My printer is about to make me go postal

[BigCoolJesus]

Ok, quick rundown


I have a HP PhotoSmart P1000 printer hooked up (by serial port) to my dads desktop computer

My dads and my computer (both desktops, running XP) are hooked up (wired) to a Linksys router (cable internet)

we just got a laptop for my brother (also XP) and since it is wireless, it is running off of a D-Link Wireless router (which is hooked into a router jack on the Linksys router).


So, we have a wired router running 2 computers and then also running a wireless router, which in turn is running our laptop.
The internet works on all computers and laptops, so i know the connections are fine.




Now, onto the problem.

Ive been trying to share the P1000 over the network, since its the only printer, and ive been half successful. My DESKTOP will work fine with the printer, and i can also share files with my dads DESKTOP.

But when i go to set-up a network with the laptop and use the printer (or share files for that matter), it never works.
It says a network has been set-up (using windows network set-up wizard) but i can never find it, nor use it, no can i use the printer, no matter what i do.

so, thats problem #1


i then decided to try using the printer with just the laptop, via a USB connection, and once i install the newest drivers (from HP.com, meant for XP) it can detect the printer, but it keeps saying it isnt hooked up (so windows Plug and Play knows that the printer is there, but HP's software says it isnt)

thats problem #2



also, i have file sharing and printing ON, and windows firewall is turned off on the laptop, the only thing im running is Norton Internet Security.

 

[DRAGoNX515]

also, i have file sharing and printing ON, and windows firewall is turned off on the laptop, the only thing im running is Norton Internet Security.

This is besides the point but with a wired router, Norton Internet Security is obsolete (probably spelt that wrong).

Getting too the point, it should work, well everything in life should work, but you try disabling norton internet security? I also think you can make a floppy with printer sharing settings/network sharing settings using the windows xp wizard, try using that method and see if it works then.

-dragonx

 

[Tarrant64]

IF you have a few bucks, you can always purchase a relatively cheap print server.

Here's one from Hawking:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833164128


Just hook it up directly to your router and everyone should be able to use it.

As far as your current setup, I don't see why that doesn't work. My guess would be something to do with Norton Internet Security. Sure, you could disable it but that'll just make you worry. And even if you do it still runs some applications in the background(trust me, it does). So disabling it really won't work.

What kind of router is the wired one? I believe you mentioned you have a D-Link wireless, but what about the wired one?

 

[BigCoolJesus]

tried disabling norton internet security, still no luck, the laptop refuses to be a part of my home network.


the wired router is a Linksys




could this have anything to do with the fact that im running the laptop off of a router (connected to another router)??
(I tried using a wired connection to my Linksys router and it didnt work then either, so im pretty sure its not a wireless problem, but im checking just in case)

 

[Robor]

Why are you running 2 routers (wired and wireless) anyway? Why not just run the DLink wireless router alone?

If you browse My Network Places from the laptop can you see the system with the printer? Can those systems see (ping) each other by name or IP address? Just because all of your systems can access the 'net doesn't mean they can access each other.

You're behind a hardware firewall either way, *uninstall* (not disable) Norton Internet Security. In many cases a software firewall is going to cause you a lot more problems than the potential problems you're being protected against.

 

[BigCoolJesus]

Originally posted by: Robor
Why are you running 2 routers (wired and wireless) anyway? Why not just run the DLink wireless router alone?

If you browse My Network Places from the laptop can you see the system with the printer? Can those systems see (ping) each other by name or IP address? Just because all of your systems can access the 'net doesn't mean they can access each other.

You're behind a hardware firewall either way, *uninstall* (not disable) Norton Internet Security. In many cases a software firewall is going to cause you a lot more problems than the potential problems you're being protected against.

well ill try uninstalling, but if you would have read my post more thoroughly, you would have seen that the two desktop computers can communicate with each other fine (ie, they can share files, ping each other, share the printer, etc)

its the laptop that wont do crap.


and i need to use two routers, because somewhere along the line of having cable issues, adelphia (my provider) *registered* my router (the Linksys one), so i have to use that one as the main router (i tried using just the D-Link, but it prevented any internet use to any computer and when i contacted my ISP, they explained why i need to use my Linksys no matter what.


and no, the laptop cant see or talk to any computer in the house, no matter what i do.

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: BigCoolJesus

Originally posted by: Robor
Why are you running 2 routers (wired and wireless) anyway? Why not just run the DLink wireless router alone?

If you browse My Network Places from the laptop can you see the system with the printer? Can those systems see (ping) each other by name or IP address? Just because all of your systems can access the 'net doesn't mean they can access each other.

