How to install Jetdirect card and configure for HP4M printer

[Muse]

I have the card, a J2550-60003.

It has one 10BaseT ethernet connector. I want to connect my HP4M printer to my wireless router. My two PCs are connected to the router by ethernet, my laptop wirelessly.

My main desktop is running XP Pro, my 2nd desktop is running Windows 2000 and XP Pro and the laptop is running XP Pro, but I'm going to install the Vista upgrade one day, maybe soon.

How do I install the card and where, and how do I get all my PCs to print from it? Thanks for info and advice.

 

[Viper GTS]

There should be a metal plate on the back of the printer that you can remove. The JetDirect simply slides into places, and locks with thumbscrews.

Once the printer is back on you will have an MIO configuration option on the menu.

The basic process is:

1) Take the printer offline
2) Use the Menu key to cycle to the MIO menu
3) Use the Item key to cycle through settings and change them

You should be able to find more detailed instructions out there but once you know that much it's not terribly hard.

Viper GTS

 

[mooseracing]

Yea just print the config page from the printer that has the settings, you can then see what the ip is. Some people like to configure from teh printer others use WebJet Admin to manage multiple printers. Either way it's very easy.

Some printers have their own webpage you can conenct to by using the ip and manage it from there also.

 

[Muse]

Um, OK, so there's no driver to install. The printer will display an IP? I have all the manuals that came with the printer. Would it be in there? I didn't see anything when I looked, but I didn't look real carefully. Thanks for the info.

 

[Viper GTS]

No, you don't need any special drivers. All you have to do is install the printer in windows & set it to print to a standard TCP/IP port.

If you're running Vista it will even auto-discover the printer type with just the IP address.

Viper GTS

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
No, you don't need any special drivers. All you have to do is install the printer in windows & set it to print to a standard TCP/IP port.

If you're running Vista it will even auto-discover the printer type with just the IP address.

Viper GTS

Um, do I have to tell each computer the IP address? How do I get the address? From the printer control panel in that menu? I'm going to try to set this up tomorrow. Thanks for the help.

 

[stlcardinals]

Originally posted by: mooseracing
just print the config page from the printer

Go into the menu on the printer and print the config. It will tell you the IP address.

 

[Viper GTS]

HP LaserJet 4, 4 Plus, 4V, 4Si, and 5 series and HP Color LaserJet printers
To configure TCP/IP parameters from the control panel, use the following instructions:
Press MENU, repeatedly, until one of the following messages appears on the control panel:
HP LaserJet printer type Control panel message
HP LaserJet 4 and 4m printers: AUX IO MENU
HP LaserJet 4 Plus, 4m Plus, 4v, 4mv: MIO MENU
HP LaserJet 5/5n/5m and the original Color LaserJet: HP MIO MENU
HP LaserJet 4Si/4Si MX: MIO MENU 1 or MIO MENU 2

Press ITEM . CFG NETWORK=NO* will appear.
Press the PLUS button once. CFG NETWORK=YES* will appear.
Press ENTER or SELECT .
Press ITEM repeatedly until CFG TCP/IP=NO* appears.
Press the PLUS button. CFG TCP/IP=YES* will appear.
Press ENTER or SELECT .
Press ITEM until BOOTP=YES* appears.
Press the PLUS button. BOOTP=NO will appear.
When using BootP or DHCP, keep the setting BOOTP=YES* .
The BootP or DHCP server will configure the TCP/IP parameters on the HP Jetdirect.
No other TCP/IP configuring is necessary.
Press ENTER or SELECT .
Press ITEM . IP BYTE 1 = (value) will appear.
Press the PLUS button until the value of the first byte of the IP address appears on the control-panel display. By pressing SHIFT and the PLUS button, the value will decrease.
Press ENTER or SELECT .
Press ITEM to continue. Repeat Steps 11-13 to configure the remaining bytes of the IP address.
Repeat Steps 11-13 to configure the subnet mask bytes (SM BYTE 1=), syslog server IP address (LG BYTE 1=), default gateway (GW BYTE 1=), and timeout (TIMEOUT=).
Press ONLINE . Print a self-test page to verify the IP settings.
If the test page does not show the correct settings, power cycle the printer and reprint the test page.

From HERE. Third link from the bottom on the topic list.

Once that is done all that's left is Windows configuration.

