Accessing a network printer

[silverback]

Hope this is not a really question.
Got roped in to try and help my neighbour access a wireless printer from her laptop. I've managed to do this but it has a small problem. When we browsed for the printer (in the add printer | find network printer dialogue), the workgroup was found OK. I double clicked on that entry and it showed 'PC'; double clicking on that revealed the printer. I selected that and the fix up was made so she can now print on it, but only if the main PC is switched on.

Networking is pretty much magic to me, so my question is can the printer 'be moved up a level' so it 'belongs' to the workgroup and not the PC i.e. it could be used if the main PC was switched off (but with printer and router switched on of course)?

Thanks
Silverback

[stuck]

You need to connect the printer to a print server to achieve this, i.e. one of these type of gizmos:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/b?ie=UTF8&node=430577031

Ken

[silverback]

Ken - can't compute!
The printer is wireless, too, so if the laptop can connect to the internet without the PC having to be on, and the router talks to the printer wirelessly, I'm afraid I still can't see why the PC has to be on for the laptop to be able to access the printer.

Sorry if this is dumb comment, but I did say I don't understand networking.

Silverback

[stuck]

You plug the print server into the router, which will always be on, and then disconnect the printer from the PC and reconnect it to the print server (either wired or wireless). ALL PCs then connect to the printer via the print server.

Does that make more sense?

Ken

[silverback]

You plug the print server into the router, which will always be on, and then disconnect the printer from the PC and reconnect it to the print server (either wired or wireless). ALL PCs then connect to the printer via the print server.
Does that make more sense? Ken

Yup.
No wonder your avatar is bashing its head against the keyboard with dumb questions like mine.

Thanks, Ken
Silverback

[John Gray]

You can still keep the USB connection from the PC to the printer, and let everyone else print wirelessly, if you like!

That way should the wireless facility fail for some reason, you still have a second path for printing.

[jonwallace]

IF the printer is wireless, then print servers etc shouldn't be needed. Our Canon set up ports etc when the software was installed and it sits quite happily yards from any PC and prints on demand.

What seems to have happened is that the printer has been set up to be a shared printer accessed through the PC. I would try disconnecting the printer from the PC, either by unplugging it if it's plugged or shutting down the PC. Then remove the printer from the laptop in control panel. Then install the driver from the printer disc. This should pick up the wireless printer as a standalone.

Good luck (printers=black art)

[PaulB]

Good luck (printers=black art)

I think it is the other way, Jon... printers: OK, wireless: black art.

I agree with what you say above, however. I have a HP Deskjet 3050A wireless all-in-one. It is joined to the router just as a laptop is joined to the router, no print server required. All computers joined to the router can see (and use) the printer. The printer is independent of any PC on the network.