Microsoft Print Migrator

Review

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Lightweight and portable software application that automates the backup and restore of print configuration data locally and remotely

Microsoft Print Migrator is a lightweight and portable software application capable of backing up and restoring the print configuration details. It is very simple to use even by novices, as it comes packed with limited options.

Since installation is not a prerequisite, you can drop the executable file anywhere on the hard disk and click it to run.

It is also possible to save Microsoft Print Migrator to a USB flash disk or similar storage unit, in order to run it on any machine with minimum effort.

What’s more, the Windows registry does not get new entries, and files are not left behind on the hard disk after program removal.

The interface is made from a common window with a plain and simple layout, where a list of printer configuration details is shown at startup, including printer drivers, ports, processors and monitors.

In order to back up data, all you have to do is specify the saving directory and file name (CAB format). Plus, you can ask Microsoft Print Migrator to record activity to plain text beforehand.

A task is carried out quickly and without errors. To restore the printer configuration data, it is only necessary to point out the backup file. In addition, Microsoft Print Migrator is able to backup data on a remote server.

The application is very light on the system resources, using a minimal amount of CPU and RAM. It has a good reaction speed and finishes a job rapidly. We have not come across any issues in our testing. On the downside, the tool has not received updates for a very long time, and it is not compatible with newer operating systems. Otherwise, Microsoft Print Migrator offers a simple backup and restore service for the print configuration data.

Microsoft print migrator windows 10

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General discussion

Any help ! I’m a little bit confused about the difference between the two migration tools.

This first URL says :

— Windows Server 2008 R2 — You cannot migrate directly from older operating systems (Windows NT Server 4.0, Windows 2000 Server) to Windows Server 2008 R2. Instead, you must migrate from the older operating system to a computer running Windows Vista, then migrate from Windows Vista to Windows Server 2008 R2.

— To migrate between x64 Windows Server 2003 systems, use the Print Migration Wizard.

This second one says :

— Take a backup of the printers on the Windows 2003 source server using the Print Management Console or printbrm.exe run from the Windows 2008 R2 Server.

Q U E S T I O N S :

1) Does it mean that the two kinds of migration tools are available on 2003 X64 ?

2) Does it mean that 2003 X64 could also do the intermediary step that only Vista is supposed to do ?

3) Does it mean that 2003 Printer backups could directly be done on 2008R2 server without need to take a local backup (with Printer Migration Wizard or with Print Migrator) ?

All replies

One can only run Print Migrator on 2003 OS and earlier. The printbrm.exe utility can only run on Windows Vista and greater. One performs a remote backup of the 2003 machine with printbrm.exe running on the OS of the machine you will be restoring to.

You can use the 2003 x64 as the intermediary step but you will need to install the x64 drivers manually on the machine. All the 64 bit driver names will need to match the 32 bit driver names installed on whatever OS you are backing up.

There is no requirement to perform a local backup on 2003.

Alan Morris formerly with Windows Printing Team

• Edited by Alan Morris Editor Saturday, December 5, 2015 12:07 AM

Three last questions, to make sure I understand your answer, Alan :

— PrintBrm.exe is available on 2003 x64 and not available on 2003 x32 ?

— If Vista is used as intermediary step for migrating from 2003 x32 to 2008R2, will x64 drivers (corresponding to source x32 drivers) be automatically installed on target 2008R2 servers ?

— PrintBrm.exe could restore PrintMigrator Backup to 2008 or 2008R2, if cross-architecture issue (x32, x64) is solved manually, by installing needed drivers on the target server ?

Printbrm.exe will not run on any version of Server 2003. All 2003 printbrm backups are performed remotely. Ideally the machine running the backup software will be the same OS version that the restore of the printer will be performed to.

If you have the 32bit and the 64bit drivers installed on which ever operating system you are backing up, then the target server will also get this software installed. If the software does not exist on the source machine, the software generally cannot automatically be installed. There are some inbox drivers that will be installed as the utility will attempt to install the driver, when the software is there, the install will succeed but only if you are using inbox drivers on the source.

The backup file generated by Print Migrator has never been compatible with printbrm.exe

Have you attempted the backup yet? What operating system are you still running? Even Server 2003 is no longer supported.

I’ve done all this previously. I can get you there.

Alan Morris formerly with Windows Printing Team

• Edited by Alan Morris Editor Saturday, December 5, 2015 6:18 AM

I’m trying to migrate 2003 R2 x32 printers to 2008R2. I wanted to use the Vista intermediary step solution. Before completing the migration, I wanted to keep existing printers in a backup format that is compatible with PrintBrm.

My questions are mainly about PrintBrm on Vista station.

— Could the PrintBrm command be available on Vista, without I install there the Printer Server Manager tool ?

— Could the existing 2003 x32 printers be remotely backed-up (by Vista) and exported in a file (on Vista machine) before next step (copying the file on 2008R2, and calling PrintBrm locally on 2008R2 for import) ?

There will be no need to use Print Migrator or Server 2008 / Vista at all in this case. This scenario as stated in the documentation is for NT4 and Server 2000.

Since 2008R2 will be the print server, install the Print and Document Services Role onto the machine. This will install printbrm.exe and printbrmui.exe.

If any of your printers are targeting LPR Ports then you will need to add the feature LPR Port to the server before continuing. If you have any other port monitor in use on 2003R2, none of these ports will migrate.