Viper GTS

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
HP LaserJet 4, 4 Plus, 4V, 4Si, and 5 series and HP Color LaserJet printers
To configure TCP/IP parameters from the control panel, use the following instructions:
Press MENU, repeatedly, until one of the following messages appears on the control panel:
HP LaserJet printer type Control panel message
HP LaserJet 4 and 4m printers: AUX IO MENU
HP LaserJet 4 Plus, 4m Plus, 4v, 4mv: MIO MENU
HP LaserJet 5/5n/5m and the original Color LaserJet: HP MIO MENU
HP LaserJet 4Si/4Si MX: MIO MENU 1 or MIO MENU 2

Press ITEM . CFG NETWORK=NO* will appear.
Press the PLUS button once. CFG NETWORK=YES* will appear.
Press ENTER or SELECT .
Press ITEM repeatedly until CFG TCP/IP=NO* appears.
Press the PLUS button. CFG TCP/IP=YES* will appear.
Press ENTER or SELECT .
Press ITEM until BOOTP=YES* appears.
Press the PLUS button. BOOTP=NO will appear.
When using BootP or DHCP, keep the setting BOOTP=YES* .
The BootP or DHCP server will configure the TCP/IP parameters on the HP Jetdirect.
No other TCP/IP configuring is necessary.
Press ENTER or SELECT .
Press ITEM . IP BYTE 1 = (value) will appear.
Press the PLUS button until the value of the first byte of the IP address appears on the control-panel display. By pressing SHIFT and the PLUS button, the value will decrease.
Press ENTER or SELECT .
Press ITEM to continue. Repeat Steps 11-13 to configure the remaining bytes of the IP address.
Repeat Steps 11-13 to configure the subnet mask bytes (SM BYTE 1=), syslog server IP address (LG BYTE 1=), default gateway (GW BYTE 1=), and timeout (TIMEOUT=).
Press ONLINE . Print a self-test page to verify the IP settings.
If the test page does not show the correct settings, power cycle the printer and reprint the test page.

From HERE. Third link from the bottom on the topic list.

Once that is done all that's left is Windows configuration.

Viper GTS

Thanks! I've had this JD card since December 2006 and never gotten around to installing it. Partly it's because my printer is kind of hard to access. I'm going to have at it right now! Will report back ...

Edit: Argh... I've actually got to disconnect every cable from both my midtower cases and move them to gain access to my printer. This is going to take a while. Well, it's nothing compared to what I did the last month -- replacing the motherboards in both systems, reseating CPU, HSF, cutting holes in midtower case for larger case fans (120mm), etc. etc. Compared to that stuff, this should be a piece of cake.

 

[Muse]

I installed the card and did a Self Test and got the following info for the device:

HOST NAME: NPI016C4F
CONFIG BY: USER SPECIFIED
IP ADDRESS: 144.247.231.21
SUBNET MASK: 255.255.255.0
DEF. GATEWAY: 144.247.231.1
SYSLOG SERVER: NOT SPECIFIED
IDLE TIMEOUT (SECONDS): 90

Well, I followed the instructions but I'm not sure it was even necessary (but something's wrong, because a test page won't print). What I find confusing is maybe more than one thing, but for one is the instruction concerning BootP. Instead of the item appearing as BOOTP=YES* as is indicated it appeared as BOOTP=NO. I don't know if I'm using BootP or DHCP, so I just left it as is. I mistakenly thought that the IP was incorrect in the last field (where it says 21), and I changed it to 1 (that's the value for the Gateway). When I printed the Self Test, I saw the error, so I went in and did the whole thing again and changed it back to 21. I don't see the point of even going into the menu as indicated and changing the values. I mean, there are default values (see above) and why should I think that they aren't correct? Also, Syslog Server, I didn't do anything for that, and no idea that I'm supposed to.

Thus, I got the IP from printing the first Self Test.

I installed the card by removing the Local Talk card that was already installed and inserting the Jetdirect card instead, a very simple process. Took the opportunity to clean up the printer.

However, I'm getting no response to printing a test page or a notepad file.

I deleted the installed printers (PCL and Postscript on LPT1) from my XP Pro Printers and Faxes, and installed a network printer. Seems like I installed it correctly, although the process seemed labyrinthine -- it wasn't obvious how to do it. The printer I have installed now is using the Postscript printer for the HP4M and is using a "Standard TCP/IP Port". The "Printer Name or IP address" is set to 144.247.231.21. Not printing, but no errors shown. Ideas??

