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LAN printer won't print 4

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tal001

Technical User
Aug 28, 2008
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Hi,

I have a Brother printer, model 2070N. It wired to my wireless Belkin router for 3 computers on my home network. It works fine until a month ago when I can't print. I can't ID what's new when the probelm started. When I repower the router and one computer it will work but then stop after the next comture reboot. Once it stopped, it affected all 3 computers. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
It is set to a static IP address? It should be.

Are you able to ping it from any of the 3 PC's?

It sounds like an IP address issue to me, which might explain why it works momentarily until you've rebooted a few of the devices connected to the router.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
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Also make sure that none of the computers, printer or router have the same ip or they will conflict.
 
Thanks for the help. I also have Vonage which I used their wired router as an extension for more ports. After reading the replies, I route all my C5 wires out of the Belkin, the problem resolved. I was thinking of a static IP but am afraid of conflict once I set the printer to one. I have Win XP Home.

Thanks.
 
Actually, in the router LAN settings you can detect the MAC address of the printer. Then all you need to do is assign an IP address to that MAC address and set it on the printer afterwards. From that point on, all computers using DHCP will not be given that reserved IP address - no conflict worries at all!

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
[tab][navy]For posting policies, click [/navy]here.
 
I forgot to mention that the main advantage of doing so is to make it more efficient for the computers to find the printer. You can configure the printer port on each computer to look for the static IP address you assigned, instead of a DNS or share name.
 
Hi,

I'm back. The printer works for a while then won't print again. I download Brother BRAdmin program and it showns the printer at 192.168.2.3. My Belkin router F5D7230-4 does not show the printer at all when I logon via IE. I think I can change the IP with BRAdmin for the printer but I can not find a way for the Belkin to assign an IP to the printer to make it static which looks like the way to go here. I look at the Belkin manual and can't find anything there.

Thanks.
 
Hi Cdogg,

I can find the MAC of my printer in the BRAdmin program. Can you advise me with assign an IP to that MAC from the Belkin. The I can try to change the IP of the printer with BRAdmin. The Belkin IP pool start at 2 and end at 100 for DHCP on. Thanks.
 
Thanks SlimJohnD.

The method you showed me mean that all computer, devices connected to the Belkin have to have assigned IP so DHCP will need to be off. I think it will cause me more headache. Is there a way to assign a static IP to the printer only?
 
tal001 said:
The method you showed me mean that all computer, devices connected to the Belkin have to have assigned IP so DHCP will need to be off.
I'm not familiar with the Belkin but that does surprise me. With other routers, it just means some addresses are reserved and not available for assigning; the rest are still available.

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MAC-Address Filtering denies network access to any MAC not in the filter list, not what is desired.

Why not set the IP address of the printer outside the range of the Belkin DHCP pool? Then no worries of MAC addresses, DHCP exclusions, etc. Seems simpler to me.
 
Thanks but my problem is how to assign to IP to the printer from the Belkin router. I can't find a way to do that form the Belkin manual.
 
Many wireless printers these days have a small on-board control panel which allows network parameters to be set or changed. Does your Brother printer have this facility?

If not, then temporarily try connecting the printer directly to a computer and run the setup utility which ought to allow you to set an IP Address.

ROGER - G0AOZ.
 
You said the Belkin's DHCP pool is 192.168.2.2 - 192.168.2.100 so use BRAdmin to assign the IP address outside this range, e.g. 192.168.2.200. It is unclear to me why you think you need to use the router to assign this address.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I'm confused here. I believe I can assigned an IP to the printer using BRAdmin tool. But how can the router know that the printer is at that IP. When I look at the router and have it listed all the IP of connected computers, etc; it did not show the printer IP which I can see using BRAdmin tool which ID the printer IP as 192.168.2.3. I thought that I have to let the router know that the IP of the printer is fixed as say 192.168.2.200.
 
Router doesn't really care. This is all a subnet issue. If you pull up the IP Addresses that the router sees it will show the connection to the printer, so long as you are showing ALL IP addresses on the LAN. If you only show DHCP addresses from the router, static ones (like those assigned to the printer) will not show up. A general IP scan should show it, and you should be able to ping it from any computer on the LAN.
In this case, if a comptuer on the network can see it, you can print to it.

cckens

"Not always my best shot, but I hit the target now and then"
-me
 
I need to clarify the problem here. I have not assigned an IP to the printer yet. The DHCP does not show the printer IP at all. But my main question is if I assign an IP to the printer from one computer then all computers on the network will see the printer throught that IP and I don't have to do anything to the router?
Thanks for all the help so far.
 
I'm not sure what you mean by "[blue]if I assign an IP to the printer from one computer[/blue]". The printer is currently set to DHCP and is getting its IP from the router. Perhaps you can explain what you mean in more detail, step-by-step if you have to.

What I would do next is get the MAC address of the printer. This can usually be obtained from the printer by printing out its configuration page (or by using a web browser to connect to the printer). Consult the manual for the best method. Once you have the MAC address, go into the router's LAN settings. Look for a way to assign a static IP address to a MAC address consulting the router's manual if needed. Then set an IP in this manner for your printer. Then back on the printer, turn off DHCP by manually setting the IP address to match the one you set on the router.

Does that make sense?

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
[tab][navy]For posting policies, click [/navy]here.
 
If by "if I assign an IP to the printer from one computer" means that you use a utility form a computer to set an IP address statically on that printer? then yes, that is what I mean, so long as you use an IP address that conforms to your subnet.

<lesson/rant>
If you are using a class c private address range (i.e. 192.168.0.x, subnet mask 255.255.255.0) then your IP address has to begin with 192.168.0.y. The last number (y) is the unique IP for the device. So long as no other devices has this as the last number you should be fine. If you router has a DHCP range of 100-200 then pick an address number outside of this range and you should be good to go.
</lesson/rant>

Am I making sense? If not let me know and I'll clarify more...

cckens

"Not always my best shot, but I hit the target now and then"
-me
 
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