I re-deployed a printer via group policy after updating the printer drivers on the print server.
On some Windows 7 workstations the drivers could be updated on a printer by right-clicking it –> Update Driver. However most workstations do not offer this function, therefore are stuck with the printer's old driver & printing preferences. All domain users have local Admin rights to their workstations.
Trying to right-click –> Remove Device the printer displays error: Access is denied, unable to remove device.
Is there an easy way to re-deploy this network printer with the correct drivers?
Best Answer
You want to change the driver pushed out by GPO. My guess would be that's why you can't update the drivers on most workstations, and "some" of the workstations aren't getting the new GPO applied - those ones are the one on which you can edit the settings/update the drivers. Correct it by correcting your GPO, rather than screwing around on each individual machine... which would seem to me to largely defeat the purpose of having GPOs.
(And yes, this is the "easy way" to redeploy this network printer. Change the installed printer settings in the GPO.)
Settings applied by GPO supersede local admin rights, which would be why you're getting access denied, even with administrator rights. (Which, by the way, is a really icky thing to give to all domain users. Nothing but trouble comes from it, trust me.)