F3E55.455 - 0
Hops
NBIPX: Session Data
SMB: C transact TransactNmPipe, FID = 0x80a
MSRPC: c/o RPC Request: call 0x1 opnum 0x0 context 0x0 hint 0x364
R_WINSPOOL: RPC Client call winspool:RpcEnumPrinters(..)
R_WINSPOOL: DWORD Flags = 64 (0x40)
R_WINSPOOL: STRING_HANDLE Name = \\NTSERVER
R_WINSPOOL: DWORD Level = 1 (0x1)
R_WINSPOOL: LPBYTE pPrinterEnum [..] = 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00...
R_WINSPOOL: DWORD cbBuf = 804 (0x324)
Server Response
FRAME: Base frame properties ETHERNET: 802.3 Length = 970LLC: UI DSAP=0xE0
SSAP=0xE0 CIPX: NetBIOS Packet - 6112.02608C3F3E55.455 ->
6112.08003E3046DE.455 - 0 Hops
NBIPX: Session Data
SMB: R transact TransactNmPipe (response to frame 89)
MSRPC: c/o RPC Response: call 0x1 context 0x0 hint 0x338 cancels 0x0
R_WINSPOOL: RPC Server response winspool:RpcEnumPrinters(..)
R_WINSPOOL: LPBYTE pPrinterEnum [..] = 08 00 00 00 DA 02 00 00 B4 02 00 00
B2 02 00 00 08 00 00 00 58 02 00...
R_WINSPOOL: LPDWORD pcbNeeded = 460 (0x1CC)
R_WINSPOOL: LPDWORD pcReturned = 3 (0x3)
R_WINSPOOL: Return Value = 0 (0x0)
The network trace above shows the network client receiving
back a response from the server containing information from the RPC call
EnumPrinters. (Additional information on this function is available in the
Win32 SDK.)
How existing printers get enumerated to the print browse master
Windows NT Server and Workstation computers update the browse
master by default every 10 minutes with print share information. This is done
via the Win32
AddPrinter function.
Below is a network trace fragment that
demonstrates a client enumerating shared resources to the print browse master:
FRAME: Base frame properties ETHERNET: 802.3 Length = 458LLC: UI DSAP=0xE0
SSAP=0xE0 CIPX: NetBIOS Packet - 6112.08003E3046DE.455 ->
6112.02608C3F3E55.455 - 0 Hops
NBIPX: Session Data
SMB: C transact TransactNmPipe, FID = 0x200c
MSRPC: c/o RPC Request: call 0x1 opnum 0x5 context 0x0 hint 0x11C
R_WINSPOOL: RPC Client call winspool:RpcAddPrinter(..)
R_WINSPOOL: STRING_HANDLE pName = \\NTSERVER
R_WINSPOOL: PPRINTER_CONTAINER pPrinterContainer {..}
R_WINSPOOL: DWORD Level = 1 (0x1)
R_WINSPOOL: (Untyped 1) PrinterInfo {..}
R_WINSPOOL: Switch Value = 1 (0x1)
R_WINSPOOL: LPPRINTER_INFO_1W pPrinterInfo1 {..}
R_WINSPOOL: DWORD Flags = 24 (0x18)
R_WINSPOOL: LPWSTR pDescription = 35780264 (0x221F6A8)
R_WINSPOOL: LPWSTR pName = 35781864 (0x221FCE8)
R_WINSPOOL: LPWSTR pComment = 12163832 (0xB99AF8)
R_WINSPOOL: LPWSTR pDescription = \\NTCLIENT\Lexmark Optra PS,Lexmark Optra
PS,
R_WINSPOOL: LPWSTR pName = \\NTCLIENT\Lexmark Optra PS
R_WINSPOOL: LPWSTR pComment =
R_WINSPOOL: PDEVMODE_CONTAINER pDevModeContainer {..}
R_WINSPOOL: DWORD cbBuf = 0 (0x0)
R_WINSPOOL: LPBYTE pDevMode = 0 (0x0)
R_WINSPOOL: PSECURITY_CONTAINER pSecurityContainer {..}
R_WINSPOOL: DWORD cbBuf = 0 (0x0)
R_WINSPOOL: LPBYTE pSecurity = 0 (0x0)
Registry entries
Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.
Below is a list of registry entries that will manipulate client
and server behavior in regard to print browsing.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print
DisableServerThread REG_DWORD
Range: 0 or 1
Default: 0 (false)
Set this to 1 (true) to disable the browse thread on the current
computer. This thread is used to call other print servers to notify them
that this printer exists.
ServerThreadTimeout REG_DWORD
Range: Milliseconds
Default: 36,000 (36 seconds)
Specifies the amount of time the ServerThread sleeps for before it calls
all the other print servers to notify them of the printers on this
computer.
NetPrinterDecayPeriod REG_DWORD
Range: Milliseconds
Default: 3,600,000 (1 hour)
Specifies how long to cache a network printer. The cache is used to
present the list of printers when the browse dialog is used.
RefreshTimesPerDecayPeriod REG_DWORD
Range: 1 - 5
Default: 2
Specifies how many times to inform the browse masters and backup servers
per decay period. Default value is two times per hour. Do not set a zero
value if you specify both RefreshTimesPerDecayPeriod and
ServerThreadTimeout; the system will wait for the maximum of either the
ServerThreadTimeout or the RefreshTimesPerDecayPeriod.
To disable the server thread on a non-domain computer using the following registry setting:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers ServerThread
Range: 0 or 1
Default: 1 (enabled)
Set this entry to 0 to disable the server thread. For more information, visit the following Web site:
Non-printing registry changes
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters
SizReqBuf REG_DWORD
Range: 512 - 65535 (bytes in decimal, or 200 - FFFF in hexadecimal)
Default: 4356
Note
In Windows 2000, the minimum setting is 1024. Small buffers use less
memory, and large buffers can improve performance. The exact value that works
best in a specific environment will depend on the specific configuration of that
environment. For an optional value, try 4410 (hexadecimal). This value has been shown to work well in a
standard Ethernet environment. By default, this setting is 4356 bytes on computers. On servers that have more than 512 MB of
memory, this value is increased to 16 KB. A receive buffer that is larger can
improve performance on query directory and similar commands, but at the price
of more memory per work item.
EnableBroadcastSpoolerStatus REG_DWORD
Range: 0 or 1
Default: 0 (false)
Forces the broadcast of WM_SPOOLERSTATUS messages on Windows
2000; ignored by other platforms. By default, Windows 2000 does not broadcast
WM_SPOOLERSTATUS messages. Set this registry value to 1 if you have a program
that is designed for earlier versions of Windows that rely on receipt of the
WM_SPOOLERS ATUS messages. Note that the WM_SPOOLERSTATUS message does not have
guaranteed delivery semantics, so programs should not rely upon its receipt.
Shared printer announcements
When a printer is shared, the share name is announced to 3+n/32 servers, where "n" is the number of print servers in that domain. Then, the selection algorithm is re-announced every 10 minutes. Names are also re-announced when new shares are created on the server. The Spooler service listens to these announcements, adds the printer(s) to its list of printers, and records a time stamp. The time stamp is refreshed every 10 minutes. If a printer is not refreshed in 70 minutes, it is removed from the list.