Migrating Windows Printers Using 2008 R2 Tools

Description

In the process of migrating Loftware from an older server to a new 2008 R2 server Windows printers are often "lost" in this process. By Migrating them all at once it is possible to prevent this.

Solution

Below are the steps to move printers from any Windows system to a 2008 R2 server system using built-in tools.

Requirements

Server running 2008 R2
The required drivers must be installed on the new system or be available in the Windows driver library.
Source system(s) can be:

• 2003 SP2 x86 or x64
• 2003 R2 x86 or x64
• 2008 x86 or x64
• 2008 R2

How to migrate Windows printers on a server

1. Click on Server Manager on the 2008 R2 server.
2. Scroll down to Roles Summary and click on Add Roles.
3. Check the box for Print Services and follow the wizard to install (could take several minutes).
4. After it is installed, Click Start > Administrative Tools > Print Management.
5. Expand the tree, then right click on Print Servers and click on Add/Remove Servers
6. Enter the name of the print server you want to migrate the printers off of and select Add to List, then click Apply.
7. Right Click on that Printer in the tree and select Export Printers to a File and save that file on your desktop.
8. After the export is complete, right click on your new server in the tree.
9. Select Import Printer from a File, and select the export from your desktop.
10. Follow the wizard and you are done!

Result

Once the steps are completed all of your Windows printers will be recreated on the 2008 R2 server with the same Name, Driver and Configuration as the printers on the previous system.