After installing the role and feature if required, launch printbrmui.exe. Select Export, print server on the network, you will see the printers, Drivers, and Ports listed.

If you have been diligent, you have already installed the 64bit drivers on the 32bit Server 2003R2 machine. If there are no 64bit drivers on the 2003 R2 machine, you will need to install the 64bit driver that uses the same name and print processor as the 32bit print driver.

If you are using any «universal’ drivers, the 64bit version must use the same print processor name as the 32bit drivers installed. I know that HP revises their print processor names with each universal driver version so you will either need to update the version on the source or find the matching version.

32bit Language Monitor software cannot be installed on a 64bit operating. There will be an event 19 generated, this is by design. https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj519448.aspx

If you have ever modified Monitor registry entries here: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors

Once the backup is completed, launch printbrmui.exe and perform the Import operation. If you use the publish printer to AD feature, uncheck this box during the import until you have restored the printers and verified all is well. Then use Print Management , select the printers and List in Directory.

There are a couple things that can trip you up. If there is any error other than 19, grab the Applications and Services /Microsoft / Windows / PrintBrm logs and review the errors.

The most common issues are driver names not matching «Driver PS» != «Driver PCL 5», print processor names not matching, and backup file size greater than 2gig.

Let me know how it goes. I’ve done this backup / restore combination about a dozen times but I only used inbox drivers since all the .com vendor code would never pass the basic install process on my print server configurations.

If you hit an error search on-line with the error code and Alan Morris. I’ve already solved it some place.

Alan Morris formerly with Windows Printing Team

Перенос принтеров на новый сервер печати

Перенос очередей, драйверов, процессоров печати, а также портов принтера с одного сервера печати па другой, осуществляется с помощью мастера Миграция принтеров (Printer Migration Wizard). Это эффективный способ объединения нескольких серверов печати или замены старого сервера.

При переносе принтера сервер, на котором расположен принтер в данный момент, называется исходным сервером, а сервер, на который выполняется перемещение, – целевым сервером. Чтобы переместить принтеры на новый сервер печати, выполните следующие действия:

1. В консоли Управление печатью (Print Management) щелкните правой кнопкой исходный сервер и выберите команду Экспортировать принтеры в файл (Export Printers То A File). Откроется мастер Миграция принтеров (Printer Migration Wizard).

2. На первой странице указаны связанные с принтером объекты, экспорт которых будет произведен. Щелкните Далее (Next).

3. На странице Выберите расположение файла (Select The File Location) щелкните Обзор (Browse). В открывшемся диалоговом окне укажите место, в котором следует сохранить файл. Введите имя файла и щелкните Открыть (Open).

4. Файлы переноса принтеров имеют расширение .printerExport. Чтобы принять этот вариант, щелкните Далее (Next).

5. Когда мастер завершит процесс экспорта, щелкните кнопку Открыть просмотр событий (Open Event Viewer), чтобы просмотреть события, сгенерированные в процессе экспорта. Если в процессе экспорта произошла ошибка, записи о событиях помогут вам ее выявить и выработать возможные действия по ее устранению. Затем закройте консоль Просмотр событий (Event Viewer).

6. На странице Экспорт (Exporting) щелкните Готово (Finish), чтобы закрыть мастер Миграция принтеров (Printer Migration Wizard).

7. В консоли Управление печатью (Print Management) щелкните правой кнопкой конечный сервер и выберите команду Импортировать принтеры из файла (Import Printers From A File). Откроется мастер Миграция принтеров (Printer Migration Wizard).

8. На странице Выберите расположение файла (Select The File Location) щелкните Обзор (Browse). В открывшемся диалоговом окне выберите ранее созданный файл переноса принтера и щелкните Открыть (Open).

9. Щелкните Далее (Next). Просмотрите объекты, импорт которых будет произведен, и щелкните Далее (Next). На странице Выберите параметры импорта (Select Import Options) в списке Режим импорта (Import Mode) выберите один из следующих вариантов:

• Сохранить существующие принтеры; импортировать копии (Keep Existing Printers; Import Copies) Если существующие очереди печати имеют те же имена, что и импортируемые очереди, мастер создаст копии. Это обеспечит доступность как исходных, так и импортируемых очередей печати.

• Перезаписать существующие принтеры (Overwrite Existing Printers) Если существующие очереди печати имеют те же имена, что и импортируемые очереди, мастер перезапишет существующие очереди информацией из импортируемых очередей.

10. В списке Перечислить в каталоге (List In The Directory) выберите один из следующих вариантов:

• Составить список тех принтеров, которые были в списке раньше (List Printers That Were Previously Listed) В Active Directory будут помещены только принтеры, которые и ранее там присутствовали.

• Составить список всех принтеров (List All Printers) В Active Directory помещаются все принтеры.

• Не составлять список принтеров (Don’t List Any Printers) Принтеры не вносятся в Active Directory.

11. Щелкните Далее (Next), чтобы запустить импорт. Когда мастер завершит процесс импорта, щелкните кнопку Открыть просмотр событий (Open Event Viewer), чтобы просмотреть события, сгенерированные в процессе импорта. Если в процессе импорта произошла ошибка, записи о событиях помогут вам ее выявить и выработать возможные действия по ее устранению. Затем закройте консоль Просмотр событий (Event Viewer).

12.На странице Импорт (Importing) щелкните Готово (Finish), чтобы закрыть мастер Миграция принтеров (Printer Migration Wizard).

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