Hey everyone! I've inherited an old Active Directory and Group Policy setup that is a bit of a nightmare. About 16 years ago, an engineer mapped printers to Computer Organizational Units (OUs) through a Group Policy Object (GPO) for each of our 93 offices using 4 outdated print servers. We're transitioning to Azure and Intune, utilizing a Cloud Printing solution, but we're stuck with printer mappings that are 'tattooed' in the registry. I've tried different PowerShell scripts to remove the mappings, but they keep reappearing after a reboot. Also, I've deleted the GPOs from the AD/GPO Editor, and I can't seem to locate where these printer mappings are stored in the registry. I'd appreciate any guidance on how to fully remove these old printer mappings!
5 Answers
You should look into the print management console. It often lets you manage deployed printers that aren't accessible through the regular Group Policy Management. You can find your deployed printers there and simply remove them.
Using `gpresult` is a good idea, but don't forget to check if there are any logon scripts running that might be causing the printers to map again. A simple logon script can clear them. You could also use commands like `wmic printer where "Local='FALSE'" delete` to clean them up as needed.
Make sure to check the registry under `HKEY_CURRENT_USERPrintersConnections`. You might find some connections lingering there. And if all else fails, a PowerShell script could automate the removal process for you.
Sometimes these old deployments have hidden issues. If you can find the cached GPO folder on the clients, removing it might prompt them to download the correct updates without the unwanted printer mappings. Good luck cleaning this up, it sounds tricky!
Check the output of `gpresult /h results.html` on a computer to see if that old GPO is still applied. It might have gotten overlooked. Sometimes you may have to dig deeper to find any lingering policies that are still operating.
Definitely follow those steps, it simplifies things so much!