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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Printer via Airport Failure

rycharn - Feb 2, 2007 - 11:54 am

I want my wife to be able to print from her computer in the bedroom to a printer in my office. I tried connecting a Lexmark disposable printer to our Airport Extreme base station, but failed to get the computer to see the printer. While troubleshooting, I determined that the printer didn't print anyway, so I've purchased a new HP Deskjet F340 which I'm now trying to set up. I went through HP's install procedure, first with the printer connected to my PowerBook. That works fine. Computer and printer talk, printer prints, I like the F340. So next I try to hook the printer to the base station. The printer shows up as a "Rendezvous" printer, but when I select it, I get an error message telling me "An error occurred while trying to add the selected printer." This message is accompanied by two options, "Cancel" and "Edit Printer List." Canceling would clearly not get anything printed, so I choose to edit the printer list. This takes me to the Printer Setup Utility, which appears to list every printer I've ever had connected to my PowerBook, including several printers where I work. Except the HP F340 which I just used five minutes ago is not there. I figure I need to "add" the printer to the list anyway, since it's now connected via the Airport instead of being directly connected, so I click on "Add" to add the printer. There is a pop-up menu that includes "Rendezvous." I select "Rendezvous" and the printer appears there. So clearly my computer sees the printer is connected. But when I select the printer, the bottom of the window tells me "Driver Not Installed" and the only button available is "Cancel." So I cancel. Then, I connected the printer directly to my PowerBook via USB, and in Printer Setup Utility, clicked "add" and found the printer under "USB." This time it auto-assigned the printer model as "HP All-In-One 4.0" and allowed me the option to "add" the printer. I thought perhaps this may help solve the Rendezvous problem, so I reconnected the printer to the base station, and found it again under Rendezvous, but when I select the printer, it still says "Driver Not Installed."

I've tried reinstalling from the HP Installer. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling. I've tried to install (via HP's software) with the printer connected to the Airport, but the HP software doesn't see the printer. It only allows me to install it when it sees it directly connected viz USB.

I've disconnected, reconnected, rebooted, re-this'ed and re-that'ed and there's nothing I can think of to make this work. Thinking perhaps my Airport Extreme is too old to support the printer, I've checked to make sure all software is up-to-date. Then I went and bought an Airport Express, thinking perhaps newer
equipment might work better. I get the same results in trying to connect via the Express.

The more I think about it, the more it seems I've missed something in the installation process. If I install via HP software, the printer has to be connected to the computer directly. If I try to add the printer through Printer Setup Utility, it tells me the driver isn't installed.

The Airport promotional material makes it look like all you need to do is plug a printer into the USB port and you can magically print from any wireless-capable computer. I'm finding it not to be quite so easy, even with a printer the computer previously recognized, albeit only through USB. I've even tried a couple of older Lexmark printers I've had lying around. Every time, the computer sees the printer through Rendezvous, but it can't talk to it, which then made me wonder if there's an Airport setting I need to change. So I've also looked at Airport settings, played with a couple of things; I even re-installed both the Extreme and the Express. The set-up utility tells me the Airports are ready to connect to a printer, but it's still not working as I expect.

What am I missing? Many thanks in advance for any suggestions you can give me!

Natobasso - Feb 2, 2007 - 3:38 pm

Howdy! It's a thorny issue, but I've gotten it to work by following these steps:

Go to System Preferences/Sharing/click 'Printer Sharing' on your computer (the computer that's directly connected to the printer). That computer needs to be connected to the Airport Extreme via ethernet or wirelessly so your wife's computer can see your computer. Then she just has to add your computer's HP printer and she can then print whenever she's wireless or wired directly to your network once you set it up.

Let me know if that doesn't work. Be advised that some printers don't support wireless print sharing, but I believe the HP you have does.

rycharn - Feb 2, 2007 - 4:20 pm

Thanks for taking the time to address my problem.

If I understand your solution correctly, the printer would need to be connected to my computer, my PowerBook. Then I would then need to leave that computer home (and booted up) in order for my wife's computer to see the printer. This will not satisfy our needs. I need to be able to take my PowerBook on the road with me.

I need the printer to function while connected to the Airport's USB port. Whether it's the Extreme or the Express doesn't matter.

Anyway, I went ahead and turned on Printer Sharing as you suggested, then tried printing wirelessly from my own PowerBook. Again, the printer shows up as a Rendezvous printer, but when I select it from an app's print dialog, I get a pinwheel in a window that says "creating printer" then after a few seconds it gives me an error dialog that says "An error occurred while trying to add the selected printer." I must then choose "Edit Printer List..." or "cancel." So I'm right back to the problem I began with -- The computer can see that the printer exists -- It sees the printer connected to the network, but it can't talk to the printer. If I understand Printer Sharing, that only allows others on the network to use a printer connected to my computer, but it has no effect on a printer plugged directly into the Airport.

I need to get the Airport to let the computer talk to the printer. The computers can see the printer is there, they just can't access it.

Natobasso - Feb 2, 2007 - 4:54 pm

In order to make the printer work, in any event, you'll need something to serve it with; be it the Airport or an actual print server. Without your computer hooked up, which acts as a print server with your wife won't be able to print.

Have you loaded the latest hp driver software into your computers? Find that software here:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/s...oduct=1128309#

Unfortunately unless your printer has wireless capability the scheme you're trying to do won't work.