1 Printer 2 G4 PowerMac's....How Do I Share it ?

[Montano]

I have both G4's connected to a router. They both have sharing turned on. The 867 has the printer connected to it by USB cable. The 533 does not see the printer. When I try to add a new printer to the 533, it asks for the internet address of the printer. Where do I find this ?? Or is there an easier way to go about it?? Having recently switched from a PC, explicit instructions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

 

[scan300]

Have you turned on 'Printer Sharing' in the sharing preference pane of the computer with the printer connected?

Once shared the other computer should see the printer in the available printers list.

Are both systems Jaguar?

There's more on printer sharing in your system's 'Help' menu and also on the Apple support website.

 

[Montano]

Yes, Printer Sharing is turned on, and both are running Jaguar. Still, the 533 does not see the printer........

 

[scan300]

I'm not sure if this will help, but the internet address of the printer will be the same as the IP address of the 867. (Go to your network preferences and read IP address on your ethernet port)

Are you able to file share between computers?

Note that if you are using a router and static IP addresses then each of your networked items needs a unique IP number.
eg Router 10.0.1.1
867: 10.0.1.2
533: 10.0.1.3

Subnet 255.255.255.0

 

[Montano]

Yes, I can share files. When I add a printer manually, it shows up on the 867 printer list (from the 533), and shows 'printing', however nothing more happens.

I appreciate your help

 

[scan300]

Originally posted by Montano
When I add a printer manually, it shows up on the 867 printer list (from the 533), and shows 'printing', however nothing more happens.

I assume from this that you can add a printer now to your networked machine. I'm a bit confused as to which one is hosting the printer and which one is connecting but that doesn't matter. As long as you are able to see the printer in the list of printers when you 'add a printer' in Print Center.

When you add a printer in Print Center you have to select the printer driver of the printer. This means that you need to have installed the printer software that came with the printer on both machines.

If you manage to get this far:

• connect to a shared printer
• If you don't see shared printers in the Print dialog or Print Center, choose Preferences from the Print Center menu and select the "Show printers connected to other computers" checkbox. Make sure there is a checkbox in the Favorite column next to each printer in the Printer List.
• Select it's printer type. ie select the printer driver that corresponds to the model of the printer.

Then your printer is supposed to work.

I don't know what to do if it still doesn't work. I would suggest contacting Apple support, or the printer manufacturers' support.

 

[Montano]

The printer is connected to the 867. I never installed any software for it, as Jaguar already had drivers for it. It was also connected to the 533 before I purchased the 867, again without installing any software. It's an Epson printer and works perfectly when connected directly to either system.

 

[scan300]

Sorry I can't help you any further. Maybe someone else can help, or Apple or your printer vendor.

 

[mikentosh]

I ran into a similar problem with two iMacs and a HP 960. What I had to do was install the exact same printer driver on both machines. Then, on each machine, in the Network system preference, in the domain field, I added "local." which has worked since.

I did have a problem when I restored one computer. I had to install the exact printer driver that was on the other machine.

 

[Yukon]

The above advice about contacting Apple support has worked the best for me. Sometimes you'll get a 'letter of the law' type that will email you directions, blah, blah, blah. I usually hang up and call again, hoping to reach a more understanding technical person to walk me through it. Being newer to Mac as well, I find that when they take the time over the phone to help me work out a problem such as you are experiencing, my goodwill and loyalty increase exponentially. Good luck — Apple has really made it easy for previously mundane yet seemingly impossible technical problems.