Edit: I'm wondering now if the problem could involve the configuration of my Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 wireless router.

Checking under Printers I see the documents in the printer queue. I saw a brief message that there was an error printing, restarting. So, evidently the information isn't getting through to the printer.

I'm wondering if this could have anything to do with the settings that are on the Jetdirect card. The link provided by Viper GTS says I can reset the Jetdirect card to default parameters -- it has instructions to do so. I'm thinking I should maybe do that... I'm awaiting some help, I don't want to shoot myself in the foot here...

Edit: When I went to add a port, Windows said it didn't find it:

Add Standard TCP/IP Printer Port Wizard

Additional Port Information Required
The Device could not be identified

The device is not found on the network. Be sure that:

1. The device is turned on (the printer's on)
2. The network is connected (I have my wireless router on, internet access is fine...)
3. The device is properly configured (?)
4. The address on the previous page is correct. (it's the one specified on the Self Test printout)

If you think the address is not correct, click Back to return to the previous page. Then correct the address and perform another search on the network. If you are sure the address is correct, select the device type below.

Device Type

O Standard [dropdown list, including the following]
Generic Network Card
Many many entries including:
Hewlett Packard Jet Direct (I chose this one)
Hewlett Packard Jet Direct EX (multi port)
Hewlett Packard Jet Direct EX (single port)

O Custom [Settings...]

If I choose Custom instead of Standard, I can edit the settings that would otherwise be picked for the device, in a screen that looks like the following:

------------------------------
Configure Standard TCP/IP Port Monitor
------------------------------

Port Settings

Port Name: 3rd_IP_144.247.231.21

Printer Name or IP Address: 144.247.231.21

Protocol

O Raw O LPR (the default is Raw, and I left it at Raw

Raw Settings:

Port Number: 9100

LPR Settings (blank, because the setting is Raw)

SNMP Status Enabled
---------------------------------

So I go through this process of specification and the printer is set up, the Standard TCP/IP port setting being in effect, and I am asked to choose what kind of printer it is, and I pick HP and then either the PCL5 driver or the Postscript driver and everything looks fine, but when I print to it nothing goes to the printer. The print job remains in my printer queue.

 

[Muse]

bump

 

[Muse]

bump

 

[Viper GTS]

You don't need to worry about syslog, that's for monitoring. Just ignore it.

Right now you need to be looking at basic network troubleshooting. What IP are you running on your system? Can you ping the printer? If you can't ping it you aren't going to be able to print to it.

If all else fails a reset of the printer is certainly worth a shot.

Viper GTS

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
You don't need to worry about syslog, that's for monitoring. Just ignore it.

Right now you need to be looking at basic network troubleshooting. What IP are you running on your system? Can you ping the printer? If you can't ping it you aren't going to be able to print to it.

If all else fails a reset of the printer is certainly worth a shot.

Viper GTS

What you say about syslog is what I surmised by virtue of the documentation I have seen, so thanks for affirming that.

When I run ipconfig at an XP Pro command prompt I get:

IP Address 192.168.1.114
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway 192.168.1.1

When I run ping 192.168.1.114 I get an expected response.

However, when I run ping 144.247.231.21 (the IP reported by the HP4M Self Test printout for the Jetdirect, and I left it at that value, not knowing what to change it to) it just times out, no response. The printer is On and Ready, the network stays on all the time.

I thought I saw a site yesterday with instructions on how to reset the Jetdirect card to default values. Is that the same as a printer reset?

 

[Viper GTS]

Ahh OK this all makes perfect sense now.

You need to set that jetdirect to an IP that is actually on your network. You can't simply re-use the old config & expect it to work.

Pick a 192.168.1.x address that is outside the DHCP range of your router. As a random guess low numbers are probably good - 192.168.1.4 should be easy to remember right (it's a LJ4...)? Any number outside of your DHCP range that isn't already taken is fine.

The printer configuration should be:

IP: 192.168.1.something
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1 (Optional, I would probably leave this out/reset to 0's. Only necessary if your printer needs to talk to something off of your local subnet.)

Do that, change your standard TCP/IP port to point to the new address & you should be good.

Viper GTS

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Ahh OK this all makes perfect sense now.

You need to set that jetdirect to an IP that is actually on your network. You can't simply re-use the old config & expect it to work.

