need help with router printing!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deb Gingerich
  • Start date Start date
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Deb Gingerich

Hi People,

I have recently run into a problem - and being not a network techie, I am
baffled.

I am switching over from a phone-line based ADSL & Router combination, to a
wireless USB adaptor for internet useage. My router has a printer port, so
I am leaving it hooked up to my ethernet, so all my 3 PC's can still print
via the router.

In my main PC, which now has the Linksys Wireless USB hookup, I can't seem
to print to the router the way it used to function. With my limited
tech-sense, I think the PC is now "looking" to the wireless for the normal
IP address of the router/printer port, which it obviously is not finding.

If I disable the wireless, I find the printer again, but when wireless is
working, my printer is not available.

Can anyone coach me on tweaking the system so I can "find" my printer, even
when wireless is enabled?

thanks for any advice you may offer...

Deborah
 
Deb Gingerich said:
Hi People,

I have recently run into a problem - and being not a network techie, I am
baffled.

I am switching over from a phone-line based ADSL & Router combination, to
a wireless USB adaptor for internet useage. My router has a printer port,
so I am leaving it hooked up to my ethernet, so all my 3 PC's can still
print via the router.

In my main PC, which now has the Linksys Wireless USB hookup, I can't seem
to print to the router the way it used to function. With my limited
tech-sense, I think the PC is now "looking" to the wireless for the normal
IP address of the router/printer port, which it obviously is not finding.

If I disable the wireless, I find the printer again, but when wireless is
working, my printer is not available.

Can anyone coach me on tweaking the system so I can "find" my printer,
even when wireless is enabled?

thanks for any advice you may offer...

Deborah
Click to expand...

Are you *sure* that the wireless router you are connecting to is actually
yours? It's very possible for Windows to become confused when two nearby
wireless routers use the same SSID. The net connection can work fine, but
things like mail, printing and file sharing don't.

I've seen this kind of thing more than once and is one reason why you should
always change the SSID away from the default setting.

Connect to the router via wire and change the SSID in the wireless settings.
You'll need to note the wireless key. Save the changes. Now, try searching
for the wireless again, and you many find that there are now at least two
SSIDs including the old and the new; this indicates another nearby router.

HTH
-pk
 
Hi People,

I have recently run into a problem - and being not a network techie, I am
baffled.

I am switching over from a phone-line based ADSL & Router combination,  to a
wireless USB adaptor for internet useage.  My router has a printer port,so
I am leaving it hooked up to my ethernet, so all my 3 PC's can still print
via the router.

In my main PC, which now has the Linksys Wireless USB hookup, I can't seem
to print to the router the way it used to function.   With my limited
tech-sense, I think the PC is now "looking" to the wireless for the normal
IP address of the router/printer port, which it obviously is not finding.

If I disable the wireless, I find the printer again, but when wireless is
working, my printer is not available.

Can anyone coach me on tweaking the system so I can "find" my printer, even
when wireless is enabled?

thanks for any advice you may offer...

Deborah
Click to expand...

For "router" attached printing, you need to possible install the
"driver" to access the router's printing port (aka print server.)
This is a must since the printer needs to be able to "talk" to the
Windows PC.

Also, the printer must be connected to this USB printer port and the
router's internal settings (web pages) may need to be told that the
printer is corrent to this port.

Second, the wireless Linksys USB requires a "wireless" router in order
to "join" the same network as the other PCs.
 
Patrick & sml, thanks for your responses. I think I need to clarify my
situation a little.
I'm "beta-testing" this new wireless option to see if it can work for me.
My apartment neighbor is willing to share his wireless broadband with me, so
I purchased a USB Linksys wireless "antenna" to receive his signal from
next-door. I am planning to give up my phone-based broadband because it is
too expensive.

Right now my phone-based broadband is connected through an older (not
wireless, but hard-wired) SMC Barricade router (with parallel print port);
this router doubled as firewall & peer-network connector; also as a handy
printer-sharing device for 3 pc's. This router's back end is fed by my
phone-provider's hard-wired ADSL router/modem, which I plan to drop once the
wireless option proves workable.

On my main working PC, I connected the wireless USB receiver, and despite
only 50% signal strength, it's internet functions are working well. The
only problem I noted was that the printer now does not work (when wireless
is enabled. if disabled, it works well). The router-printer ability had to
be enabled on all my PC's with an SMC driver installed from CD.

My guess is that once I choose the wireless for my working PC, I may have to
re-install the router-printer drivers from SMC to make them work. Perhaps
it's confusing for the PC to have the two networks enabled at the same time.
I think the old printer functioned at a specific IP address, which might now
be invalid due to the wireless addition.

Anyway, I am tech-illiterate at this point, so I'm not sure how to have both
networks enabled and my printer functioning as well.

Deborah
 
Patrick & sml, thanks for your responses.  I think I need to clarify my
situation a little.
I'm "beta-testing" this new wireless option to see if it can work for me.
My apartment neighbor is willing to share his wireless broadband with me, so
I purchased a USB Linksys wireless "antenna" to receive his signal from
next-door.  I am planning to give up my phone-based broadband because itis
too expensive.

Right now my phone-based broadband is connected through an older (not
wireless, but hard-wired) SMC Barricade router (with parallel print port);
this router doubled as firewall & peer-network connector; also as a handy
printer-sharing device for 3 pc's.  This router's back end is fed by my
phone-provider's hard-wired ADSL router/modem, which I plan to drop once the
wireless option proves workable.

On my main working PC, I connected the wireless USB receiver, and despite
only 50% signal strength, it's internet functions are working well.  The
only problem I noted was that the printer now does not work (when wireless
is enabled.  if disabled, it works well). The router-printer ability hadto
be enabled on all my PC's with an SMC driver installed from CD.

My guess is that once I choose the wireless for my working PC, I may have to
re-install the router-printer drivers from SMC to make them work.  Perhaps
it's confusing for the PC to have the two networks enabled at the same time.
I think the old printer functioned at a specific IP address, which might now
be invalid due to the wireless addition.

Anyway, I am tech-illiterate at this point, so I'm not sure how to have both
networks enabled and my printer functioning as well.

Deborah













- Show quoted text -
Click to expand...

So, you seem to now have "two" networks. Wireless and the wired
router for your printer. You need to have both the wireless and wired
networks "running" at the same time. Only thing is that each need to
have different IP network subnets (ex: wired - 192.168.1.xxx,
wireless 192,168.2.xxx.)Do not forget to install and maintain a
firwall so you do not get hacked from the wireless access.

You should not that several SMC wireless routers have a feature where
they can "join" en existing wireless network and act like a
"repeater" known as WDS -

The Wireless Distribution System (WDS) provides a means to extend the
range of a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). WDS allows a wireless
router to establish a direct link to other wireless base stations and
to allows stations to roam freely within the area covered by the WDS.
 
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