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#1
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WiFi Networking Question
I'm doing volunteer work at a local non-profit where I've donated a
desktop I created mostly out of odds and ends I had lying around. Actually it's a pretty nice system built around an Asus P5Q Pro Turbo mbo running 64-bit Win10. I have it plugged into the non-profit's network with an ethernet cable and it sees shared network drives and the main printer nicely. I assembled the system when I learned the non-profit had a series of documentary films they'd produced years ago, but no cheap way to make copies for sale in their gift shop. All I had to purchase was a cheap case for the computer and a nice, but also cheap, Asus optical drive/DVD burner. I've made about 100 DVDs for them now, and they think I'm a miracle worker. Well, it's nice to be appreciated. But there is one miracle I haven't been able to work and the problem has become annoying. In order to print pretty labels directly on disks, I helped the group purchase an Epson Expression Premium XP-620 Wireless Color Photo Printer. It features a tray that accepts white printable disks and it does a nice job with them. Using a USB cable I have it plugged into the computer I donated, but I'd like to connect the printer to the office network so everybody can use it from their desktops. Trouble is, this cheap Epson doesn't have an Ethernet port. It's USB or WiFi or nothing. So I had the bright idea of giving the office an old Linksys WRT54G router I'm not using and connecting the printer to the network with that. Just connect the printer to the Linksys with WiFi, plug an ethernet cable between the Linksys and the office router, and my computer should see the printer on the office network. Simple, right? Well, no. I've set up the Linksys -- gave it a unique ID and password -- and connected it with an Ethernet cable to the office router. This works, I'm happy to say. I can see the Linksys with my iPhone, connect to it over WiFi using the ID and password I created, and voila -- I'm on the internet using my iPhone on the office network. So far, so good -- the Linksys router is definitely working. Now I get into the Epson printer's WiFi setup routine using its front panel and I connect it wirelessly to the Linksys. The printer reports success and prints out two info sheets that even include the printer's ip address. Actually, the first sheet reports one ip address and the second sheet reports a different one. I don't get it -- something is going on here I don't understand. But OK, we'll figure this out. Now I've tried everything I can find in printer setup / network setup in Win10, but I can't see that printer. I can see (and print to) the other office printer, which is plugged into the same router as the Linksys. I have the Linksys plugged into the router right beside the other printer's ethernet cable. But my computer still sees only the original office printer, not the new Epson. So what am I missing here? Why can't I connect the printer to the Linksys over WiFi and then connect the Linksys to the office router (Cisco) with an ethernet cable, and then see the printer via the office network? I've Googled and Googled and I've checked all the Win10 sharing options I can find and I even managed at one point to confuse my Win10 desktop so thoroughly that it wouldn't even talk to the printer through USB until I'd uninstalled and reinstalled. The solution to the problem is probably something simple and obvious to experienced networkers, but as any knowledge I have about all this has come through a few years of trial and error at home, I'm lost at this point. Ideas, anyone? -- Bill Anderson I am the Mighty Favog |
#2
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WiFi Networking Question
Bill Anderson wrote:
I'm doing volunteer work at a local non-profit where I've donated a desktop I created mostly out of odds and ends I had lying around. Actually it's a pretty nice system built around an Asus P5Q Pro Turbo mbo running 64-bit Win10. I have it plugged into the non-profit's network with an ethernet cable and it sees shared network drives and the main printer nicely. I assembled the system when I learned the non-profit had a series of documentary films they'd produced years ago, but no cheap way to make copies for sale in their gift shop. All I had to purchase was a cheap case for the computer and a nice, but also cheap, Asus optical drive/DVD burner. I've made about 100 DVDs for them now, and they think I'm a miracle worker. Well, it's nice to be appreciated. But there is one miracle I haven't been able to work and the problem has become annoying. In order to print pretty labels directly on disks, I helped the group purchase an Epson Expression Premium XP-620 Wireless Color Photo Printer. It features a tray that accepts white printable disks and it does a nice job with them. Using a USB cable I have it plugged into the computer I donated, but I'd like to connect the printer to the office