hi guys, I have a small office network, with all 6 PCs conecting to a small 8 port 10/100mbps switch. All are in a work group and have static IPs. All PCs use the same company database which accesses files from a main PC (labelled server). Recently, i added a new network pritner ontot eh switch. When adding printers, it doesn't appear in the "Add printer menu". Why? Plus, is i set it up as USB, and share it out, then from another PC, type \\"PC_sharing_printer" and double click the shared printer, it asks abvout installing adequate drivers, so i press yes. Well, it stalls there for about 5-10 mins before failing. I have thought of getting an ADSL wifi router, so that i can connect that to the switch, and have it send out IPs via DHCP, and have it control the LAN. Would that solve my printer probs? If i conect the printer straight into the router, will that make it visible on the network as itself, not as a share frrom another PC? thanks and sorry for the lengthy message :)

Connecting a network printer has nothing to do with a router. All a router does is connect your LAN to the Internet. If you are not connecting to the Internet, you don't need a router. If you are connecting the printer via USB then you need to set it up and configure it on the host computer. If you are plugging it into the switch then USB has no relevance. It is either an Ethernet network printer or a shared printer connected via USB. One or the other, but not both. As you have plugged to into the switch then I assume the printer a network interface card built in. If that is the case you need to run the printer configuration disk that came with the printer. It should detect the printer and allow you set set an IP address in the same network as the rest of your LAN. Stuart

it does that. Running the network config on the CD, lets me etect and install the printer, but the problem there after is that jobs printed from this particular PC take forever to print, and mostly the printer says printing, but it never does. Whereas with USB it prints straight away. PLUS, when i then try to add this networked (not USB) printer to the other PCs, the other PCs crash for around 10 mins whjilst trying to install the netweork printer dirvers. Very weird. I think it might be an issue with my PCs host files. as some PCs dont even appear on the NET VIEW, despite being in the same workgroup, and all having static IPs on the same subnet, etc. I know the router is not really a LAN prob solver, but it will allow me to use DHCP, and routing of traffic will be more 'managed'. My query is why the heck some PCs dont apear on the NET VIEW and why they crash when trying to install the network printer. thanks

>> I know the router is not really a LAN prob solver, but it will allow me to use DHCP, and routing of traffic will be more 'managed'. << A router wont solve anthing. All you will be doing is using the in built switch part of the router which is no different, and probably worse, that what you are using now. The router part of the device will not be used and nothing will be routed at all. A router routes between networks, not different computers on the same network. A managed switch might help but I doubt it. >> PLUS, when i then try to add this networked (not USB) printer to the other PCs, the other PCs crash for around 10 mins whilst trying to install the network printer drivers << You need to run the CD in every computer the same as you did for the server. Sounds like you might be trying to configure it as a shared printer as you would if it was connected via USB or parallel. The only other thing I can suggest is that you get onto the manufactures web site and download the latest driver for you printer. Stuart

I would install a printerserver as cheap as 40 dollars