Event ID - 81

Event Id81
SourceMicrosoft-Windows-PrintBRM
DescriptionPrintbrm.exe (the Printer Migration Wizard or the command-line tool) failed to save separator file %1 because the file or path does not exist. This can occur when a separator page cannot be found during the backup process on the source computer.
Event Information According to Microsoft :

Cause :

This event is logged when Printbrm.exe (the Printer Migration Wizard or the command-line tool) failed to save separator file because the file or path does not exist.

Resolution :

Confirm the separator file path and retry exporting printers

If an administrator intentionally deleted the separator file, no user action is required and you can safely disregard this event.

If the separator file should be exported, open Event Viewer (if necessary) look for PrintBRM Event 81 which lists the path to the affected separator file, and then take the appropriate action, as described in following instructions.
  • If the path is inaccessible, restore the network or drive connection, or copy the file to a location 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 , and then click the appropriate print server.
    3. Click Printers , right-click the printer you want to use, and then click Properties .
    4. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Separator Page .
    5. 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 is the name of the appropriate server: wmic /node: printer get name, separatorfile

Verify :

To verify that the printers were exported properly, retry exporting printers and then confirm that they were exported successfully. To export printers by using Print Management or the Printbrm.exe command-line tool, use either of the following procedures.

To export printers by using the Print Management snap-in:
  1. Open the Print Management snap-in.
  2. In the Print Management tree, right-click the name of the computer that contains the printer queues that you want to export, and then click Export printers to a file . This starts the Printer Migration Wizard, which you can use to export printers.
  3. Verify that the Printer Migration Wizard reports the following outcome: "The operation completed with no errors."
To export printers from the command line:
  1. Open the Command Prompt window.
  2. At the command prompt, type the following command: CD %WINDIR%\System32\Spool\Tools
  3. Type the following command, where is the name of the server from which you want to export printers and is the name of the printer settings file: Printbrm -s \\ -b f .printerExport
  4. Confirm that the output of the command includes the following text: "Successfully finished operation."
Reference LinksEvent ID 81 from Source Microsoft-Windows-PrintBRM

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