network printer questions

[cheese]

This weekend I became the proud owner of an unwanted, unloved HP laserjet 3si. (an extremely heavy office-type printer; my guess is two generations old or so). It seems to be in perfect working order. However, it's only interface is a 10baseT ethernet card on the back. Now my question- Can I just run this printer off a network card in my box? (I don't own one, otherwise I'd have the answer...) Will I need any special piece of hardware or software to make it work? I searched around a bit and found the serial port adapter from HP over $100, so I am hoping there is another way around this. Any and all suggestions will be much appreciated.

 

[Shuxclams]

No you will need a hub if you are going to use it. You can pick them up really cheap and install HP JetAdmin. Consider yourself lucky to have ethernet.






SHUX

 

[Svet]

I would advise you to get the hub, but if you are looking to do this as cheaply as possible you can use what is called a crossover cable. It is the ethernet version of a null modem cable and will work on ethernet when connecting ONLY 2 devices together. For 3 or more you must use something like a hub or a switch. You can probably buy a cable cheaper than making one unless you know where you can borrow some RJ45 crimpers from someone(you can get a 4 port hub cheaper than a pair of crimpers). You will need 2 RJ45 connectors, a length of CAT5 cable and some crimpers. To make the cable pin 1 goes to pin 3 on the other side, pin 2 goes to pin 6 on the other side, pin 3 goes to pin 1 on the other side, and pin 6 goes to pin 2 on the other side. Pins 4,5,7, and 8 are not used, but I usually connect them straight through anyway for strength. Make sure to get it right because if you miss a wire or get them in the wrong order you have to cut the end off and use a new connector. A normal 10BASE-T cable is straight through pin to pin. I used a crossover cable for a while on my first two systems until my network grew and I got a hub. If you are ever going to have more than 1 system then go ahead and get the hub.

 

[cheese]

Thanks for all the help. Now I have another problem... I can't find the right driver for this printer. I checked the HP site, and all they have is some AutoCAD one, which needs to detect the CAD program to work. I looked on windrivers, and they just pointed me back to the HP CAD one. Will the universal printer driver work over the ethernet connection? (I found a crossover cable and cheap network card) Or will I need to do some configuring work... I just need to be pointed in the right direction here. Thanks alot, again.

 

[Sukhoi]

What OS are you using?

I'm not sure if 95/98/ME will print to an IP addy. Anyone know? NT 4.0 and W2k should print to an IP addy fine.