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15 Mar 07 - 01:26 PM (#1997680) Subject: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: Barbara Shaw Is it possible to send documents to my printer from a laptop? We have 2wire for wireless internet access, but wonder if this is also capable of routing from a local network. If so, how? If not, how else? |
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15 Mar 07 - 01:47 PM (#1997701) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: JohnInKansas In order for your printer to directly receive jobs "wirelessly" it usually has to have the proper innards for wireless networking built in. Few off-the-shelf printers will be equipped for it. You can also get a mini "server" that plugs into the conventional printer port, that receives the network input and passes it on to the printer; but typically these little jobs are about expensive as just getting another printer, and sometimes more expensive than the printer. The "conventional" method, assuming your laptop can talk to another computer on your wireless network, is just to plug the printer into another computer using the common serial/parallel/USB/firewire sockets, and "share" the printer from that computer. Any computer on your network, that has a printer attached, should be able to share that printer with any other computer that can connect on the same network to the computer that's connected directly to the printer. With WinXP, all that's needed in some cases is to right click on the printer (Start|Settings|Printers and Faxes, right-click the printer you want, select Properties and then the "sharing" tab. In other cases (with recent security patches) you'll need to run the "network setup wizard" on the machine that "owns" the printer, and during network setup, select the "share printers" option. In either case, you will need to install the printer driver on each machine that's going to use a given printer. You'll need to go back to the Start|Settings|Printers and Faxes and do an "add printer" on the laptop, for the laptop to be able to use a printer connected to a desktop on your network. John |
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15 Mar 07 - 03:45 PM (#1997810) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: Barbara Shaw How do I get my laptop to talk to my desktop? Do they have to be connected with a cable? Once they are in a network I know I can use file and printer sharing, but can't get them connected. |
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15 Mar 07 - 03:55 PM (#1997821) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: Stilly River Sage I've tried on and off to set it up so my computers on the wireless network in the house can print to either printer. In theory as long as the computer is on that runs the printer it should work. I think the printers have to both be installed on each computer. But I haven't been able to make it work yet. I have a network that is set up so it doesn't broadcast its address and each device needs to be given permission to connect to the network (when it's a wireless card). But hey, I finally figured out which set of wires was connected wrong behind my VCR in the spaghetti that feeds the satellite box, the VCR recorder, and the DVD player to the RF filter. These things eventually will dawn on you if you mull them long enough. (It worked before, but got plugged in wrong. I figure it's the same approach to the printers. Change out wires often enough and it is bound to eventually work.) SRS |
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15 Mar 07 - 03:56 PM (#1997822) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: Stilly River Sage Oh, and when you finally figure out which way works, WRITE IT DOWN. Draw pictures if need be. :) |
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15 Mar 07 - 04:03 PM (#1997827) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: Barbara Shaw I got my previous laptop connected to the desktop via a cable, but now that I have a wireless router it seems like I should be able to do this wirelessly and then do all the sharing. I'm missing some critical steps that the "wizard" doesn't set up! |
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15 Mar 07 - 04:51 PM (#1997877) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: JohnInKansas For a wireless network, you would normally use a wireless router. If you don't have a wireless router, you likely don't have a wireless network. If you're old-fashioned like I am, and your computers each have an "etherlink" card, you can get a (pretty cheap) "ethernet bridge" and connect each computer's etherlink socket to the bridge. Instead of the bridge, you can also get an ethernet router, which is probably a more "robust" way of doing it, but is a bit more expensive. If you have the etherlink ports on both machines, and can find a small "10/100BaseT Bridge," all Windows versions since Win98SE-SP2 let you use one of the computers as a sort of brainless network host, with what they call "Internet Connection Sharing," (ICS) and "home networking." The computer that connects to the internet (usually through a dial-up modem if you're going to use this method) should be the ICS host, and you run the network connections wizard (Start | Settings | Network Connections) and in the setup process you tell that computer what number to dial, how to log in, and tell it to share the connection. At the end of the setup, you'll be offered a chance to make a setup disk (floppy) for the other computers that are going to share the connection; and you use