WAN>Router>4PC's>One Printer>how?

[outhere]

HI,
Let me describe my setup.
WAN> 4 PC's. One running windows 2000 Server and the others running win98. All Share a DSL connection via a LinkSys Router using DHCP on all Pc's. Microsoft's File and Printer sharing installed on all machines. What Id like to do is have everyone sharing the same printer (An HP G85 OfficeJet).
Within the windows 2000 Server Pc's network, No other pc's are visible>C drive shared on all>.
From the win98 PC's the other are visible.
Not to cut to the chase - without installing a print server - how can I get all the Pc's to use the same printer?
Ive been fooling around with this for a few days, no luck...Any suggestions would really be appreciated! If you need more info..please let me know!

Thanks Josh Maxwell
Discover Computers
CTO/MIS
discover_computers@hotmail.com
DirectLine-514.595.6024

 

[PeterKV]

If you haven't already done so:

1. Install the NETBEUI protocol on all of the systems SERVER and WORKSTATIONS;
2. Install the printer on one of the workstations (yes, one of the workstations) and share it publicly (ie w/o pswd), then from the other however many workstations install the shared printer (this gets all the bits and peices of the printer driver PROPERLY copied (Feh! on HP's across the network install from Win2K to Win9X/ME) to all the workstations.
3. Print something from each station from, say, Word or Excel or whatever that workstation's mainstay application will be. Make sure it prints properly OS_PEER to OS_PEER first.
4. Then, without removing the connections/mappings established in the previous step, physically disconnect the printer from its initial and temporary Win9x host and connect and install it on the Win2K server. Make sure to do all the proper Win2K Server things (can you tell this is where my knowledge gets weak/vague) and print from, say, WordPad on the Server.
5. Make sure that all the user's, who need to be, do, in fact, belong to a group with sufficient privileges to use/see the new printer.
6. Attempt to make the printer 'shared' in the old MS Peer to Peer Workgroup manner - I can't say how or even if you can - it may not be possible so don't struggle over this single point.
7. Go to each workstation and install a new, additional, network printer - the instance on the server. If the installation attempt is successful, print something to confirm. Once ALL the workstations have a confirmed working second instance of the network printer, you can remove the references to the first instance of the network printer (the one from the Win98 temporary host) and reconfigure (ports and capturing) but NEVER remove second and final network printer.

If these steps don't lead you to Valhala, then variations and experimentations with subsets of them might!

Good luck Peter Vince VA3PKV
va3pkv@rac.ca

http://www.qsl.net/va3pkv/index.html