Windows Server: Event ID 4098: Group Policy Preferences (Group Policy Printers)

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 & Windows Server 2008 R2

Group Policy Preferences (GPP) allow you to specify computer and user configuration settings. These settings allow granular configuration not available using regular Group Policy. GPP also provides filtering of settings using item-level targeting which allows for granular application of settings to subset of users or computers. Group Policy Preferences contain a number of different preference extensions. The different extensions can log the same event ID, but are interpreted differently depending on the preference extension.

Group Policy Preference events are written to the Application log. Informational events are only logged when the relevant Group Policy settings are enabled through specific Administrative Template settings. The path to the settings per preference area is:

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\System\Group Policy\Logging and tracing

When evaluating Event ID 4098 for Group Policy Printers, the specific error that is logged within the event message distinguishes among root causes for the event.

Event Details

Resolve

Correct any issues with the printer driver.

The Printers preference extension logs the error message and the error code. This information appears on the Details tab of the error message in Event Viewer. The error code (displayed as a hexadecimal) and error description fields further identify the reason for the failure. Evaluate the error code with the list below:

• Error code 0x80070705

Error code 0x80070705 (The printer driver is unknown)

This error code usually indicates that the Printer is configured with a type 4  print drivers.

Group Policy Preference TCP/IP printers do not support Type 4 print drivers. The printer must be configured on the server with Type 3 drivers.

The printer driver type can be discovered as follows:

1. Open the Print Management console by typing printmanagement.msc on the command-line.
2. In the console tree, click Printer Servers to expand the folder.
3. Click the Print Server that you are configuring
4. Click Printers
5. In the results pane, for the specific printer,  check the "Driver Type" column. This column specifies if the driver is Type 3 or Type 4.

If it is determined that the print drive is type 4, a type 3 print drive must be selected instead. This can be done within the Print Management console by selecting the type 3 driver from the drop down list, if already installed on the print server. If the type 3 driver is not already installed on the print server, you can install the type 3 driver from the Advanced tab. Select New Driver.

Most type 3 print drivers can be downloaded from Windows Update. If the type 3 driver is not available from Windows Update, see the printer manufacturer's website.

Verify

Group Policy applies during computer startup and user logon. Afterwards, Group Policy applies every 90 to 120 minutes. Events appearing in the event log may not reflect the most current state of Group Policy. Group Policy Printers will continue to apply every refresh unless the "Apply once and do not reapply" option has been selected on the Common tab. Therefore, you should always refresh Group Policy to determine if Group Policy is working correctly.

To refresh Group Policy on a specific computer:

1. Open the Start menu. Click All Programs and then click Accessories.
2. Click Command Prompt.
3. In the command prompt window, type gpupdate and then press ENTER.
4. When the gpupdate command completes, open the Event Viewer.

Group Policy Printers is working correctly if this event ID is no longer logged in the Application log.

Related Management Information

• Information about Group Policy Preferences Events
• Understand and Troubleshoot Printing in Windows Server "8" Beta