Thomas said:
A printer is connected to the local computer through a parallel port LPT1 (NOT USB).
Thus it is NOT an explicit network printer (with own IP).
Which settings do I have to enable to offer printing from other Win2000 computers in my
workgroup?
Ok, I enabled File and printer sharing on my computer.
Good start. Now all you need to do is share the printer.
Control Panel->Printers
Right click on the printer concerned, select 'Sharing', and choose a name for
it. The default name may suffice, but you may want to use a shorter name that
is easier to type.
But do I have to install the special HP printer driver on the other computers as well?
That process should be automatic, if the drivers concerned support it. Just
browse from the remote system to your machine, and double-click on the printer
to initiate the install.
For some printers, you may have to install additional drivers on the server
machine that the printer is physically connected to so that clients can download
them. This feature may not be supported for your particular printer and
operating system combination. You can find the necessary tools to do this under
the 'Sharing' tab of the printer properties on the server.
If that does not work, there are alternative ways, see footnote.
Is the printer traffic performed through "normal" NetBIOS port or do I have
to open additional ports in the firewall ?
Normal file sharing operations, so if you can already share files, the printer
requires nothing new firewall-wise.
Jim
--
Alternative convoluted way of installing a printer attached to a remote PC.
Assumptions, printer shared as PRINTER on SERVER. User wants to print to it
from CLIENT
On CLIENT, go to Control panel, and select printers.
Start the 'Add printer' wizard.
Tell the wizard that the printer is locally connected.
Un-tick the 'Automatically detect' box, click NEXT
Select LPT1 (if present) or FILE: as the port to use, click NEXT
Select the printer from the list my manufacturer and model, or if it is not
listed, click Have Disc and point it at the printer drivers that came with the
printer, or that you downloaded and unpacked somewhere.
Select the printer model, and finish the installation. DO NOT print a test page
(because it will not work yet)
Right-click on the printer in the control panel printers box after the install,
and select 'Properties'. Go to the 'Ports' tab. Click 'Add Port', 'New Port',
and select 'LOCAL PORT' and click 'New Port'. Enter the port name as
\\SERVER\PRINTER (using the name of your server, and the name you gave the
printer when you shared it), and OK/Apply your way out of the dialogs. Don't
forget to set up the printer for the right paper size/features/ink-saving etc.
(The practical upshot of all that is that you told the system it had a printer
on it's local parallel port, and then told it that it is, in fact, connected to
a remote system instead. This process is awkward and counter-intuitive, but it
has worked with all the printers here (and we have some very weird printers))
All of the above said, however, some printers require bidirectional local
communication between the driver and the device. Such printers, sometimes
called GDI printers, and truly horrible devices and lack any processing power of
their own. Some (unnamed) brands of printers are also responsible for some very
interesting crashes due to the way they use windows internals in obscure ways,
and bury themselves deep within the kernel in order to print. If you can afford
a printer that does native PostScript, PCL, or similar
well-defined-printer-language in hardware, do so.
As you have not said what printer you have, I cannot comment further.
