Saturday, February 15, 2014

Set Up A Linksys Wpsm54g Or Psus4 Print Server Under Windows Xp Vista Vista 64 Windows 7 Or Linux

If you've just bought yourself a Linksys WPSM54G print server (as I have), you don't need Linksys' setup disk or drivers. (They don't work under Windows 7 anyway, and mine stymied me by not giving security options I needed.)


Instead, set up the print server manually as described here.


Reportedly the instructions I'm about to give also work for the PSUS4, which is not wireless. I haven't tried one.


Instructions


1. Configure the print server.


For any operating system that has a web browser: The procedure is similar to other Linksys gear. I'll sketch it here.


(1) With the printer and print server both powered off, connect the printer to the USB jack on the print server, and connect your (wired) network to the Ethernet jack. Turn on the print server, then the printer. (This is when it autodetects the printer.)


(2) Press the Reset button for 3 seconds (using an unbent paper clip or the like). The print server will print a status page revealing its IP address, something like 192.168.1.108 (but look at it carefully).


(3) Using a computer on the network, go to http://192.168.1.108 or whatever the address was.


(4) Default user name is all blank; default password is admin. Follow the menus to change the password, and make a note of it.


(5) Set up the network configuration. Assign a fixed IP address (I'll use 192.168.1.232). Mask should be 255.255.255.0 and gateway should be 192.168.1.1 in most home networks. If unsure, go to a Windows command prompt and type ipconfig /all to see the values for your computer.


(6) If you're going to go wireless, make sure to also set up the wireless connection. If you have a 64-bit WEP system, like many older networks, then under security, make sure you choose 64-bit WEP, Shared Key, and type in the key (not the passphrase). Or do whatever is appropriate on your network.


(7) Save changes. To go wireless, disconnect power from the print server and disconnect the Ethernet cable. Power it back up and it should connect to your wireless network. Printing a status page, the same way as before, will tell you how it's working.


(From now on you will administer it at http://192.168.1.232, or whatever number you assigned, not the address it had originally.)


2. Configure each client computer (Windows). (See Step 4 for Linux.)


These instructions are for Vista 32- and 64-bit, and Windows 7. XP is very similar. Note that you do NOT need to install any Linksys drivers.


(1) Control Panel, Printers.


(2) Right-click in a blank area of the window.


(3) Choose Run as Administrator, Add a printer.


(4) Add a local printer (not networked).


(5) Create port. Standard TCP/IP port.


(6) Give the address you chose earlier (I used 192.168.1.232). Query the printer will probably not work, but there's no harm in leaving it checked.


(7) Assuming the querying failed, choose Generic Network Card.


(8) From the menu of printers, pick the one you have.


(9) Print a test page.


You're done!


3. Client computer setup procedure for Ubuntu Linux:


(1) System, Administration, Printing.


(2) New printer.


(3) AppSocket/HP JetDirect.


(4) Host: 192.168.1.232 (or whatever number you assigned). Port number: 9100.


(5) Select your printer by make and model, and print a test page.


These instructions probably generalize to other UNIX-like operating systems.


Tips Warnings


You can mix Windows (all versions) and Linux computers on the same network.


Known problem with my HP 1200 printer: Some print jobs are preceded by a junk page containing fragments of HP PCL commands. The printed output is not harmed in any way. I will update this article when I find a solution.

Tags: linksys, wpsm54g, psus4, print, server, under, windows, vista, linux, print server, connect your