[The Wolf]

I just purchased the 1-port IOGear wireless print server. Was told by an Apple Rep at CompUSA that it would work. I've spent the past 8 hours trying to get it working, but so far it doesn't work at all. I've tried connecting to it via my web browser(192.168.1.7), but nothing.

I called IOGear and was told that my HP Photosmart 7150 is not a "Postscript Printer," and therefore, it will not work. I could swear that I read somewhere (before I bought it) that it was compatible with the 7150 (or was that the D-Link). Anyway, does anyone here know how to get this working with my printer, or should I just take it back to the store? Thanks, T.

[ghporter]

If you're not connecting to the printserver through your browser, you're not going to get a print job to it.

Is the address you gave the default address? And more importantly, is the rest of your network in the 192.168.1.X range? If you are in a 10.X.X.X address range, you simply won't be able to connect to it.

Let us know if that address is the default, or if you can change it, and also what kind of base station you have-since most wireless bases can have their addresses changed, but a few can't.

[The Wolf]

Hi Glenn, thanks for the response. Yes, the address I gave is the default one that is listed in the IOGear manual. I am presently connected to the internet (pre-wired in my building) via a white Apple Airport BaseStation. My TCP/IP setting on my Ti is "using DHCP" - and I am running Panther. (fwiw, I think I originally had to set it up via a wired connection using PPPoE).

When I go into my Newtork preferences, under Airport > TCP/IP it has assigned me an IP that is 10.x.x.x ( bad news?)

I think I remember reading somewhere that I can have the IOGear obtain an IP from the network/server, or I can assign it one manually. Actually, I am not sure what it is set to at the moment, but I am assuming that out of the box, it should be set to the default that I mentioned above.

Is there any hope?

[The Wolf]

OK, still trying to get this working. I just realized that I don't actually have the "default" IP address for the print server, as the one I was referring to was simply an "example" that they printed in the manual. I know that I can asssign an IP address to the print-server manually IF I HAVE the PSAdmin UTILITY (on a Windows based computer).

[ghporter]

It looks like you can basically follow the steps in the "Diagnostic Mode" section of the manual, only using your Mac's settings instead of a PC's (as in changing the SSID-that's the network name-and so on for your wireless computer) to access the built-in web server, assuming the printserver has obtained an IP from somewhere. There's absolutely nothing in the manual that says what the thing defaults to, so it's possible that putting it in "normal mode" with the front dip switch and letting it sit for a while, then trying the "diagnostic mode" switch position might get you something close to what you want.

My personal tendency would be to return the device, since it has so little Mac support (ONLY postscript printers?!? NO real browser configuration?!?). I'd get something that actually has a real configuration that you can get at, like Linksys' WPS11 (which is a parallel only box, but at least you can trust it) or D-Link's DP-311U (both of which you can just plug a cat5 cable into to configure it from your browser).

[The Wolf]

I spent at least an hour on hold this afternoon and then finally got through to a live person on tech support. I asked him how to configure the print server's IP and he said I need to run the PSAdmin utility. I said I can't b/c I'm running X. He said that there was no other way. I nicely explained that the product was supposed to be Mac compatible and then he responded that I need a PC to do the 'initial' configuration. I asked if he could help me figure out one of the 'other' ways to configure the server since pg. 35 of the manual states "There are many ways to configure the print server's IP address". He didin't know, but got someone who told him to have me open my preferences > print & fax, etc., to try to get my Ti to recognize the printer - none of which worked.

He also claims that the server comes with a default of 0.0.0.0 but then receives an IP as soon as you plug it in. I tried connecting to the printer all day long giving it an IP that is one number higher then my Ti, but nothing is working. I think I am going to just return it like you said.

The D-Link was recommended at the store, but I just checked their site and it's not compatible with my HP (Photosmart). What is postscript, and how to I find a postscript printer anyway?!?!?!

Meh, maybe I will just go with the AmbiCom Bluetooth adapter. I wanted to avoid having to plug in the dongle every time I want to print, but at least it's compatible with my printer.