the floppy in any other computers you want to connect. In order to use ICS/simplenetworking to share printers and folders, you need to also set up a "simple network" (home network) while you're running through the network setup (it may switch you to another wizard to do this). Once the "network" is set up (essentially once it's been named and the machine is told that it exists) each printer has to be "shared" on the computer it connects directly to, and a driver for that printer has to installed on each computer that will use that printer. For purposes of sharing printers and drive folders between machines, the "simple network" uses the "names" you give to computers and printers, and really doesn't have a "host." For sharing the internet connection using the same hookup, the machine with the connection is the internet connection host, and must be the only ICS host in your setup. (My recollection is that there's a limit of 7 or 10(?) "client users" of the internet connection with this simple system.) If you have a router, instructions should come with the router. If one or more of your computers doesn't have a "network card" you might have to add one. (Easy for a desktop, variable difficulty/cost for a laptop.) If all your computers have at least one of the same kind of network ports the "home network" setup is pretty simple and generally sufficient for sharing drive space and printers. John |
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15 Mar 07 - 05:33 PM (#1997911) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: Barbara Shaw I have a wireless router (2wire mentioned above) but no instructions came with it or they're long gone. The wireless router allows the desktop and laptop to both connect to the internet. I set up the home network on both desktop and laptop. However, neither knows anything about the other and the shared files do not show up on both in "my network places." They are not connected. Is this supposed to happen through the router? |
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15 Mar 07 - 06:14 PM (#1997943) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: artbrooks OK...I'm in about the same place as Barbara. I have a wireless router, a desktop (hardwired into the router), a printer (hardwired into the desktop) and a laptop. I have created a network (I think), and the desktop can see and open documents on the laptop. If I try to print a document from the laptop, I get nothing...if I plug the laptop in to the printer, it prints fine. I have been told that I need another wireless router for the printer in order for the laptop to talk to it w/o a hardwire connection. |
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15 Mar 07 - 06:21 PM (#1997949) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: Barbara Shaw How did you get the desktop to see documents on the laptop? I'd be happy with that... |
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15 Mar 07 - 09:57 PM (#1998097) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: artbrooks Barb, I went into Control Panel and followed the sequence under "Network Setup Wizard". I did it twice on each computer, and I apparently did something right accidentally. |
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15 Mar 07 - 11:10 PM (#1998126) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: JohnInKansas There actually are two somewhat different "network setup" wizards. You get into either or both of them at the same Start|Settings|Network Connections place, or you can go to Control Panel and choose the setup wizards there. You need to run the "internet connection" one in order to have your computer be able to connect to the internet. If you have a hub, or router, or if you use ICS on one computer that has an internet connection, you can connect several computers to the internet, all going through the same "wire that goes out of the house to the internet." If your computers all connect to the internet through the same hub, bridge, router, or "ICS host" computer, you usually have all the physical wiring/hardware you need for the computers all to talk to each other; but in order for the computers to "talk to each other" you have to run the "network setup" wizard to set up a network and tell each machine that it's part of the network. While running the network setup, you tell your machine it's okay to talk to other machines on the same network, and you can, optionally, allow other machines on the network to use peripheral devices like printers and scanners that are connected to your machine. With recent updates to WinXP, you have to choose to share the printer when you run the network setup - create your LAN network - on the machine that "owns" the printer. With outdated WinXP, or with other earlier OS versions, you could just open the Printers and Faxes plug-in, right click on a printer and click the "Sharing" tab after you've created a network to handle the sharing. All clear now? ... Oh well... John |
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16 Mar 07 - 06:08 AM (#1998295) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: Barbara Shaw I did the setup wizards MANY times on both machines. Still not working. I have one more thing to try, which is to turn off Zone Alarm on both machines. Will report back... |
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16 Mar 07 - 06:10 AM (#1998297) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: Barbara Shaw (Just noticed by the time on my post that mudcat did not change with the recent early EST. And the internet did not crash and burn as they predicted it might...) |