You're behind a hardware firewall either way, *uninstall* (not disable) Norton Internet Security. In many cases a software firewall is going to cause you a lot more problems than the potential problems you're being protected against.

well ill try uninstalling, but if you would have read my post more thoroughly, you would have seen that the two desktop computers can communicate with each other fine (ie, they can share files, ping each other, share the printer, etc)

its the laptop that wont do crap.


and i need to use two routers, because somewhere along the line of having cable issues, adelphia (my provider) *registered* my router (the Linksys one), so i have to use that one as the main router (i tried using just the D-Link, but it prevented any internet use to any computer and when i contacted my ISP, they explained why i need to use my Linksys no matter what.


and no, the laptop cant see or talk to any computer in the house, no matter what i do.

no offense but this advice/support is free so don't be rude.

in your setup if your laptop can't "see" (ping) the computer with the printer it's not going to print to it, period. and you don't need to use 2 routers. your ISP has the MAC address of your linksys router bound to their cable/dsl modem. you should be able to call them and *demand* that they do a reset to allow you to switch to another device/computer. even if they refuse all routers have an option to manually input another MAC address for just this reason. simply write down the MAC address from the Linksys and input it on the DLink.

 

[BigCoolJesus]

Originally posted by: Robor

Originally posted by: BigCoolJesus

Originally posted by: Robor
Why are you running 2 routers (wired and wireless) anyway? Why not just run the DLink wireless router alone?

If you browse My Network Places from the laptop can you see the system with the printer? Can those systems see (ping) each other by name or IP address? Just because all of your systems can access the 'net doesn't mean they can access each other.

You're behind a hardware firewall either way, *uninstall* (not disable) Norton Internet Security. In many cases a software firewall is going to cause you a lot more problems than the potential problems you're being protected against.

well ill try uninstalling, but if you would have read my post more thoroughly, you would have seen that the two desktop computers can communicate with each other fine (ie, they can share files, ping each other, share the printer, etc)

its the laptop that wont do crap.


and i need to use two routers, because somewhere along the line of having cable issues, adelphia (my provider) *registered* my router (the Linksys one), so i have to use that one as the main router (i tried using just the D-Link, but it prevented any internet use to any computer and when i contacted my ISP, they explained why i need to use my Linksys no matter what.


and no, the laptop cant see or talk to any computer in the house, no matter what i do.

no offense but this advice/support is free so don't be rude.

in your setup if your laptop can't "see" (ping) the computer with the printer it's not going to print to it, period. and you don't need to use 2 routers. your ISP has the MAC address of your linksys router bound to their cable/dsl modem. you should be able to call them and *demand* that they do a reset to allow you to switch to another device/computer. even if they refuse all routers have an option to manually input another MAC address for just this reason. simply write down the MAC address from the Linksys and input it on the DLink.

i understand that if it cant ping it, it wont print to you.
No offense, but im not 2 years old, so you can talk like a grown up if you want




anyways, i just uninstalled Internet security and got somewhere, finally.

before i uninstalled it, everytime i tried to make a new network connection (with the wizard on the laptop) it would never show up under "My Network Places"
But now that i uninstalled Internet Security, i went to create a new network and voila, it was there in "My Network places"

I then went to look and see if i could finally add the printer, but i still wasnt able to for the laptop.
What i was able to do though (which i couldnt before) was finally see the laptops network i created in the "browse for a printer" screen.


Like i said, only a small gain, but its good enough for me so far.



so, any other suggestions (besides the router one, i dont have time to do that for a while)

 

[Tarrant64]

One thing to check...not sure if this is the problem. But Linksys and Dlink setup different IP's for DHCP

Linksys: 192.168.1.1
D-Link:192.168.0.1

 

[BigCoolJesus]

Originally posted by: Tarrant64
One thing to check...not sure if this is the problem. But Linksys and Dlink setup different IP's for DHCP

Linksys: 192.168.1.1
D-Link:192.168.0.1

yea, i noticed this, but what would i do about it?


also, Robor, i just tried installing the D-Link again, and i ran the setup to change the MAC address to the one that the Linksys was using, no go, still didnt work (unless the MAC address i got from doing IPConfig in the command prompt isnt the one i need....... )

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: BigCoolJesus
i understand that if it cant ping it, it wont print to you.
No offense, but im not 2 years old, so you can talk like a grown up if you want

anyways, i just uninstalled Internet security and got somewhere, finally.

before i uninstalled it, everytime i tried to make a new network connection (with the wizard on the laptop) it would never show up under "My Network Places"
But now that i uninstalled Internet Security, i went to create a new network and voila, it was there in "My Network places"

I then went to look and see if i could finally add the printer, but i still wasnt able to for the laptop.
What i was able to do though (which i couldnt before) was finally see the laptops network i created in the "browse for a printer" screen.


