Networked Printer Woes (Vista)

[vj9usa]

I have a Brother HL-2070N printer connected to my network. I shut it off when its not in use to save power. The only problem with this is that the router seems to randomly assign the printer a different IP each time it's turned back on (its MAC address somehow changes constantly, so I can't reserve an IP for it through the router).
This isn't a problem for XP, as it seems to detect printers by their device name and not IP/location. Vista, on the other hand, seems to see it as a different printer when the IP changes (I have to add the printer, delete the previous entry from the last IP, etc.). Is there any way to get Vista to see printers the way XP does?
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[heymrdj]

um as far as i know, a networked printer is identified by it's IP. Whether it's XP, Vista, Debian, CentOS, Mandros, Unix, Mac, or some alien OS, i don't know of one that "reinstalls" (that's what would have to happen) the driver everytime it sees the printer move.

You must:

A: change the IP address to static on the printer
B: Leave the darn thing on. I don't have time to research it but i imagine it's within the Energystar age, and that means it's idle power is within the .xxwatts, not 1 watt, not 10 watts, .xx watts. You're not killing your bil

 

[bwatson283]

I agree with above. Set the sleep mode to 60-90 minutes if you want to save power. The more you turn computer equipment on and off, on and off.......the more you risk issues with them.

 

[corkyg]

I have two printers networked - one inkjet and one laser. The ink spitter is on all the time. The laser is only turned on when needed - that is maybe only once or twice a week. Definitely not good to leave it on 24/7 like the main PC. Two PCs only are on maybe once every couple of days - both are Vista. They always find the printer IPs as needed.

Printer IPs are static.