Upgrade from Windows 2003 SP1 to Windows 2003 SP2 - printers get marked as offline - workaround/fix

Just in case anyone runs into this out in the field, because it can be a bit puzzling until you read KB article 923218.

Previously, if you had SNMP Status enabled for the printer in question, with 2000/2003 RTM/SP1, and the printer never responded to the SNMP request, it still listed the printer as Online.

If the printer is not listening for SNMP traffic *or* a firewall is in the way, the printer will get marked as Offline even though it will happily take requests from any other non-SP2 print spooler.

It isn’t terribly well documented, but it has bitten some people with their remote printers. Most people end up rolling back to SP1, but you don’t need to if you configure your servers and printers correctly!

Simple fix: Either enable SNMP on the printer and make sure you can snmpwalk the printer from the print server, or uncheck the SNMP Status for the printer on the SP2 print server.

Related links: here and here.