Like i said, only a small gain, but its good enough for me so far.



so, any other suggestions (besides the router one, i dont have time to do that for a while)

Sorry, but I have no idea what your computer/networking skills are so I tried to be basic. Heck, I know a little but I'm a novice compared to the Cisco engineers I work with. Anyway, if you've got a printer shared and have permission to it all you should have to do is browse to it through the network and double click on it. It should ask you if you want to install it and when you say yes install it as a printer and pull the driver from the target PC as needed. Windows is nice that way.

I still think you should eliminate the 2nd router from your network. I'm willing to bet if you put both wired desktops and the wireless laptop on the DLink you'll have no more issues.

The "ipconfig" MAC address is your getting is from your own PC's. It sounds like your ISP has the MAC of your Linksys. You need to go into the Linksys router config and check it's MAC address. Log into your router (it's the same address as your PC's default gateway) and go to the Settings tab. The MAC address you need will be there.

 

[BigCoolJesus]

Originally posted by: Robor

Originally posted by: BigCoolJesus
i understand that if it cant ping it, it wont print to you.
No offense, but im not 2 years old, so you can talk like a grown up if you want

anyways, i just uninstalled Internet security and got somewhere, finally.

before i uninstalled it, everytime i tried to make a new network connection (with the wizard on the laptop) it would never show up under "My Network Places"
But now that i uninstalled Internet Security, i went to create a new network and voila, it was there in "My Network places"

I then went to look and see if i could finally add the printer, but i still wasnt able to for the laptop.
What i was able to do though (which i couldnt before) was finally see the laptops network i created in the "browse for a printer" screen.


Like i said, only a small gain, but its good enough for me so far.



so, any other suggestions (besides the router one, i dont have time to do that for a while)

Sorry, but I have no idea what your computer/networking skills are so I tried to be basic. Heck, I know a little but I'm a novice compared to the Cisco engineers I work with. Anyway, if you've got a printer shared and have permission to it all you should have to do is browse to it through the network and double click on it. It should ask you if you want to install it and when you say yes install it as a printer and pull the driver from the target PC as needed. Windows is nice that way.

I still think you should eliminate the 2nd router from your network. I'm willing to bet if you put both wired desktops and the wireless laptop on the DLink you'll have no more issues.

The "ipconfig" MAC address is your getting is from your own PC's. It sounds like your ISP has the MAC of your Linksys. You need to go into the Linksys router config and check it's MAC address. Log into your router (it's the same address as your PC's default gateway) and go to the Settings tab. The MAC address you need will be there.

thanks, ill try that with the linksys later on, post my results tomorrow


and yea, my networking skills arent good, but there almost on par with a high school computer teacher (AP level maybe), so i can do some and i can understand a lot of techinical stuff


will post later on with results though

 

[Mountaindew Man]

Networking can be a real pain! The link below is a review of a couple software solutions to your problem.....you might give one a try. I believe Network Magic has a free trial period. You might try that. I was tempted to give it a try, but my network is working at the moment and I didnt' want to destroy it just to test the software.

Good Luck!

http://www.tomsnetworking.com/Sections-article148.php

 

[Robor]

Good luck with it BCJ... Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I'll be happy to help if I can.

 

[BigCoolJesus]

well, to no avail i tried using the actual MAC address of the Linksys.......i entered it into the settings for the D-Link and restarted it like i was told, but still nothing


im gonna sleep on this one and try again tomorrow

 

[Oyeve]

SP2 firewall? Is print sharing in the exceptions?

 

[Chiller2]

This may seem like a stupid question but it is often overlooked,did you disable the firewall in XP?

 

[BigCoolJesus]

well i tried it without the firewall enabled on the laptop, but ill try it with the firewall disabled on all of the computers


but yes, file and printer sharing is part of the exceptions for the firewall

 

[BigCoolJesus]

NEW DEVELOPMENT:



OK, so heres where im at.


The wireless router just all out and f'ed up my network today (it wouldnt let my laptop connect to the internet at all, and it made it so i had to use the "Repair" option on my desktops whenever i wanted to use the internet)

so i got rid of the wireless router, its not part of the equation now.