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16 Mar 07 - 08:52 AM (#1998457) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: JohnInKansas Barbara - Note that in Control Panel there is a "third network setup." Start | Settings | Control Panel, and all the way down at the bottom you should find a separate "Wireless Network Setup Wizard." My impression has been that most people follow the setup instructions that come with their routers, and that usually works okay; but especially in WinXP the built-in wizards seem to be pretty good, and a run through there - if that's not the way you've been hacking at it - might give a different result than using the general connection setup and network setup tools that are further up the list of Control Panel items. Since I don't have anything "wireless" except a mouse whose sole "extra feature" seems to be devouring batteries, I haven't poked around in that wizard, so can't offer any details of how it's different. John |
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16 Mar 07 - 02:22 PM (#1998821) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: Barbara Shaw Got it!! And now that I figured out that Zone Alarm was preventing the network computers from talking, it started coming back to me... Seems I went through this same burst of stupidity a few years ago when I was setting up a network with cables between the two computers. It has gotten easier with the new computers and new operating systems, despite me. The setup wizards help, but still require some gnashing of teeth to get working. You have to (at least with XP) have the same workgroup name on each computer, have to remember (WRITE DOWN) the names of everything. Despite the wizard telling me to print down a page of obscure addresses and keys to be entered in each device, this was unnecessary with the wireless router. It all happened automatically. Once I set up the network (after turning off ZA), I looked (via Windows Explorer) in the My Network Places folder and there were all the shared folders under it. To share a file with other network computers, you need to drag or copy them into a shared folder. To share a printer after the network is set up: via control panel on the computer the printer is attached to, go to the printer icon and right click on it, then properties, sharing, and click the button to share it. Then on the other network computer, via control panel you add a printer, add a network printer, then browse until the printer shows up. Click on it and add. Then it will automatically add the driver and you can print to it wirelessly, without needing another router. JohnInKansas, you're amazing. Thanks you all for your help. If I forget again, someone point me to this thread! (Yes, I did write everything down, but sometimes it doesn't help to read your own notes...) Hope others are helped. |
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16 Mar 07 - 02:46 PM (#1998848) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: Barbara Shaw Wait, one more thing. To share a file with the network, you don't need to drag or copy it to a shared folder. You can click on any folder, go to properties and sharing, and share that folder with the network. Be careful. |
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16 Mar 07 - 03:17 PM (#1998892) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: artbrooks And thanks to you, Barbara. That last paragraph about the network printer was exactly what I needed! |
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16 Mar 07 - 03:55 PM (#1998926) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: JohnInKansas To share a printer after the network is set up: via control panel on the computer the printer is attached to, go to the printer icon and right click on it, then properties, sharing, and click the button to share it. When WinXP was new, you could easily share anything on your computer with other computers on your network. Since SP-2, sharing the root drive (C:\) is made more difficult, although you can override it. You can right click on any sub folder, or on a drive that doesn't have the system on it, and set sharing. A very recent update removed the "sharing" that you get when you right-click on a printer. You can override there, but the "new preferred method" is to rerun the network setup on the computer that connects to the printer and specify sharing of printers as part of "registering" your computer and attached printer(s) on your network. A problem with just right-clicking a folder and sharing it is that each individual folder that you click and share, and each folder that anyone else on your network clicks and shares, will then appear in Network Places on all the machines on the network, which can get pretty cluttered if you click very many of them. Note that with a router, the router may have setup steps to handle all this, instead of doing it in WinXP on each computer. Also note that when you first install a printer that you will share, the setup usually will ask if you want drivers to be loaded and shared. If you load the driver(s) "for sharing," any other computer that tries to hook up to your printer can get the driver from your machine at the first hookup. John |
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17 Mar 07 - 04:44 AM (#1999345) Subject: RE: Tech: Wireless Printer Network From: The Fooles Troupe Barbara - just add this thread to your tracer - it will then show up on your personal page. See the 'Add To Tracer' line in the blue panel just above where you type in you contributions. |