network so everybody can use it from their desktops. Trouble is, this cheap Epson doesn't have an Ethernet port. It's USB or WiFi or nothing. So I had the bright idea of giving the office an old Linksys WRT54G router I'm not using and connecting the printer to the network with that. Just connect the printer to the Linksys with WiFi, plug an ethernet cable between the Linksys and the office router, and my computer should see the printer on the office network. Simple, right? Well, no. I've set up the Linksys -- gave it a unique ID and password -- and connected it with an Ethernet cable to the office router. This works, I'm happy to say. I can see the Linksys with my iPhone, connect to it over WiFi using the ID and password I created, and voila -- I'm on the internet using my iPhone on the office network. So far, so good -- the Linksys router is definitely working. Now I get into the Epson printer's WiFi setup routine using its front panel and I connect it wirelessly to the Linksys. The printer reports success and prints out two info sheets that even include the printer's ip address. Actually, the first sheet reports one ip address and the second sheet reports a different one. I don't get it -- something is going on here I don't understand. But OK, we'll figure this out. Now I've tried everything I can find in printer setup / network setup in Win10, but I can't see that printer. I can see (and print to) the other office printer, which is plugged into the same router as the Linksys. I have the Linksys plugged into the router right beside the other printer's ethernet cable. But my computer still sees only the original office printer, not the new Epson. So what am I missing here? Why can't I connect the printer to the Linksys over WiFi and then connect the Linksys to the office router (Cisco) with an ethernet cable, and then see the printer via the office network? I've Googled and Googled and I've checked all the Win10 sharing options I can find and I even managed at one point to confuse my Win10 desktop so thoroughly that it wouldn't even talk to the printer through USB until I'd uninstalled and reinstalled. The solution to the problem is probably something simple and obvious to experienced networkers, but as any knowledge I have about all this has come through a few years of trial and error at home, I'm lost at this point. Ideas, anyone? Something like this perhaps ? Maybe you don't actually want a routing function on the subtending router, and just need to build yourself an "Access Point" ? http://www.wikihow.com/Convert-Links...n-Access-Point Search terms: WRT54G as access point I think the idea is, everything ends up on the same subnet. Just a guess, Paul |
#3
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WiFi Networking Question
On Fri, 6 Nov 2015 13:09:58 -0600, Bill Anderson
wrote: I'm doing volunteer work at a local non-profit where I've donated a desktop I created mostly out of odds and ends I had lying around. Actually it's a pretty nice system built around an Asus P5Q Pro Turbo mbo running 64-bit Win10. I have it plugged into the non-profit's network with an ethernet cable and it sees shared network drives and the main printer nicely. I assembled the system when I learned the non-profit had a series of documentary films they'd produced years ago, but no cheap way to make copies for sale in their gift shop. All I had to purchase was a cheap case for the computer and a nice, but also cheap, Asus optical drive/DVD burner. I've made about 100 DVDs for them now, and they think I'm a miracle worker. Well, it's nice to be appreciated. But there is one miracle I haven't been able to work and the problem has become annoying. In order to print pretty labels directly on disks, I helped the group purchase an Epson Expression Premium XP-620 Wireless Color Photo Printer. It features a tray that accepts white printable disks and it does a nice job with them. Using a USB cable I have it plugged into the computer I donated, but I'd like to connect the printer to the office network so everybody can use it from their desktops. Trouble is, this cheap Epson doesn't have an Ethernet port. It's USB or WiFi or nothing. So I had the bright idea of giving the office an old Linksys WRT54G router I'm not using and connecting the printer to the network with that. Just connect the printer to the Linksys with WiFi, plug an ethernet cable between the Linksys and the office router, and my computer should see the printer on the office network. Simple, right? Well, no. I've set up the Linksys -- gave it a unique ID and password -- and connected it with an Ethernet cable to the office router. This works, I'm happy to say. I can see the Linksys with my iPhone, connect to it over WiFi using the ID and password I created, and voila -- I'm on the internet using my iPhone on the office network. So far, so good -- the Linksys router is definitely working. Now I get into the Epson printer's WiFi setup routine using its front panel and I connect it wirelessly to the Linksys. The printer reports