Why does my default printer keep changing?

Applies to: NPC and Windows 2012 (8.1)

Nerdio uses a software called ThinPrint to make it possible to print from virtual desktops. By default ThinPrint resets the default printer every time you log in from a Windows or Mac laptop. 

Let's say you were at work and set one of the network printers as your default printer. Later that day you log in to Nerdio desktop from home using your Windows or Mac computer, and connect your printer at home to your computer. ThinPrint looks for the printers connected to your computer and decides to make your home printer the default printer. That's great while you are at home. However, when you go to the office and log in to your desktop ThinPrint looks for printers available to you and makes one of them the default printer. Which many times isn't the one you had selected as the default printer.

Lock the default printer

To prevent the default printer from changing, you can lock down the default printer selection. Follow these steps below:

1. First, make sure the right printer has been selected as the default printer. Click the Start button, then select "Devices and Printers". Right-click on the printer you want to set as default and select "Set as default"
2. Minimize all programs to view your desktop
3. Locate a folder called "DPManagement". Double-click to open the folder.
   
4. Locate a program called "Lock Printer". Double-click to run the program. This program will now have locked down the default printer selection.
   
   Note, another way to find the "Lock Printer" program is to look for it under Windows apps. See screenshot:
   
   
   

NERDIO SUPERHERO TIP Should you ever need to change the default printer, simply run the "Unlock Printer" program to remove the lock down in place. You will need to know the install user or an administrator user's login to run the program. In the rare case you have administrator privileges you will not be able to use the "Lock Printer" program. See below for other options.

Advanced options

There's a couple of other ways to stop ThinPrint from changing your default printer selection. Both options require you to be familiar with advanced Windows administration. Get in touch with us if you prefer we make the changes for you.

Option #1: Registry changes

Earlier we mentioned you must be logging in from a laptop. The Windows registry entries on that computer has to be changed in order to tell ThinPrint to disable default printer redirection. Follow the instructions in this KB article on VMWare's website.

The downside to this option is that the registry entries need to be updated on all devices that you use to log in to Nerdio desktop that are not a thin client or a smart monitor.

Option #2: Stop Windows services

You can disable ThinPrint on the Nerdio desktop. Look for two Windows services that start with "TP". If you don't know how to view Windows services, we recommend you contact us. TP stands for Thinprint. Stopping the two services will disable ThinPrint completely.

The advantage of this option is that you make a change in one place only - the Nerdio desktop. The unfortunate side-effect of this option is that it disables printing to all locally attached printers.