[The Wolf]

[double post]

[John Strung]

If you are in OS X, there is a facility somewhere in the Network Utility that is in your Utilities folder (sorry, I am not in front of my Mac at the moment) to ping or scan a whole range of IP addresses and report back which ones are live. You might use that to try to find the IP address of the printer.

[ghporter]

Sorry you're having so many problems, particularly with so-called customer service.

Postscript is an open standard print control language that most printers support. It's particularly Mac friendly (I think it was first available on Macs), and very flexible. Unfortunately, not all printers support postscript, as you found out.

Where did you find that your printer wasn't supported? I didn't see that in the DP-311U manual.

[John Strung]

If you are using Panther, you should be able to print to a non-postscript printer through a print server. See for instance:THIS LINK with respect to printing to an Epson 740 non-postscript ink jet.

But see also THIS LINK for a specific Panther printing bug fix.

[The Wolf]

Originally posted by GHPorter:
Where did you find that your printer wasn't supported?

It's not listed here. I know it says that it "may" still work, but in light of the fact that I am not printing to a postscript printer (I think) I am assuming that I'm sol.




- fixed link

[The Wolf]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by John Strung:
[B]If you are using Panther, you should be able to print to a non-postscript printer through a print server. See for instance:THIS LINK with respect to printing to an Epson 740 non-postscript ink jet.

The problem I'm having is that I can't figure out the IP of the server. I checked that utility that you mentioned earlier, but it seems that I need the IP in order to ping the device.

[John Strung]

Sorry, my memory failed me. I think you need a third party utility called IPNetMonitorX from http://www.sustworks.com to do the scan I suggested. There is a demo you can download.

[The Wolf]

hrmm, d/l-ed it and stumbled my way through a few things. Was able to see my gf's PB, but no print server. btw, the article you cited to w/ the SMC mentioned a "cups" printer. Do I need to install Gimp-Print to make this whole thing work?

[John Strung]

I think that GIMP is automatically installed in Panther and probably Jaguar too. Leastwise, I didn't have to install anything to print through a router to an Epson 740 using my daughter's ibook with Panther.

[The Wolf]

K, I brought the Netgear back and picked up the DP-311U. I was able to succeed in accessing the web based configuration via ethernet. But, here's where the problem comes in...

My ISP requires that that I connect using DHCP. It automatically assigns my Ti 10.0.1.x (and I noticed the router is 1 digit lower and I am assuming that this is what the ISP gives my BaseStation). The default on the D-Link servers are 192.168.0.10, so I set the servers IP MANUALLY to 10.0.1.10. If my Ti is wired to the server via the ethernet cable, I can print fine (using the a different 'printer model', but hey it works). But as soon as I disconnect the ethernet, the WLAN light on the server goes out, and my attempts to print over airport fail.

fwiw, I set the Print Server to:
IP: 10.0.1.10
Subnet: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: (same as the "Router" on my Ti)

Am I getting anywhere close to doing this correctly?

[ghporter]

Your base station assigns the IPs on your LAN, while your ISP assigns a WAN IP address-they're completely separate. That manual address should work, unless something else on your LAN is already using it.

When you set things up on the D-Link box, do you make sure you commit the changes? I don't have the manual in front of me, but there should be some kind of "OK" button or something that makes the changes permanent. Also, have you made sure your WEP encryption is turned off, at least for now? That'll stop you better than great breaks.

[John Strung]

That sounds right, although I think the subnet mask should probably be 255.0.0.0. You might try that. The 10.0.1.x IP addresses are being assigned by the DHCP server in your Airport Base Station, not by your ISP. 10.0.1.1 is the LAN IP address of the Airport Base Station.

[The Wolf]

Spoke w/ tech support last night. Waited about an hour to get a person, but I didn't feel like I was being rushed off the phone once I got through. I was told that I need to know the ESS-ID of my "router" - which in my case should be my BaseStation. Unfortunately, I don't know what/where that is. Tech support didn't know either. Thank you guys for the ongoing help.

