Vista - default printer doesn't stay as default

I have set up several printers and have one network printer assigned as
'default' printer. I have noticed that this 'default' status for this printer
does not remain so after I shut down and reboot. It seems to default to the
Fax printer. I then have to reset the chosen printer as 'default' in order to
print. This happens not everytime I shut down - sometimes the default printer
stays as default.

Anyone have similar experiences? Solution to the problem?
Thanks.

Best regards,
S.F. Kang

It will default to the first one it finds after logon, so in your case, I'm
thinking the logon to the network is taking longer, therefore it finds the
fax first.
--
Cari (MS-MVP)
Windows Technologies - Printing & Imaging
http://www.coribright.com/windows

"Freddie Kang" <Freddie Kang@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:F82B3C7F-9825-471A-AAF3-F30506E5EB29@microsoft.com...
>I have set up several printers and have one network printer assigned as
> 'default' printer. I have noticed that this 'default' status for this
> printer
> does not remain so after I shut down and reboot. It seems to default to
> the
> Fax printer. I then have to reset the chosen printer as 'default' in order
> to
> print. This happens not everytime I shut down - sometimes the default
> printer
> stays as default.
>
> Anyone have similar experiences? Solution to the problem?
> Thanks.
>
> Best regards,
> S.F. Kang

Thanks for your info. Yes, the fax is first in line amongst the printers. Is
there a way I can make the default printer stay? Yes I do notice it doesn't
happen everytime, so it might happen when my system takes longer to logon to
the network. Can I rename the printer so it appears first on the list? Other
solutions? Thanks. Much appreciate your info.

br/freddie

"Cari (MS-MVP)" wrote:

> It will default to the first one it finds after logon, so in your case, I'm
> thinking the logon to the network is taking longer, therefore it finds the
> fax first.
> --
> Cari (MS-MVP)
> Windows Technologies - Printing & Imaging
> http://www.coribright.com/windows
>
> "Freddie Kang" <Freddie Kang@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:F82B3C7F-9825-471A-AAF3-F30506E5EB29@microsoft.com...
> >I have set up several printers and have one network printer assigned as
> > 'default' printer. I have noticed that this 'default' status for this
> > printer
> > does not remain so after I shut down and reboot. It seems to default to
> > the
> > Fax printer. I then have to reset the chosen printer as 'default' in order
> > to
> > print. This happens not everytime I shut down - sometimes the default
> > printer
> > stays as default.
> >
> > Anyone have similar experiences? Solution to the problem?
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Best regards,
> > S.F. Kang
>
>

The only real solution would be to disable the fax printer which probably
isn't much use if you occasionally need it.
--
Cari (MS-MVP)
Windows Technologies - Printing & Imaging
http://www.coribright.com/windows

"Freddie Kang" <FreddieKang@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:63A8502B-EEFC-49ED-A1B3-53554DB4ED4D@microsoft.com...
> Thanks for your info. Yes, the fax is first in line amongst the printers.
> Is
> there a way I can make the default printer stay? Yes I do notice it
> doesn't
> happen everytime, so it might happen when my system takes longer to logon
> to
> the network. Can I rename the printer so it appears first on the list?
> Other
> solutions? Thanks. Much appreciate your info.
>
> br/freddie
>
> "Cari (MS-MVP)" wrote:
>
>> It will default to the first one it finds after logon, so in your case,
>> I'm
>> thinking the logon to the network is taking longer, therefore it finds
>> the
>> fax first.
>> --
>> Cari (MS-MVP)
>> Windows Technologies - Printing & Imaging
>> http://www.coribright.com/windows
>>
>> "Freddie Kang" <Freddie Kang@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:F82B3C7F-9825-471A-AAF3-F30506E5EB29@microsoft.com...
>> >I have set up several printers and have one network printer assigned as
>> > 'default' printer. I have noticed that this 'default' status for this
>> > printer
>> > does not remain so after I shut down and reboot. It seems to default to
>> > the
>> > Fax printer. I then have to reset the chosen printer as 'default' in
>> > order
>> > to
>> > print. This happens not everytime I shut down - sometimes the default
>> > printer
>> > stays as default.
>> >
>> > Anyone have similar experiences? Solution to the problem?
>> > Thanks.
>> >
>> > Best regards,
>> > S.F. Kang
>>
>>

I am having this same problem. This was not an issue in Windows XP- when you
selected a default printer it stayed the default printer. Did you ever find
a solution to this problem in Windows Vista?
Thanks!

Same problem here. It was defaulting to a fax printer, so I deleted that. Now
it goes to Microsoft Docuemnt image writer. This is a very annoying problem
that is new in Vista.

"Freddie Kang" wrote:

> I have set up several printers and have one network printer assigned as
> 'default' printer. I have noticed that this 'default' status for this printer
> does not remain so after I shut down and reboot. It seems to default to the
> Fax printer. I then have to reset the chosen printer as 'default' in order to
> print. This happens not everytime I shut down - sometimes the default printer
> stays as default.
>
> Anyone have similar experiences? Solution to the problem?
> Thanks.
>
> Best regards,
> S.F. Kang

Do you have any issues printing to the printer that you want to be the
default? Do you have outlook and if so can you print out of outlook to the
printer that will not stay the default? Is the printer that will not stay
the default a networked printer or a locally attached printer?

My History with this issue (or what I beleive is the same issue you're
having.):
I'm having an issue and it has to do with Office products and vista. Office
products can't print to a networked printer. I've moved the que's to a 2008
server and that fixed 99% of my issues but I still have one that can't ever
print toe the 2008 que's.

I am having the "Can't set a default printer problem" as well. It comes
into play with me, not on a network, but all the time. The major issue,
as I saw posted somewhere else here, is with programs like Adobe Reader
(Acrobat) that only print to a default printer. In other words I can't
print PDFs. That is a real PITA as I
am a REALTOR and PDFs are my WORLD. I did see an answer by "Alan" that
mentioned some "HKEY-BLAH BLAH BLAH," But there was no info about what
to do with it. I am not a registry savvy guy. Its a new machine and the
manufacturer was no help either! This has been going on for several
months. Should I just go buy an Apple?


--
Geekeezer

I had this same problem and realized that it is caused when I RDP into
my vista box. This is due to new RDP 6.1 client default behavior. You
get RDP 6.1 with Vista SP1. A simple workaround is to uncheck the
"Printers" box in the RDP client options under "RDP -> Options -> Local
Resources"


--
TexasTbird

Changing a User's Default Printer in the Registry
See Article ID: 156212

HKCU \Software \Microsoft \Windows NT \CurrentVersion \Windows

Device Reg_SZ Data (here you make the device changes.)

Note: You will see the Devices folder under the CurrentVersion with the list
of printer devices installed, their spooler and connection type.




"Geekeezer" wrote:

>
> I am having the "Can't set a default printer problem" as well. It comes
> into play with me, not on a network, but all the time. The major issue,
> as I saw posted somewhere else here, is with programs like Adobe Reader
> (Acrobat) that only print to a default printer. In other words I can't
> print PDFs. That is a real PITA as I
> am a REALTOR and PDFs are my WORLD. I did see an answer by "Alan" that
> mentioned some "HKEY-BLAH BLAH BLAH," But there was no info about what
> to do with it. I am not a registry savvy guy. Its a new machine and the
> manufacturer was no help either! This has been going on for several
> months. Should I just go buy an Apple?
>
>
> --
> Geekeezer
>