Event ID 14 — Print Migration Import Status

This is preliminary documentation and subject to change.

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You can use the Printer Migration Wizard or the Printbrm.exe command-line tool to export print queues, printer settings, printer ports, and language monitors, and then import them on another print server that is running a Microsoft Windows operating system. Note that you cannot import files that were created using the Print Migrator 3.1 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=104715) tool.

Event Details

Product: Windows Operating System
ID: 14
Source: Microsoft-Windows-PrintBRM
Version: 6.1
Symbolic Name: MSG_SEP_FAILURE
Message: Printbrm.exe (the Printer Migration Wizard or the command-line tool) failed to create a separator file for queue %1. Error: %2. This can occur if an important Windows resource (such as the registry) is unavailable, if the Component Object Model (COM) cannot be initialized, or if Printbrn.exe cannot allocate memory. Examine the Windows error returned by this event to determine the cause.

Resolve

Confirm the separator file path and retry exporting printers

If an administrator intentionally deleted the separator file before exporting the printers and you do not want to import the file, no user action is required and you can safely disregard this event.

If the separator file should be imported, open Event Viewer on the computer on which you exported the printers, click Windows Logs, open the Application log and then check to see whether PrintBRM Event 81 occurred during the time when the printers were exported.

  • If PrintBRM event 81 is not listed during the time when the printers were exported, Windows might be experiencing a resource shortage. Try restarting the Print Spooler service, closing unnecessary programs, and optionally restarting the print server before reimporting printers.
  • If PrintBRM event 81 is listed during the time when the printers were exported, the separator file was not available when the printers were being exported. To resolve this issue, use the following sections to check the availability of the separator file and retry exporting and importing the printers.

To resolve a missing separator file in the printer export file, try the following solutions:

  • Check the availability of the separator file.
  • Retry exporting and then importing printers.

Check the availability of the separator file

Open the path to the separator file listed in the PrintBRM Event 81 message text, and then take the appropriate action, as described in this section.

  • If the path is inaccessible, restore the network or drive connection, or copy the file to a location that is accessible by the print server.
  • If the path is accessible but the separator file is not present, restore or recreate the separator file.
  • If the path or file is inaccessible and you want to specify a new separator file or path, use the following procedure:
    1. Open the Administrative Tools folder, and then double-click Print Management.
    2. Click Print Servers, click the appropriate print server, click Printers, right-click the printer you want to use, and then click Properties.
    3. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Separator Page.
    4. Specify the location of the appropriate separator file, and then click OK.

Tip: To display a list of all printers on the affected server and their associated separator files, type the following command in the Command Prompt window (where <servername> is the name of the appropriate server): wmic /node:<servername> printer get name, separatorfile

Retry exporting and then importing printers

After fixing any problems with the separator file, retry exporting printers by using the Printer Migration Wizard or the Printbrm.exe command-line tool on a computer running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008. Then reimport the printers.

For more information about exporting and importing print queues and other settings, see the "Migrate print servers" topic in Print Management Help, or see the following Microsoft Web site: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=104870.

Verify

To confirm that print queues and all settings were successfully imported, perform the following tasks:

  • Confirm that all of the print queues that you exported from the source print server are listed in the Printers folder in Control Panel on the destination server to which you imported the print queues.

    If you have a large number of printers to compare, export a list of printers on the server from which you exported the print queues. Then export a list of printers from the server on which you imported the files, and then compare the results in Microsoft Excel or another spreadsheet program. To export a list of printers from a server, use the following procedure:

    1. On a computer running Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Ultimate, or Windows Server 2008, open the Print Management snap-in from the Administrative Tools folder.
    2. In the Print Management tree, click the name of the computer that contains the printer queues that you exported (if available), right-click Printers, and then click Export List.
    3. Specify a file name for the list of printers, and then click Save.
  • Test printing to each printer. All documents should print properly.

  • Confirm that each printer is shared and accessible from other computers on the network and has the appropriate printer preferences for your environment.

  • Confirm that the printer was successfully published to Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), if appropriate.

    To do this, look for Print Spooler Event 36 or Print Spooler Event 40 in Event Viewer (if the print server logs spooler information events), or use the following procedure to search AD DS for the printer:

    1. On a computer in the same domain as the print server, open the Printers folder in Control Panel and then click Add a printer. The Add Printer Wizard appears.
    2. Select A printer that is not attached to my computer (a network printer), and then click Next.
    3. Click The printer I am looking for is not on this list.
    4. Select Find a printer in Active Directory, based on location or feature, click Next, and then use the Find Printers dialog box to search AD DS for the printer.

Print Migration Import Status

Printing Infrastructure