Port List Missing from Printer Properties and other printer issues...

Question

So, I know I have fixed this once before, but it was a long time ago and now I can't find anything on this anymore.
I'm a network admin for an MSP.

Tl;dr - List of ports are missing in printer properties and I can't add or remove printers (Error 283)

Long story:

Suddenly, a few weeks ago, a user began having a printer issue.
The user was unable to print to any of the network printers (shared from the DC).
In my troubleshooting, I discovered that, in the properties of each printer, the entire port list is blank,
but each printer did show their appropriate drive.

[To note: This user is the only of about 20 users dealing with this issue and also has a printer connected by USB
to their device that DOES work, as do a few other users. I don't believe this issue is on the server-side.]
I tried to just add the port (all TCP/IP) but the computer wouldn't let me add a port.

Noticing this missing port issue I decided to simply remove all the printers (there were several in excess anyways) and reinstall them.
Then I hit problem two: Although I was able to remove most of the printers, I couldn't add or remove the network's active printers.
When trying to remove a printer, nothing happened. At most, the Fax and Microsoft Print to PDF had a brief loading bar, sometimes.
When trying to add a printer (the same printers that I couldn't remove) I got the error "That didn't work. We can't install this printer right now. Try again later or contact your network administrator."

I didn't think this was a server issue, but I double-checked the DC anyways.
I deleted and remove the old Canon printer from the server.
I made sure that the other printers were on the print server and had ports.
As I mentioned before, all the printers were TCP/IP. I pinged each printer from the user device, no issue.

Final note, the user does have Domain Admin privileges.
I did a little more poking around, but I'm honestly stuck at this point.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Hello,

I just solved the same problem on Windows11 22H2.

the list of print ports was empty and any attempt was refused,

I note that I initially had the problem that the print to PDF functionality did not work and refused to install again with the error 0x800f0922.

the solution that worked for me:

1/ stop spooler service

2/ Uninstall Microsoft Print To PDF feature

3/ reboot

4/ stop spooler service

5/ Reinstalling Microsoft Print To PDF Feature

At this level with the spooler stop the functionality is reinstalled without error but does not appear in the list of printers

It is at this moment that I detect that there are no longer any print ports...

6/ import from another Windows 11 in regedit KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\

7/ starting the spooler service

The list of print ports is there again and it is possible to modify it again...

cherry on the cake the Microsoft Print to PDF printer appears again and works ;)

so it seems that it was the KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors key that was corrupted.

It is responsible for the empty print port list and microsoft to pdf printer problems the famous error 0x800f0922.

If this helps anyone... (sorry for poor english i'am french ;) )

here is the imported reg that I used (W11 22H2)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors] [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\Appmon] "Driver"="AppMon.dll" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\Appmon\Ports] [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\Local Port] "Driver"="localspl.dll" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\Standard TCP/IP Port] "Driver"="tcpmon.dll" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\Standard TCP/IP Port\Ports] "LprAckTimeout"=dword:000000b4 "StatusUpdateEnabled"=dword:00000001 "StatusUpdateInterval"=dword:0000000a "TcpAckTimeout"=dword:0000012c [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\USB Monitor] "Driver"="usbmon.dll" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\USB Monitor\IppUsbAltIndex] [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\WSD Port] "Driver"="APMon.dll" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\WSD Port\Adapters] [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\WSD Port\Adapters\IPP] [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\WSD Port\Adapters\WSPrint] [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\WSD Port\Adapters\WSPrint\OfflinePorts] [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\WSD Port\Ports]

Answer 2

Hi @Devon Todd

Short answer.

You answered this one with the error 283.

In September, Microsoft turned on a new authentication layer which they added in Jan 2021 but the default was disabled.

The result is that Windows systems which did not support the new authentication layer are blocked from connecting to shared printers.

You can update the client systems to the latest Windows Update or you can disable the new default on the print server.

TCP/IP Port 135 is used for the new default so if you block 135 you might as well open it.

If you decide to disable the default, add the registry setting to the print server in this article and set it to 0. A Print Spooler restart is required. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/managing-deployment-of-printer-rpc-binding-changes-for-cve-2021-1678-kb4599464-12a69652-30b9-3d61-d9f7-7201623a8b25

Thanks

Answer 3

Hi @Devon Todd

Check if the Spooler service is running (Control panel - administrative tools - services).

Based on your description, this can occur if the client system (the system running Printer Management Console) does not have a DNS 'A' record (forward lookup) configured or the record is incorrect. Please add a DNS 'A' record for the system that is running the Printer Management Console or correct the existing record, and then monitor the result.

Here is a thread as well that discusses the same issue and you can try out some troubleshooting steps from this and see if that helps you to sort the Issue.

print management - empty port list
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/264973/print-management-empty-port-list.html

Hope this resolves your Query!!

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Answer 4

Hi @Devon Todd .
I don't know if you've solved the problem already, but maybe others have the same. It helped me:
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/916ab10e-2fcd-4f1f-9ce4-2f6d68d50cb5/cannot-load-wizard-pages-for-standard-tcpip-port?forum=w7itprogeneral