Pick a 192.168.1.x address that is outside the DHCP range of your router. As a random guess low numbers are probably good - 192.168.1.4 should be easy to remember right (it's a LJ4...)? Any number outside of your DHCP range that isn't already taken is fine.

The printer configuration should be:

IP: 192.168.1.something
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1 (Optional, I would probably leave this out/reset to 0's. Only necessary if your printer needs to talk to something off of your local subnet.)

Do that, change your standard TCP/IP port to point to the new address & you should be good.

Viper GTS

Yup, that did it! Thanks so much!!

I put in that default gateway anyway. It would have been just as much trouble to change it to zeros. Is there a downside?

Questions:

1. Do I want to share this printer? Presumably I can set up all my computers to print from it without setting up a share, so I don't see the point.

2. Is there a downside to having entered that default gateway, 192.168.1.1?

3. The ports I created which are unusable. Can I delete them from Windows? I don't see a way. I can't find them in Device Manager, for instance. It wouldn't seem like a big problem, but I presume there's a way I can delete ports erroneously entered.

Thanks again.

PS Ah, I forgot that you said to change a port I'd created. I created a new one. Well, I now have two unusable ports.

Edit: I found where I can delete the ports. I deleted one, but can't delete the other because for some reason my request to delete the printer I'd configured to it has stalled. Windows is trying to delete that printer and has been that way for around 20 minutes.

 

[Viper GTS]

Glad to hear that worked for you.

Originally posted by: Muse
1. Do I want to share this printer? Presumably I can set up all my computers to print from it without setting up a share, so I don't see the point.

You can set all your systems to print directly. Odds are you will never see a problem with this config. Only in a larger user group with high volume would it become necessary to use a print server.

2. Is there a downside to having entered that default gateway, 192.168.1.1?

No, not really. Setting it to 0's or some other address that the printer can't get to just makes sure the printer only operates on your local subnet.

3. The ports I created which are unusable. Can I delete them from Windows? I don't see a way. I can't find them in Device Manager, for instance. It wouldn't seem like a big problem, but I presume there's a way I can delete ports erroneously entered.

Yes, they can be deleted. If you're having problems with deletion try stopping and restarting the print spooler (or simply restart the system).

BTW you will love having that on your network. I have a 4+ at home, I found it last summer with only 40K pages for $40. That's practically brand new for a printer that can last a million pages. I've added the PS module and filled all the RAM slots (which makes it a 4M+). For the money you really can't beat them.

Viper GTS

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Glad to hear that worked for you.

Originally posted by: Muse
1. Do I want to share this printer? Presumably I can set up all my computers to print from it without setting up a share, so I don't see the point.

You can set all your systems to print directly. Odds are you will never see a problem with this config. Only in a larger user group with high volume would it become necessary to use a print server.

2. Is there a downside to having entered that default gateway, 192.168.1.1?

No, not really. Setting it to 0's or some other address that the printer can't get to just makes sure the printer only operates on your local subnet.

3. The ports I created which are unusable. Can I delete them from Windows? I don't see a way. I can't find them in Device Manager, for instance. It wouldn't seem like a big problem, but I presume there's a way I can delete ports erroneously entered.

Yes, they can be deleted. If you're having problems with deletion try stopping and restarting the print spooler (or simply restart the system).

BTW you will love having that on your network. I have a 4+ at home, I found it last summer with only 40K pages for $40. That's practically brand new for a printer that can last a million pages. I've added the PS module and filled all the RAM slots (which makes it a 4M+). For the money you really can't beat them.

Viper GTS

I just realized the reason I couldn't delete the printer was because there were still two documents (test pages) trying to print. They were still there when I turned on the computer a few minutes ago. Right now I have added two printers, both off the Jetdirect card, one PS, the other the PCL5 driver. I've found that sometimes certain PDF files print unbelievably slowly when using the PS driver, so when that's the case, I switch to the PCL driver.

Yes, that's a great deal you got. I bought this almost brand new. The seller told me he'd printed only 10 pages, and it looked it. He told me he bought it as a HP4 and added 4 MB RAM. It didn't have the PS card in it, and I bought one. The PS card cost me something like $300 (this was about 1994) and the printer about $1280 IIRC. I got a few hundred dollars off what a new one would have cost. At the time I had ambitions to do DT publishing. It prints beautifully, I must say. I only have 18,000 or so pages on it! I had bad output a few months ago and changing the cartridge fixed that problem entirely.

