I need advice on a home network / printer setup.

[_Jimlad_]

The main PC has XP home and is plugged into a Thompson SpeedTouch wireless router via the network cable. (aol) The 3 other laptops in the house connect to the internet via the wireless. 2 of the laptops have XP Pro and the other has Vista home. What is the best way to get a shared printer on the network?

They brought a wireless netgear print sever, but after a few hours on the phone to tech support they said it just was not compatible with the setup for various reasons we tried everything!! So that has gone back to the shop.

So my questions are.

What is the best solution? Wireless printer? Or a home network. I would think a home network, however with the main pc having XP Home, will I run into troubles and I also hear that having a shared printer with VISTA is an issue if the host has XP?

PLEASE…. Any advise would be great, as I’m trying to help this family out and really feel a little baffled!

 

[DreXeL]

I'm running a Netgear PS121 wired print server, connected directly to my router. It's pretty easy to set up and works brlliantly

 

[_Jimlad_]

i looked at them, but the reviews on the web were so mixed. It seemed to be if it worked it worked, otherwise you were in for a lot of trouble with it dropping out.

I'm worried if i go for that route i will be inline for some more call outs....

 

[DreXeL]

Fair enough, I've had no issues atall with mine, it's been solid as a rock. Only real negative is the fact that ink monitoring doesn't work across the network, but that's no biggie.

 

[neil_g]

out of interest why wasnt it compatible?

surely all it needs to do is connect to the wireless to issue the printer with an IP address so you can run the network config part of the printer setup...

if the printer isnt far from the router just bung a cable in?

 

[_Jimlad_]

Fair enough, I've had no issues atall with mine, it's been solid as a rock. Only real negative is the fact that ink monitoring doesn't work across the network, but that's no biggie.

i might look into it, i'm just put off with the trouble i had with the netgear one. I thinking home network might be the best bet.

 

[_Jimlad_]

out of interest why wasnt it compatible?

surely all it needs to do is connect to the wireless to issue the printer with an IP address so you can run the network config part of the printer setup...

if the printer isnt far from the router just bung a cable in?

the wizard should have done everything for me, however afte 3 hours on the phone the head techy was 'lost' we tried everything from adding ip addy's to unstalling the firewalls and using another machine. it just would not work either with the printer or the aol speed touch setup

 

[encephalopathy]

i have tried 3 different routes with varying success

hp175x wired usb print server pulgged into the router - fiddly to setup, worked well both in xp and vista

netgear wireless print server with 4 port switch - fiddly to setup, worked ok for a while but kept needing to be rebooted. big advantage was wireless = put printer anywhere

both of the above were connected to a samsung ml1610 or ml2010. (hp175x can do 1 usb printer, netgear can connect 2 usb printers)

however option 3 has been the best so far - brother 2070n mono laser network printer. dead easy to setup, runs perfectly, has vista support an cost a shade under 100 quid with replacement toners 35 quid.

 

[_Jimlad_]

i have tried 3 different routes with varying success

hp175x wired usb print server pulgged into the router - fiddly to setup, worked well both in xp and vista

netgear wireless print server with 4 port switch - fiddly to setup, worked ok for a while but kept needing to be rebooted. big advantage was wireless = put printer anywhere

both of the above were connected to a samsung ml1610 or ml2010. (hp175x can do 1 usb printer, netgear can connect 2 usb printers)

however option 3 has been the best so far - brother 2070n mono laser network printer. dead easy to setup, runs perfectly, has vista support an cost a shade under 100 quid with replacement toners 35 quid.

might try your 3rd option! how does setting it up work?

 

[_Jimlad_]

i have tried 3 different routes with varying success

hp175x wired usb print server pulgged into the router - fiddly to setup, worked well both in xp and vista

netgear wireless print server with 4 port switch - fiddly to setup, worked ok for a while but kept needing to be rebooted. big advantage was wireless = put printer anywhere

both of the above were connected to a samsung ml1610 or ml2010. (hp175x can do 1 usb printer, netgear can connect 2 usb printers)

however option 3 has been the best so far - brother 2070n mono laser network printer. dead easy to setup, runs perfectly, has vista support an cost a shade under 100 quid with replacement toners 35 quid.

so this would be wired into the adsl wireless router and work without the mai pc being on?

 

[encephalopathy]

yup - ethernet cable from printer to adsl router/switch
this means it can be printed from anywhere on the network irrespective of my main rig being on/off

i made it a little easier for myself by assigning it a static ip address via my router config pages

works with ubuntu 7.10 as well - google 'ubuntu brother 2070n setup'

 

[_Jimlad_]

yup - ethernet cable from printer to adsl router/switch
this means it can be printed from anywhere on the network irrespective of my main rig being on/off

i made it a little easier for myself by assigning it a static ip address via my router config pages

works with ubuntu 7.10 as well - google 'ubuntu brother 2070n setup'

thanks dude, will have a little read... cheers man