Hi,

I hope these questions have simple solutions.

Based on recommendations here, I purchased a DI-704P 4-port 10/100 Ethernet Switch/Router/Gateway/etc. box with a built-in parallel port print server. I'm using the serial port to connect to an external USR modem and from there to my dial-up ISP and it works fine. It's easy to configure via its built-in web server, and I got it hooked up to my Compaq Presario running WinME and my Motorola StarMax 5000 running MacOS 8.6 (using DHCP). Dial-on-demand works great from both boxes. Since it was only about $55, I'm happy. :-)

But, I've got a couple of questions.

1) I can't get the print server to work for jobs from the PC. The D-Link says it's "Ready" when the cable's connected (and Not Ready when the cable isn't connected). The D-Link web page says that my Epson Color Stylus 800 is supported, but the Windows Print Spooler should be enabled. It is (but it doesn't seem to matter).

I'm using a standard parallel printer cable that works fine when printing through the LPT port on the PC.

The printer is connected to the "D-Link LPT port (Print Server)" that was installed by the D-Link software. The Port Setting is the D-Link's IP address - 192.168.0.1 - as instructed by the manual, etc. There doesn't seem to be any way to specify the printer port on the D-Link specifically.

When I try to print, I get a popup from epdsplr4.exe saying:

"LPT PORT EPSON Stylus COLOR 800" is not installed on "D-LINK"

(OK)

Then the Epson Spool Manager pops up a window saying:

Cannot start despooler - executable may be corrupt

(OK)

The Epson spooler is set up to spool jobs to c:\\windows\\temp , "Spool to the Local printer" , and "Use Print Manager for this port" per the D-Link [link|http://support.dlink.com/faq/view.asp?prod_id=703&question=di-704p|instructions] (scroll down to *1). The other settings are as listed on the D-Link page.

I've tried resetting the D-Link, rebooting, etc., etc. without success. I've got a hosts file with the 192.168.0.1 address defined as "D-Link", but removing it doesn't make any difference. The Compaq, StarMax and EISA machines are defined in the hosts file as well.

The D-Link seems to have the latest firmware (2.57 build 3 for a brown chassis version). I also have the latest Epson CS 800 drivers for Windows.

Anyone have any idea what the problem is?

(I know, I know, I should be running Woody or Potato or something... ;-)

2. I have an EISA PC running OS/2 that I want to hook up to the same network. It has a 3C579 EISA 10Base2 (thinnet) card in it. I have it wired up to a Linksys 8 port hub using Tees and Terminators at the hub and the 3C579 card. Nothing else is on the 10Base2 segment. I'm loading what are supposed to be the correct drivers in OS/2 Warp 3 Connect (elnk3.os2), but it always hangs on bootup. Something doesn't seem to be right there (but I think I'll figure it out eventually).

My question is, how do I hook up the hub to the D-Link router? Do I simply connect a Cat5 cable from the Uplink port on the Linksys hub to one of the 10/100 ports on the D-Link? Or do I connect it to the WAN port on the D-Link? Something else?

Also, would it make more sense to use a [link|http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/ethernet.html|BNC Female to RJ-45 Balun] for $9 to go from the BNC cable directly into the D-Link and thereby eliminate the hub?

I've also got a cheap combo ISA ethernet card I can use in the EISA machine if necessary, so I can eliminate the 10base2 segement altogether. But it would be nice to know how this is supposed to work.

Thanks a bunch for any tips!

Cheers,
Scott.

hi Bill,

Thanks for the quick reply.

Can you "login" to the d-link?

Yes, in a way. Simply connecting via http to 192.168.0.1 opens the configuration web page. I don't know how one would talk to it via the serial port though.

hook a serial cable from your lpt port to the dlink port and run the following command from the prompt. Copy c:\\autoexec.bat LPT1 <ent> does this cause flashing lights on the d-link?

The serial port on the DI-704P is a standard 9-pin D serial connector. The Epson printer uses a Centronics parallel interface. There's no easy way to directly interface the parallel printer port to the D-Link.

Trying to copy a text file to LPT1 gives a "path not found - LPT1" for some reason. (No printer is connected to LPT1 at the moment. If I do connect the printer to LPT1, it works fine.)

The D-Link hardware side of things seems to be working fine. If I turn off the Epson when it's connected to the D-Link's print server, the status web page of the D-Link says the printer is Not Ready.

Thinking that the problem might due to not having MS's Windows Networking installed, I just did that. It didn't help - I get the same error messages as described in the previous message. (The problem with MS's Windows Networking is that it defaults to sending out "Who's out there!" messages very frequently, so that it's always restarting the modem connection. Presumably there's a way to turn off this broadcast message - I'll try disabling the Browse Master ...)

If I do a Net View, I only see the Compaq machine. The D-Link doesn't show up (but I guess that's not surprising either as it's not explicitly part of the same windows Workgroup.)

I rechecked D-Link's web page. About the only other thing it suggests is sending 'RAW' data to the printer. Since that's the only option for the Epson, that can't be the problem either. :-(

In short, it seems to be a Windows issue - surprise, surprise. WinME seems to be expecting the D-Link to be a computer and seems to want an address for it, or something. But D-Link claims this combination works.

It's a bit aggravating, but such is life with PCs. These days everyone tries to make things "simple" by hiding the complexity. If there's a problem, it can be almost impossible to figure out how to fix it.

Thanks again. I'll see about calling them tomorrow.

Cheers,
Scott.

Hi Bill,

Thanks for your help. It seems to be a software issue. The post below has some links that I'll try.

Cheers,
Scott.

it's a problem with the Epson Color driver/spooler.

The printer works fine with the D-Link print spooler if I use the "Epson Stylus 800 ESC/P 2" driver. Of course, that's a black and white driver...

I'll mess around with it some more when I get some time and see if I can get a decent color driver to work with it.

Thanks for your help. Bill too!

Any thoughts on question #2 (how to hook up a hub with a 10base2 segment to the D-Link)? :-)

Cheers,
Scott.