I figure maybe I should add the maximum RAM to it. It's only got 6 MB now, and looking on ebay I see I can fill the printer for just a few dollars. Do you think the extra RAM will have obvious benefits?

 

[gsaldivar]

Adding RAM to the printer will allow it to process more complex print jobs. Just so you know... on older HP Laserjets, keep in mind that the printer's boot time will slow by a few seconds as you approach the maximum amount of RAM supported in the printer. This is because the printer does a RAM test each time you turn it on - the more RAM you have in there, the longer it will take to complete.

On a 4000N with maximum amount of RAM (64mb i believe), the boot time is increased by about 30 seconds each time I turn the printer on.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: gsaldivar
Adding RAM to the printer will allow it to process more complex print jobs. Just so you know... on older HP Laserjets, keep in mind that the printer's boot time will slow by a few seconds as you approach the maximum amount of RAM supported in the printer. This is because the printer does a RAM test each time you turn it on - the more RAM you have in there, the longer it will take to complete.

On a 4000N with maximum amount of RAM (64mb i believe), the boot time is increased by about 30 seconds each time I turn the printer on.

Thanks. Well, I have 4 RAM slots. I believe that one has the PS module in it, another the 4 MB module necessary to support it (in addition to the 2 MB default internal RAM). So, with 2 slots open, I could add two 8 MB sticks, for a total of 22 MB. Unless I replace the 4 MB with an 8 MB (in which case I would attain 26 MB), I think that's the limit. How much would that boost the boot time? That certainly is a downside. I wonder what the plus side is in practical terms.

 

[gsaldivar]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: gsaldivar
Adding RAM to the printer will allow it to process more complex print jobs. Just so you know... on older HP Laserjets, keep in mind that the printer's boot time will slow by a few seconds as you approach the maximum amount of RAM supported in the printer. This is because the printer does a RAM test each time you turn it on - the more RAM you have in there, the longer it will take to complete.

On a 4000N with maximum amount of RAM (64mb i believe), the boot time is increased by about 30 seconds each time I turn the printer on.

Thanks. Well, I have 4 RAM slots. I believe that one has the PS module in it, another the 4 MB module necessary to support it (in addition to the 2 MB default internal RAM). So, with 2 slots open, I could add two 8 MB sticks, for a total of 22 MB. Unless I replace the 4 MB with an 8 MB (in which case I would attain 26 MB), I think that's the limit. How much would that boost the boot time? That certainly is a downside. I wonder what the plus side is in practical terms.

I'm unsure what the time impact would be for your printer. Since the boot time is a function of the amount of RAM and the processor speed, you'd have to experiment to see whats acceptable for you. Its a non-issue if you leave the printer on all the time, since the check is done only when its powered on. If you're turning your printer on each time to print a document, you might find the delay annoying after a while.

The plus side is that the printer would be able to handle more complex print jobs that would otherwise cause it to run out of memory. These would typically be complex postscript files, PDF documents, and other desktop publishing files such as line art etc.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: gsaldivar


I'm unsure what the time impact would be for your printer. Since the boot time is a function of the amount of RAM and the processor speed, you'd have to experiment to see whats acceptable for you. Its a non-issue if you leave the printer on all the time, since the check is done only when its powered on. If you're turning your printer on each time to print a document, you might find the delay annoying after a while.

The plus side is that the printer would be able to handle more complex print jobs that would otherwise cause it to run out of memory. These would typically be complex postscript files, PDF documents, and other desktop publishing files such as line art etc.

In fact I always do turn my printer off between my print jobs, which are infrequent, typically. For one thing, the LJ4/LJ4M was the last in the line of non-Energy Star printers. The LJ4/4M+ are much more energy efficient. I have thought that the drain was 80-100 watts (I measured it some years ago) but measured again very recently and found the idle usage to be ~25 watts. Even so, I keep it off when my print job finishes (and the fan speeds subside, which I figure is prudent). So, a slow boot would annoy me. It's slow enough as is.

The major problem I have with the printer looks to be the one you mention, being insufficient memory when dealing with complex documents. For some reason (and I suppose it is insufficient memory) sometimes when printing PDFs the printer slows down incredibly... to the point where a 50 page document can take literally several hours. The workaround, which I realized recently, is to use the PCL driver instead of my default PS driver.