Plug and "Pray" Print Drivers and Print Servers

[Chris]

I have a printer that has a "built in" driver according
to the Printer Manufacturer (Brother). The ONLY way the
printer can be installed on XP (or 2003 Server) is to
plug in the USB cable and let Plug and "Pray" to take
over.

OK, this is great for novice users, but what if I want to
install that printer on a Print Server? YOU CAN'T SELECT
the driver from the list of drivers from Windows....

For Example, I have the Brother MFC-8300
Printer/Fax/Copier. The list I can choose from for
brother is found at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-
us;293360&Product=winxp

HOWEVER, when you plug the USB cable in, Windows
magically selects my printer, which is NOT on the
list!!!! GRRR!!!!

Any ideas how to bypass this Plug and Pray functionality
and get my printer installed on XP/2003 via a Print
Server?

 

[Guest]

http://www.brother.com/us-fax/dlpage/xpfaq/addhtu.ht

Is their a printer icon in start/control panel/printers and faxes? If so, right click/sharing..

 

[Quaoar]

I have a printer that has a "built in" driver according
to the Printer Manufacturer (Brother). The ONLY way the
printer can be installed on XP (or 2003 Server) is to
plug in the USB cable and let Plug and "Pray" to take
over.

OK, this is great for novice users, but what if I want to
install that printer on a Print Server? YOU CAN'T SELECT
the driver from the list of drivers from Windows....

For Example, I have the Brother MFC-8300
Printer/Fax/Copier. The list I can choose from for
brother is found at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-
us;293360&Product=winxp

HOWEVER, when you plug the USB cable in, Windows
magically selects my printer, which is NOT on the
list!!!! GRRR!!!!

Any ideas how to bypass this Plug and Pray functionality
and get my printer installed on XP/2003 via a Print
Server?

Use the WinXP Add Printer wizard, choose network printer, browse for the
printer on the network print server(both must be on and printer
connected to the server), wizard installs printer with a local port
address of the network print server port to which it is connected. The
driver must be installed on each computer.

 

[Bruce Sanderson]

You might be SOL with this device. Some MultiFunction "printers" require
continuous bi-directional communication between the computer doing the
"printing" and the device. This kind of bi-directional communication is
only possible unless the device is connected to the computer via parallel or
USB cables. The network printing paradigm doesn't provide this intimate two
way communication.

When you connect the device via USB, Windows XP finds the setup information
in an inf file in Windows\inf and installs the device specific software. In
the Add Printer wizard, the list of known printer types is taken from
ntprint.inf, which is built by Microsoft based on information provided by
the device manufacturer. I can only surmise that Brother has not provided
any relevant information for the MFC-8300 for inclusion in ntprint.inf, but
only the inf files needed to support "Plug and Play".

However, you may not be completely out of luck. You might try sharing the
printer from one computer and using a different printer driver on the client
computers; something like this:

1. on the computer that has the printer connected (via USB or parallel),
Share the printer
2. on the other (client) computer:
2.a in the Add Printer wizard, select to create a New Local Port and give
this port the UNC name of the shared printer (e.g. \\server\printer)
2.b when you get the list of available printers, select a simple printer,
for example HP Deskjet 500
2.c complete the Add Printer wizard, but don't print a test page
2.d right click on the just added printer in Printers and Faxes and select
Properties
2.e select teh Advanced tab
2.f click the Print Processor... button
2.g under "Print Processor" select WinPrint
2.h under "Default data type:" select the "NT EMF 1.003" entry
2.i click OK; click OK

Try and print something and see what happens.