Can't access network printer

[Barb]

We recently decided to get Mediaone Roadrunner. We have 3 networked PC's, sort of. File sharing works on all three PC's, and PC 2 can access the printer on the server. However, when PC 3 tries to setup the Network Printer, by saying it is a Network printer, not local, and browsing to the printer on the server \\PC1\hp, I get a message that says the printer is offline, that I can set it up, but won't be able to print until it comes online. Once I went through a setup of the HPDeskject 952C (it had already been installed locally). I got a grayed icon (since it was offline). I was told to right click the gray icon and unclick the "Work offline" selection. That didn't work. My husband and I have compared workgroup names, protocols on all machines. Has anyone heard of this before? What have we messed up? I am NOT network literate, so if there is any other info that would help, just let me know. Thanks in advance.

Barbara

[WJWheels]

Hmmmmm.. it was my thinking that the Deskjet printers were not to be networked and they would not work as a network printer. I sure could be wrong though, but I've never set one up as such, only Laserjets.

[glc]

Is PC3 by any chance an older Pentium which you have put a PCI network card into? If so, this is very likely the problem - most PCI network cards require busmastering support. I beat my head on the wall at a customer's for a week before I yanked the PCI card and put an old ISA card in - bingo, works great.

[Barb]

quote:

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Originally posted by WJWheels:
Hmmmmm.. it was my thinking that the Deskjet printers were not to be networked and they would not work as a network printer. I sure could be wrong though, but I've never set one up as such, only Laserjets.

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Thanks for the thought, but since my husband is printing to it, I would guess it can be networked.

[Barb]

quote:

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Originally posted by glc:
Is PC3 by any chance an older Pentium which you have put a PCI network card into? If so, this is very likely the problem - most PCI network cards require busmastering support. I beat my head on the wall at a customer's for a week before I yanked the PCI card and put an old ISA card in - bingo, works great.

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PC3 is pretty much the same as PC2 - both AMD K7V. All the nic cards are linksys execept that the server has two nic cards and one is a linksys and one is some other brand, since my husband understood from www.timhiggins.com that it was less confusing if they weren't the same. But thanks for the feedback.

[glc]

That *was* a Linksys that gave me trouble. Try a different card for troubleshooting purposes. Also try a different patch cord from the NIC to the hub on that machine.

[Barb]

quote:

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Originally posted by glc:
That *was* a Linksys that gave me trouble. Try a different card for troubleshooting purposes. Also try a different patch cord from the NIC to the hub on that machine.

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OK. Thanks. Right now we have put the printer back on the switch we had it on originally. But now I can only print if I'm NOT on the network. If I log onto the network and try to print to the only printer I have defined, which says it is a local printer, it tries to go to the server to print. I'm so confused!

[glc]

If you have any of the printer ports "captured" on any of the machines, end capture on them and just print to the UNC name instead of a mapped port.

UNC = \\pc1\hp
mapped = "LPTx"

The only printer that should be on a LPT is the *local* printer.

[Barb]

quote:

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Originally posted by glc:
If you have any of the printer ports "captured" on any of the machines, end capture on them and just print to the UNC name instead of a mapped port.

UNC = \\pc1\hp
mapped = "LPTx"

The only printer that should be on a LPT is the *local* printer.

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Thanks! That worked.