[The Wolf]

YEEEEESS!!!!!! It is now working!!!!

Unfortunately, tech support couldn't simply tell me that the ESS-ID was the "name" of my BaseStation. I guess I should have just read the instructions for XP from the start (which is where I learned this). Well, both my gf and I can now print wirelessly in the apartment. This is amazing! Thanks again!!!

Should I enable WEP Encryption now? (as in ASCII or HEX?)

[ghporter]

Originally posted by The Wolf:
YEEEEESS!!!!!! It is now working!!!!

Should I enable WEP Encryption now? (as in ASCII or HEX?)

YES! Absolutely! Generate a nice, random HEX key and both of you enter it as appropriate. Play with this for a while until you get the key entered properly in the base and both machines (it's a problem with typoinghe...(oops)typing that gets me sometimes). Hex is preferable with a mixed-platform network because there's no translation or possibility of different interpretation on the different platforms.

Further, depending on what kind of base station you have (a quick scan of this thread didn't make it jump out at me), you should use MAC address filtering if available. That lets you select which wireless network adapters are allowed into the network. It won't keep really determined intruders from "listening in" on your wireless network, but they won't be able to "get into it" to do nasty things to you. This is equivalent to locking your door with a good lock instead of just a cheap one.

Enjoy!

[The Wolf]

Well, for some reason I can't use WEP encryption. I tried entering a pw as ASCII, no go. I d/l-ed WEP key maker, and tried it that way, no go (I tried it once without the "$" before the key, and once with it - although I did NOT ask it to make a key with the "$" ex., "$password"). Anyway, after reading about airsnort, etc., I think that anyone that has the expertise and desire to mess w/ my config, can. And anyone that doesn't, won't be able to even without encryption. The only reason that I enabled it a couple of months ago was b/c my connection seemed slow (and I was wondering if my whole building was sharing "my" basestation). Hrm, maybe I'll just leave it disabled. Do you know if internet printing is available on this server? For example, if encryption is not enabled, could you print to my printer?

[ghporter]

I don't know about that right now, but I do know that there are people out there that WANT to get into your network. Make sure you use that MAC address filtering if your router/access point supports it.

Lots of people have problems setting up encryption, particularly when it involves different platforms. That's why I suggested using a hex key-with a pure hex key, there are fewer things to go wrong.

When you gave your Mac the key, did you select "Hex" as the type from the drop down menu, or just use the '$' to indicate a hex key? Sometimes that makes a difference. Most importantly, if you don't get a successful connection the first time, you need to make sure you have the right options selected on all parts. That means having "shared key", and "128 bit" key length selected. Having different brands of equipment means that these options may have different names, so read carefully as you go.

[The Wolf]

Here's what I did (btw, I am using a snow Apple AirPort BaseStation). In my web config window for the print server (1) selected 128 bits; (2) I selected the "HEX" button; (3) pasted the key; (4) hit save [commit] button. Then I went into my Airport Admin Utility and typed the password in english (ASCII?), and update. Didn't work.

The second time, I went into the web config window for the print server, did the same, *but* typed "$" and then pasted the key. Still didn't work.

What's interesting, is that everytime I go into the print server's setup window, the encryption section is always set to "disable" - even after trying to enable it.

[ghporter]

You need to tell the AirPort software you're using a hex key, too. I'll bet that's the biggest problem you're having. That should let you secure all your traffic, from and between all your computers.

As for the print server always showing "disable" in the key selection, it could be that your key is not properly formatted. Some devices will accept spaces between hex digits, while most won't. If your key has spaces, edit them out before you paste them into the key window, and of course make sure you paste it in the "confirm" window too.

It's important to note that a lot of devices won't do WEP in "Ad Hoc" mode, so make sure you select "Infrastructure" instead. Since you have a base station, this is the appropriate mode anyway.