success and prints out two info sheets that even include the printer's ip address. Actually, the first sheet reports one ip address and the second sheet reports a different one. I don't get it -- something is going on here I don't understand. But OK, we'll figure this out. Now I've tried everything I can find in printer setup / network setup in Win10, but I can't see that printer. I can see (and print to) the other office printer, which is plugged into the same router as the Linksys. I have the Linksys plugged into the router right beside the other printer's ethernet cable. But my computer still sees only the original office printer, not the new Epson. So what am I missing here? Why can't I connect the printer to the Linksys over WiFi and then connect the Linksys to the office router (Cisco) with an ethernet cable, and then see the printer via the office network? I've Googled and Googled and I've checked all the Win10 sharing options I can find and I even managed at one point to confuse my Win10 desktop so thoroughly that it wouldn't even talk to the printer through USB until I'd uninstalled and reinstalled. The solution to the problem is probably something simple and obvious to experienced networkers, but as any knowledge I have about all this has come through a few years of trial and error at home, I'm lost at this point. Ideas, anyone? I'm sure Paul's suggestion will work, but why not just connect the printer to "your" PC via USB and "share" it with everyone? |
#4
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WiFi Networking Question
On 11/6/2015 4:22 PM, Charlie Hoffpauir wrote:
I'm sure Paul's suggestion will work, but why not just connect the printer to "your" PC via USB and "share" it with everyone? Thanks. I'd considered that, but it would require leaving my computer always on, and I don't really want to do that if I can avoid it. I'll experiment. Maybe I can just explain to everybody that if they want to print/scan with the Epson they'll need to turn on my computer. I assume it'll share even if I'm not logged in. But first I'll give Paul's suggestion a shot. -- Bill Anderson I am the Mighty Favog |
#5
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WiFi Networking Question
On 11/6/2015 2:47 PM, Paul wrote:
Something like this perhaps ? Maybe you don't actually want a routing function on the subtending router, and just need to build yourself an "Access Point" ? http://www.wikihow.com/Convert-Links...n-Access-Point Search terms: WRT54G as access point I think the idea is, everything ends up on the same subnet. Thanks, I will give this a try. I'd assumed that since my Linksys is already serving as an internet access point for my iPhone, it would also serve as an access point for the printer and further would share access to it across the local network. At least I'm learning. -- Bill Anderson I am the Mighty Favog |
#6
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WiFi Networking Question
Bill Anderson wrote:
On 11/6/2015 5:35 PM, Bill Anderson wrote: On 11/6/2015 2:47 PM, Paul wrote: Something like this perhaps ? Maybe you don't actually want a routing function on the subtending router, and just need to build yourself an "Access Point" ? http://www.wikihow.com/Convert-Links...n-Access-Point Search terms: WRT54G as access point I think the idea is, everything ends up on the same subnet. Thanks, I will give this a try. I'd assumed that since my Linksys is already serving as an internet access point for my iPhone, it would also serve as an access point for the printer and further would share access to it across the local network. At least I'm learning. It worked! Thanks Paul, and everybody. It took about three hours of fiddling, but I finally puzzled out the logic of making the Linksys an "access point," and to my amazement the printer now appears on the local network and everybody can print to it. Wonderful! For once, a router question with a happy ending :-) Paul |
#7
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WiFi Networking Question
On 11/6/2015 5:35 PM, Bill Anderson wrote:
On 11/6/2015 2:47 PM, Paul wrote: Something like this perhaps ? Maybe you don't actually want a routing function on the subtending router, and just need to build yourself an "Access Point" ? http://www.wikihow.com/Convert-Links...n-Access-Point Search terms: WRT54G as access point I think the idea is, everything ends up on the same subnet. Thanks, I will give this a try. I'd assumed that since my Linksys is already serving as an internet access point for my iPhone, it would also serve as an access point for the printer and further would share access to it across the local network. At least I'm learning. It worked! Thanks Paul, and everybody. It took about three hours of fiddling, but I finally puzzled out the logic of making the Linksys an "access point," and to my amazement the printer now appears on the local network and everybody can print to it. Wonderful! -- Bill Anderson I am the Mighty Favog |
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