I searched the omputer thread and I have looked at CNET and I have no clue what I am looking for.
What do I need in order to print wirelessly?
I have a Gateway 500SE desktop with 1BG RAM running Windows XPHomeSP2. Connected to this is a Westell VersaLink (pdf) router. The router is connected to the Gateway’s network card. The router also has wireless capability and communicates well with my Dell Inspiron 9300. The router also has three wired ports available and unused. Also connected to the Gateway are two printers - a Lexmark All-in-One and an Epson Color Stylus C80. I have a teenager in the house who needs supervision, so the Gateway is password protected. It often hibernates when not being used and shuts down the drives, network card, etc. This, however, has no effect on the Westell router and I can surf the internet with the notebook with no problem (in fact, I’m doing it right now).
So, what do I need to do in order to print from my notebook without having to physically connect to a printer? Do I need to buy something? What do I buy? Could I print to one of the printers even if the Gateway computer were asleep? What if I wanted to move one of the printers upstairs (and not connect it to a desktop computer)? Could I sit in the bedroom and print to the upstairs printer (which would not have a desktop computer connected to it)? What if I did get a desktop computer for upstairs?
I have been completely unsuccessful in locating this sort of information on the internet. Thanks for your suggestions.
Okay, I got confused but let me see if we can’t simplfy this a little
You have
a wired/wireless router
a Gateway (desktop, wired) with two printers
a Dell (laptop, wireless)
What I would suggest (cuz it’s free) is to change the settings on the Gateway so it doesn’t hibernate, but rather just goes to screensaver or have the monitor turn off. This way you can always print to it without a problem. (I don’t know how tech saavy the teen is, but you can password protect the screen saver, and then use a power on password and that should keep you somewhat safe). There’s also the WOL feature that I believe would accomplish what you’re looking for, but I’ve never used it myself so I can’t help you there.
You could also get a wireless print server which, I think, is really what you’re asking for, but just changing the hibernate settings on the gateway will accomplish the what you need.
Oh, and as for getting a computer for upstairs, that would work also. Just connect it to the network (wired or wireless), hook up the printers, install them across the network and you’re good to go (easier then it sounds).
WOL = Wake On Lan. Basically, in ‘Hibernate’ or ‘Stand-by’ modes, the network card is checking for particular packets to come by. If you configured your laptop to send those, you could turn on the PC remotely before printing. (This would just save you walking over and turning it on).
If either of your current printers are network aware (unlikely), then you could attach them to your network, and anyone online could print to them regardless of the status of any other PCs.
If they’re not, you can (possibly) convert them using (as Joey P mentions) a network print server. I’ve never used one before, so I’m not sure how well any of them work, or if there are any complications with particular printers or anything though, YMMV, etc.
While I’m not familiar with the Westell VersaLink specifically, the documentation you link to says it includes a 4-port switch… So it seems to me that your simplest solution would be to attach your printer(s) to the switch with an Ethernet connection through a print server. There are numerous ways to do this, depending on whether your printers already have Ethernet ports, USB ports or the older parallel port connectors.
I got a Netgear PS121 to share a USB-connector printer on my dad’s home network about 2 months ago, it was very simple to set up and works well. The printer is a Canon S830D color inkjet, and is now shared between a main “tower” PC in the office (plugged into a Linksys WRT54G router, which also has a four-port switch) and two laptops on a wireless network. It took me about 45 minutes to hook up and to update all three computers with network printer drivers, and it cost less than $60!
Helpful tip: by default the print server is set up to obtain its IP address dynamically through DHCP (just like a computer would), which means that if you reboot your router/switch it is possible for the printer to obtain a different IP address than before. This in turn would necessitate updating the print driver configuration for the shared network printer with the new address on all the client computers.
If this sounds like it should be unnecessary pain, it is: just assign the printer an IP address that is “static” with respect to the router. For example, the Linksys routers support up to 254 addresses on one network, and starts assigning dynamic addresses via DHCP beginning with 192.168.1.100 (assuming you don’t change the default network masks). If any machine is set up with a static IP address between 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.99, it will exist just fine on the network but be immune to changes in dynamic IP addresses on router rebooting. (I set my Dad’s printer up as 192.168.1.3, I don’t remember if .1 and .2 were reserved for something or if I just picked .3 for no particular reason.)
I should add (in case it isn’t obvious) that using a print server like the Netgear PS121 means you don’t have to have a computer on all the time and attached to a printer to be able to share it on the network (which is your alternative, assuming the printer itself doesn’t come with a network card, and I don’t think either of yours are). The little print server uses much less power and generates much less heat than a PC.
If your printers are not physically near the router/switch there are also wireless print servers, though they are more of a pain to set up as they often require you to set the printer up initially while “wired” to the network and only allow wireless use after setup is complete.