I’d like to introduce a new author to the blog! Please welcome Victor Loiacono. We work for the same company, and I wanted to get him going on here to

At work, I took it upon myself to migrate our print server.  We were using an outdated Windows Server 2000 solution and I felt it was time to upgrade.  After the new Windows Server 2003 R2 was implemented, I was wondering how to get all the existing printers on there in the easiest manner.  Solution: Printer Migration tool 3.1 found here!  It is a simple stand alone application that is easy to use.  You can run it remotely as well.  So from my desktop, I choose a target machine to pull the printers from, in this case the Server 2000 box.  Once targeted, you choose where to backup the .CAB file it creates.  Run the program and Voila, after a few minutes you have the .CAB file.  Now you target the new server, in my case, the Server 2003 server, and you restore the .CAB file to it.  I did run into a couple of issues, but they were easily solved.  They are described below.

Symptom:
When using the printmig.exe tool to migrate print queues
from a Windows2000 server to a Windows 2003 server.  It
can backup OK.  When doing any kind of restore, even
a restore to itself the following error message occurs:

FAILURE – Can’t get printer driver directory:  1722

Solution: To enable Client Connections.
the RPC listening endpoint is not set on Server 2003 until one adds a shared
printer or turns on the RPC endpoint in gpedit.msc.  Printmig should work
locally but will always fail remotely on a fresh install.

follow these steps to fix this:

1. Run Local Group Policy by going to Start > Run and type gpedit.msc

2. Explorer Computer Configuration,

3. Select Administrative Templates,

4. click Printer.

5. On the Right pane, right-click on “Allow Print Spooler to accept client connections.”

6. Select Properties and check Enable.

7. Click OK to close the Local Group Policy.

Symptom:
When trying to restore printers using Printer Migrator on a windows 2003 server, you may receive this message: “WARNING: Kernel Mode Drivers (version 2) are blocked on the target machine. Disable Kernel Mode driver blocking and re-run Printer Migrator…”

Solution: To disable  Kernel Mode driver blocking, following these steps:

1. Run Local Group Policy by going to Start > Run and type gpedit.msc

2. Explorer Computer Configuration,

3. Select Administrative Templates,

4. click Printer.

5. On the Right pane, right-click on “Disallow installation of printers using kernel mode drivers”

6. Select Properties and check Disabled.

7. Click OK to close the Local Group Policy.

I decided today would be a good day to dual-boot my laptop with Windows 7 RTM. I figured with all of the hype around it, being faster and better than Vista, a trial run wouldn’t hurt. Worst case, I boot back into XP and delete the second partition. Since I’ve only been using W7 for an hour or so, I’m only going to touch upon some of the immediate highlights.

Installation. The installation is DVD-based, and just like Vista, it’s colorful (GUI). It also supported by USB wireless mouse and keyboard! The speed and ease of the installation is fantastic. I should have timed it, but I really don’t think it took more than 20 minutes. It felt quicker, but I’m sure it wasn’t.

Initial boot-up & log in. After adding the computer to the domain where I work, restarts, log-in’s, and desktop loads (to the point where all programs have finished loading) were extremely fast. Also, Microsoft has removed all of that fluff that’s included when you initially log into a Windows XP machine. The desktop is clean of clutter, and it already includes a cool background.

Device Manager – check device drivers. I figured as with all previous Microsoft operating systems, there’s bound to be a few devices that need the manufacturer driver. This was true for the video and sound driver. No big deal though, as I went to Dell’s website and downloaded what I needed. Obviously it was lucky for me that Dell has Windows 7 drivers for this laptop! After loading up both drivers, I did a quick reboot, and things started looking more clearly.

Antivirus. We run Symantec Endpoint 11 MR4, but it wouldn’t install properly. We downloaded MR5, and it loaded perfectly.

Legacy applications. We use Numara Track-It for our Helpdesk, which installed with no issues.  In addition, we use the typical Server Administrative Pack tools (for Windows servers). In Vista and Windows 7, the standard adminpak.msi found on Windows 2003 servers no longer works. I had to track down the new version, called Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) made especially for Windows 7 RTM. That dropped a nice shortcut in Control Panel that included all of our beloved tools. Even the once-hated Windows UAC has backed down quite a bit during all of these software installations and system changes.

So far, I’m very impressed with Microsoft’s new OS. Some will call it Microsoft’s redemption, some will continue to be haters. Take it for it is, and for what it’s worth! As I get to test out W7 in greater detail, you’ll read about it here. Below are screen shots of my system config, for your information.

Finally got around to adding the Wordpress application to my Blackberry and iPod Touch. Now I can post from anywhere!