Automatically remove offline printers

ExtendedPrinterStatus.

I was able to figure out through experimentation that if ExtendedPrinterStatus is equal to 7, then the printer is offline.

With that info in hand, we can build a simple vb-script that will delete the printer if it is offline:

set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:" & "{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\.\root\cimv2")

set sInstalledPrinters = objWMIService.ExecQuery ("Select * from Win32_Printer where ExtendedPrinterStatus = 7")

For Each sPrinter in sInstalledPrinters

 sPrinter.Delete_

Next

Notice the underscore in the delete method - that is needed. Just a little twist added by Microsoft to keep you on your toes. They roll that way

To call it from your script, use the cscript.exe executable. A good example would look like this:

%windir%\system32\cscript.exe \\server\path\offline_printer_cleanup.vbs

Finally - Don't leave this thing in place all the time. Once you think enough users have logged in and all is cleaned up, I would suggest removing it from their logon script.

Why?

What happens when one of your main printers goes offline?

Yep, those calls start rolling in about a missing printer.

If you are having trouble using cut and paste from the browser, here is a link to the script on our website:

offline_printer_cleanup.dat

Make sure to rename to .vbs after downloading.