Sharing Multifunction Wireless Printer Without Host PC
We have two laptops (PC) running Vista both of which have wireless cards. Our printer is a multifunction Brother MFC 685cw which is also wireless. The laptops are not networked together (although they can be if necessary) and needs to share the printer. Our laptops are used in school and we are dorming in the same room. A host pc would not be practical since we may need to use the printer when one of the laptops is someplace else on campus. Our internet connection is via hot spot (school provided). If this can be done what equipment/program do we need. Any further info would be greatly appreciated.
Status:
Open Sep 25, 2008 - 01:02 AM
Printer Sharing, Wireless Equipment, No Host PC, Windows Vista, Network?
1answer
Answer
Sep 25, 2008 - 06:25 AM
Great question...and could be a bit difficult to resolve depending on how frequently the network you're on expires/renews the IP addresses of devices.
Here's the scoop...when you connect to the network (printer included) wireless devices are assigned an IP address. Both XP and Vista allow you to add a new printer using an IP port.
Hopefully, somewhere in the menu of that multi-function device you can print or see a report that show the current network settings, including the IP address. Once you have that information, you can use the "Add a printer" wizard to add the printer.
You'll want to tell Vista that you're connecting to a printer that's connected to the machine (even though it's not tethered to it with a cable) and use the IP port as the port to connect to.
It will walk you through the typical settings of naming the printer, etc., and print a test page. I recommend printing a test page just to make sure that everything has been done properly.
As I said earlier, if the IP address for the printer happened to change, you would need to adjust the printer settings to the new address. That could get annoying. :)
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to post them.
Take care,
Ric
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