I have the laptop wired to the Linksys router, along with every other computer, and everything works fine now.
I can finally share files with the laptop, BUT I STILL CANT SHARE THE PRINTER. like i said, i can share files to any and all computers now (including the laptop) but i still cant get the laptop to see the printer....... any ideas???

 

[V00D00]

The "repair" doesn't do anything. It disables the adapter, then enables it again, and tries to get an address via DHCP. That's it. It's pretty useless.

Are all the computers part of the same workgroup? This is crucial!

You should be able to use the wireless router if you know what you're doing. You clearly don't, so don't tell people you aren't 2 years old. You are acting like a 2 year old. Try reading the manuals that come with the hardware you buy.

If you have 2 routers on your network then they will both be sending out DHCP replies, and probably conflict with eacthother. If they are wired together you can just disable the DHCP on one of them, and leave whichever one you want. As long as there is one DHCP server on the network you're fine.

So if they are all in the same ip range then they should all be able to ping and they should all be able to access the internet. This is your first goal. Once they can all do that, then you can troubleshoot the windows networking. Make sure they are all in the same workgroup. If they are, you should be able to see all the computers in your Network Neighborhood.


Your best bet is to just get yourself a print server. An expensive one will run about 40 bucks, and it is well worth the money. You don't have to run around and turn on a computer when you need to print something asap. I just picked up a netgear print server from the hot deals forum for $10. When you use a print server you don't have to worry about the stupid crap with windows, it will work as long as it's hooked up right the first time. Clearly you aren't capable of doing this though, so you better just call the geek squad and overpay for some help.

 

[BigCoolJesus]

Originally posted by: V00D00
The "repair" doesn't do anything. It disables the adapter, then enables it again, and tries to get an address via DHCP. That's it. It's pretty useless.

Are all the computers part of the same workgroup? This is crucial!

You should be able to use the wireless router if you know what you're doing. You clearly don't, so don't tell people you aren't 2 years old. You are acting like a 2 year old. Try reading the manuals that come with the hardware you buy.

If you have 2 routers on your network then they will both be sending out DHCP replies, and probably conflict with eacthother. If they are wired together you can just disable the DHCP on one of them, and leave whichever one you want. As long as there is one DHCP server on the network you're fine.

So if they are all in the same ip range then they should all be able to ping and they should all be able to access the internet. This is your first goal. Once they can all do that, then you can troubleshoot the windows networking. Make sure they are all in the same workgroup. If they are, you should be able to see all the computers in your Network Neighborhood.


Your best bet is to just get yourself a print server. An expensive one will run about 40 bucks, and it is well worth the money. You don't have to run around and turn on a computer when you need to print something asap. I just picked up a netgear print server from the hot deals forum for $10. When you use a print server you don't have to worry about the stupid crap with windows, it will work as long as it's hooked up right the first time. Clearly you aren't capable of doing this though, so you better just call the geek squad and overpay for some help.

what are you babbling about??


have you even followed what ive been saying?


yes, i do know how to use a router, because if you would have read everything, and if your capable of comprehending, youd know that all of the computers worked at one point, and that they were able to access the internet......... its just today that the wireless router started acting like an @ss.....

You clearly don't, so don't tell people you aren't 2 years old. You are acting like a 2 year old.

i mean seriously, if it makes you feel better to insult someone based on no judgement, good job. How am i acting like a 2 year old, by trying to get actual help?
FVCK OFF BUDDY.




any hoot, hopefully this doucheb@g wont respond anymore, because he isnt helping

seriously, stop posting if your gonna be an @ss and not help at all. you helped zero in your post.

 

[BigCoolJesus]

OK, now were in buisness


with the laptop hooked up via Ethernet cable to the Linksys router (the only router im using now, and the one every other computer in the house hooks up to), it can now see and use the printer thats hooked up to my dads desktop :beer:


if i just used a wireless access point instead of the wireless router (ie, not a whole new router, just a wireless point that runs off of our exsisting router) it should work fine, right?

 

[V00D00]

yes, which is the same as a router with dhcp turned off.

 

[BigCoolJesus]

Originally posted by: V00D00
yes, which is the same as a router with dhcp turned off.

but with more conveniance also


back to circuit city, then to bestbuy tomorrow :beer:

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: BigCoolJesus

Originally posted by: V00D00
yes, which is the same as a router with dhcp turned off.

but with more conveniance also


back to circuit city, then to bestbuy tomorrow :beer:

You're not getting more convenience by adding an access point. You're making it more complicated. You really should be able to use your wireless DLink router by itself. There's no reason to have a wired router and access point when you could be using the single device that you already have and there's no reason why your ISP shouldn't work with it.