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General discussion

setting up printing on macbook pro through a router

Jan 12, 2007 7:46AM PST

I received a new macbook pro and am trying to set up printer through my home router connected to our desktop pc. I have done all the steps that i know to do such as the sharing of the printer and following the printer set up on the mac. When attempting to print from the mac laptop it shows that the print is successful, but nothing prints. When checking the printer the qeue shows that the documents are in line to print, but nothing actually happens.

Am I missing a step?
Do i need to download a driver onto the mac?

Help!

Thanks
Mel

Discussion is locked

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Need a little more information.
Jan 12, 2007 8:33AM PST

Is the printer directly connected to the Windows machine? How? USB?

What kind of printer is it? (Manufacturer and model, please)

I would normally expect the Internet connection connected to the router, then the router is connected to the PC using ethernet. If you have multiple machines connected to the ethernet LAN, then...

...either place a hub between the router and the computer or using a wireless router, everything connects wirelessly.

Since we don't know what sort of printer it is and we don't know how you are connecting it, it is difficult to make a recommendation... but there are USB - ethernet adapters out there... you would not need to "share" the printer through the PC (which means the PC does not need to be on just to print) and the Windows and Mac machines would still be able to access the same printer... Even better is if the printer has built-in ethernet.

Warning: Many "multifunction" printers do not like to be shared over ethernet - and a manual switch might be the only way out... I learned this the hard way on my Canon MP780 printer. I like the printer a lot and the computers are nearby, but a manual USB switch is required. Apparently it has something with the way the scanner software works... but we do not know if this is your issue.

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thank you for taking the time
Jan 12, 2007 8:45AM PST

Yes, the printer is directly connected to the windows machine via usb
the printer is HP psc 120v all in one

I do not have multiple machines connected to the ethernet

on my macbook i connect to the internet via the router. i have set the printer to share and when i set up my old laptop to print it worked beautifully.

I just can't figure out what i am doing wrong.

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The HP PSC line is a bunch of different
Jan 12, 2007 9:10AM PST

printers... PSC = Printer Scanner Copier. I *think* the 120v you provided is the poer rating - not a model nubner.

As a multifunction machine, they were not designed to be shared - though I understand that you had previously used it in a USB shared environment (with another Windows-based laptop.

In my opinion, HP ethernet-based printers on a network are great - I have a 5000N at home... but this is not one of those, and as I indicated previously, this method of sharing - or using an auto-USB switch with a multi-function machine has alway proved problematic for me...

Have you been able to successfully print from your Mac to the printer (not using the Windows shared service)? You might try that first - then move on to networking it.

Have you contacted HP? They have a pretty good support area...

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printer model number
Jan 13, 2007 2:00AM PST

the psc 1210v is the only number i can find
where would i find the model number

sorry, i guess i am more clueless than i thought i was
darn it

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connecting mac directly to the printer
Jan 13, 2007 2:03AM PST

i have not tried this yet, but will do that today

the frustrating thing for me is that i was able to network to the printer from my crappy, old window based laptop and i can't get this one to work.

thank you so much for your patience with me.
Mel

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and another question:
Jan 12, 2007 8:34AM PST

Which printer queue are you looking at? The one in the Mac or the one in the Windows machine that is sharing the the printer?

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print queue
Jan 12, 2007 8:51AM PST

I have looked at both queus and the one on the mac shows as the prints being successful
when i open the windows machine queue it says...

Document Name Status Owner Pages Size
Remote Downlevel Document Guest N/A 333KB

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so it reads like the Mac
Jan 12, 2007 9:01AM PST

is doing its job, spooling the print job to the Windows shared printer queue - but that is where is gets hung up...

Does that queue need to be started or made active?

Or does that 333kb job you are looking at just not go anywhere?

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stalled print job
Jan 12, 2007 12:11PM PST

the 333kb job just doesn't go anywhere or do anything beyond this point

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still need to know which printer
Jan 12, 2007 1:11PM PST

HP makes several "PSC"s and we don't which one you are using yet...

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psc
Jan 13, 2007 1:57AM PST

sorry, I replied to that question at the top

the printer is a psc 1210v all in one

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Great! One step at a time...
Jan 13, 2007 9:11AM PST
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driver
Jan 13, 2007 11:36AM PST

i did go to the hp site and it didn't help much
i did download the software last week and still nothing.

I'm at a loss

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Have you directly connected the Mac
Jan 13, 2007 12:23PM PST

and printed yet?

I just reconfigured my workspace:
Installed the Canon MP780 drivers in my HP/Compaq nc6220 running Windows XP;
Connected the MP780 via USB to my HP/Compaq nc6220;
Connected the HP/Compaq nc6220 to my ethernet LAN;
Shared the printer in Windows XP;
Connected my G5 iMac FlatPanel to the Ethernet LAN;
Found the printer (Windows printer queue);
Printed a job.

I put everything back as I had it (I use a manual USB switch because the laptop is not always home).

I'm really sorry I can't seem help you. I do not have your printer model and I do not have your Windows printer host set up. I cannot see what you see and I have no idea what configuration items might be causing the hold up.

Since the print job is getting out of your Mac and to the printer queue on the Windows machine, there is either something up with the "language" of the print job being sent to the printer queue or there is something up with the Windows print queue trying to understand what it is supposed to do with the print job. I just can't tell.

Or the print job already in there is not allowing the other print jobs around it (I presume you've been deleting that print job from the Windows machine print queue)... Can you print directly from the Windows machine hosting the printer? Does it use that same print queue or bypass it?

Do you use the scanner capabilities of the PSC 1210? If not, would it be possible to not use the Windows print sharing feature and install a USB network adapter so both machines can get to the printer? At this point I am merely making suggestions to get printing going for you - as I am at a loss as to why you are having this issue - for that I sincerely apologize.

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Sincere thank you
Jan 15, 2007 11:22AM PST

I am baffled as well.
I uninstalled the printer and reinstalled it today.
I got out my old windows based laptop and added the printer to it via the network and it worked fine
I tried again to add the printer to the macbook and again it went as far as the desktop print queue and that's where it sat.

Could it be that the mac and the pc can not speak the same language?

I dont' know what else to do, but sincerely thank you for your tireless efforts in trying to help me.

You have boundless patience
Mel

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Mac Driver Installed?
Feb 20, 2007 12:29AM PST

I had a similar problem. Fix: install printer driver for mac.

For me that included getting the driver off the manufacturer's site, connecting the printer to my iBook, setting it up as an USB printer and only then the driver was shown in the Windows Printing dialogue as one of the Printer Models. Printer is now connected to Win XP and remote printing is working just fine.

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Printer
Feb 20, 2007 2:12AM PST

Can you print to this printer if you directly connect it to your Mac?

The best way to achieve printer sharing is to have a printer that stands alone on your network, ie. one with ethernet capabilities.

Yes, you will need drivers for that printer on your Mac.

What sort of printer is it?

P

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More information
Feb 20, 2007 6:58AM PST

From the Welcome to Tiger Booklet

If yo have a printer connected to a Windows computer, you can share it with Mac computers on your network. To add a Windows printer to the list of available printers on your Mac, Open Printer Setup Utility.
to begin, click Add in the toolbar to open the Printer Browser.
After you click More Printers, choose Windows Printing here and select the workgroup for the printer.

then select the printer. You will still need drivers on the Mac


Hope this helps some

P