I seem to have got my Airport Express configuration to work. Its clear from the many Mac forums that this is a difficult problem, so heres the way I managed to crack it.
I have
o A new iBook
o A Samsung ML-1510 laser printer (not on Apples list of supported printers)
o An Airport Extreme Base Station with its own dial-up modem
I initially connected the Samsung and my dial-up ISP service directly to the iBook. When these were working, I connected them through the Airport. To make the printer work, I had to employ the trick mentioned in many places, of printing though the iBook USB and then plugging the printer into the Airport and turning it into a Rendezvous printer. This all worked fine for a couple of weeks.
I then installed broadband using a router/modem (pre-configured by the broadband supplier) plugged into the WAN port of the Airport. The broadband self-installed instantly and worked fine, but the printer refused to work through the Airport. When I tried the trick of making it a Rendezvous printer, the Printer Set-up Utility just said that it couldnt find the printer driver.
I tried looking at the Airport Admin Utility and the Airport Set-up Assistant, but both claimed that they were unable to read the Airport Base station. Basically, this exhausted all the advice I could find.
I then employed the following magic ritual which seemed to work.
1 Disconnect base station completely
2 Carry the base station to the kitchen table, give it a really hard stare, threaten it with a large hammer, and then wait for a few minutes to allow the adrenalin to disperse.
3 Plug it all back together again (ADSL into Airport WAN port, printer into Airport USB port).
4 This seemed to allow the Airport Admin Utility to work again.
5 Open Airport Admin Utility.
1 Click on Configure
2 Click on Internet Connection. This showed that the Airport thought that was configured to connect via its own dial-up modem.
3 Set Connect via to Ethernet
4 Click on Update
6 Use Printer Setup Utility to make the Samsung into a Rendezvous printer.
Test it all. If it works, put sledgehammer back in toolbox, and bask in the warm glow of a job well done. If it doesnt ...
Two days on, all is well. If anyone tries this and it doesnt work, it could be because you didnt threaten it with a hammer. I regard this as the most crucial part of the whole process. Theres an old, and highly dubious English proverb A dog, a wife, and a walnut tree, the more you beat them, the better they be While I wouldnt subscribe to that, I think a small threat of physical violence seems to work wonders with the Airport.
Jeff Hosier, Bath, England
I have
o A new iBook
o A Samsung ML-1510 laser printer (not on Apples list of supported printers)
o An Airport Extreme Base Station with its own dial-up modem
I initially connected the Samsung and my dial-up ISP service directly to the iBook. When these were working, I connected them through the Airport. To make the printer work, I had to employ the trick mentioned in many places, of printing though the iBook USB and then plugging the printer into the Airport and turning it into a Rendezvous printer. This all worked fine for a couple of weeks.
I then installed broadband using a router/modem (pre-configured by the broadband supplier) plugged into the WAN port of the Airport. The broadband self-installed instantly and worked fine, but the printer refused to work through the Airport. When I tried the trick of making it a Rendezvous printer, the Printer Set-up Utility just said that it couldnt find the printer driver.
I tried looking at the Airport Admin Utility and the Airport Set-up Assistant, but both claimed that they were unable to read the Airport Base station. Basically, this exhausted all the advice I could find.
I then employed the following magic ritual which seemed to work.
1 Disconnect base station completely
2 Carry the base station to the kitchen table, give it a really hard stare, threaten it with a large hammer, and then wait for a few minutes to allow the adrenalin to disperse.
3 Plug it all back together again (ADSL into Airport WAN port, printer into Airport USB port).
4 This seemed to allow the Airport Admin Utility to work again.
5 Open Airport Admin Utility.
1 Click on Configure
2 Click on Internet Connection. This showed that the Airport thought that was configured to connect via its own dial-up modem.
3 Set Connect via to Ethernet
4 Click on Update
6 Use Printer Setup Utility to make the Samsung into a Rendezvous printer.
Test it all. If it works, put sledgehammer back in toolbox, and bask in the warm glow of a job well done. If it doesnt ...
Two days on, all is well. If anyone tries this and it doesnt work, it could be because you didnt threaten it with a hammer. I regard this as the most crucial part of the whole process. Theres an old, and highly dubious English proverb A dog, a wife, and a walnut tree, the more you beat them, the better they be While I wouldnt subscribe to that, I think a small threat of physical violence seems to work wonders with the Airport.
Jeff Hosier, Bath, England
