Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

scan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 24, 2005
344
0
I'm tryign to print from my Mac to my printer that my PC uses. I already shared the printer but I dont' think i did it right. Can anyone point me to what i"M doing wrong?
 

superbovine

macrumors 68030
Nov 7, 2003
2,872
0
scan said:
I'm tryign to print from my Mac to my printer that my PC uses. I already shared the printer but I dont' think i did it right. Can anyone point me to what i"M doing wrong?

well, sure but we aren't mid readers. it help if knew what setup it was and what exactly it is doing. either error message or funky output etc.

The best thing to do is to search the forums because you aren't the first person to ask this question.
 

mkrishnan

Moderator emeritus
Jan 9, 2004
29,776
15
Grand Rapids, MI, USA
superbovine said:
well, sure but we aren't mid readers. it help if knew what setup it was and what exactly it is doing. either error message or funky output etc.

:D

Some useful starting places would be... OS levels on both sides, make of printer, network configuration (routers, etc), and the aforementioned nature of what makes you think you've done it wrong. ;)
 

scan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 24, 2005
344
0
superbovine said:
well, sure but we aren't mid readers. it help if knew what setup it was and what exactly it is doing. either error message or funky output etc.

The best thing to do is to search the forums because you aren't the first person to ask this question.


well I just tried printing a sample document and I went to add a printer. I found my Canon i560 so i selected it and printed. And thats it. nothing happened after that. no error message or antyhign. do i have ot install the drivers for my printer??
 

scan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 24, 2005
344
0
ok i did some looking around the forum and i found that someone suggested downloaded PrintFab (http://www.printfab.net) because Canon doesn't support drivers for printing from mac to pc, which is true because when I went to add my printer the first time my printer model was not listed. so I installed printfab and my printer model showed up and continued to print. now this is what is says:

PrintFab: printing page 1, 99% complete..

then

Connection failed with error
NT_STATUS_BAD_NETWORK_NAME
 

betty02

macrumors regular
Nov 9, 2005
112
0
Blackpool - UK
Is the printer connected to just one comp? If so is it plugged into a router/hub or network socket? your mac and pc will need to be on the same 'network' and your printer will need to be network compatable, is it? if not then there are some ways to make it (buy a NIC) and then plug it inot a normal network socket, its a normal RJ-45 connector as far as i can rember, then go to your mac preferences, or whatever you call it, add a printer, but ad it from a network, and enter in the IP address of that printer, there should be somewere to print this off,
 

Chef Medeski

macrumors 6502a
Jun 14, 2005
975
0
New York, NY
Hey I have this same problem. Maybe I can help out with some details.

I have a Powerbook 12" 1.5. My other computer is a Dell Dimension 8300. I have them both connected wirelessly to my D-Link G Router. Now, I have a Canon S750 hooked up through USB to the computer.

I get the same thing. Bad Network Name when it tries to print. Now, I thought this was Windows fault since it wasn't running very smoothly on its own. But I reinstalled Windows now being able to hook up my computer wireleslly to share files: it still doesn't work. I get the same thing. Now, I think I may know the problem but unfortunately I don't know the solution. My computer is on a "workgroup" network, but my desktop is on my "home" network. Now I created this "home" network for both computers however for some reason my PB still is on this "workgroup" network which I never created. :confused: :confused:

So, if anyone knows how to put them both on my "home" network, I could use the help. And if thats the problem well thanks a bunch. By the way, can I use a HP Scanjet hooked up to my Dell, wireleslly as well?
 

betty02

macrumors regular
Nov 9, 2005
112
0
Blackpool - UK
Chef Medeski said:
Hey I have this same problem. Maybe I can help out with some details.

I have a Powerbook 12" 1.5. My other computer is a Dell Dimension 8300. I have them both connected wirelessly to my D-Link G Router. Now, I have a Canon S750 hooked up through USB to the computer.

I get the same thing. Bad Network Name when it tries to print. Now, I thought this was Windows fault since it wasn't running very smoothly on its own. But I reinstalled Windows now being able to hook up my computer wireleslly to share files: it still doesn't work. I get the same thing. Now, I think I may know the problem but unfortunately I don't know the solution. My computer is on a "workgroup" network, but my desktop is on my "home" network. Now I created this "home" network for both computers however for some reason my PB still is on this "workgroup" network which I never created. :confused: :confused:

So, if anyone knows how to put them both on my "home" network, I could use the help. And if thats the problem well thanks a bunch. By the way, can I use a HP Scanjet hooked up to my Dell, wireleslly as well?

Well once you've created a network, and its called home, press the windows key and Pause, this will bring up a menu, go to the tab 'Computer Name' there should then be a buttong at the buttom saying 'Change' click theat, then tick the box for a domain, type in your network address, Here at Montgomery High School we have montgomery.blackpool.sch.uk for our domain, im not sure how you would do this on a mac, as i only hjave a PC, but at work we have over 10 macs joined to our network, 4 of which are wireless.
 

Chef Medeski

macrumors 6502a
Jun 14, 2005
975
0
New York, NY
betty02 said:
Well once you've created a network, and its called home, press the windows key and Pause, this will bring up a menu, go to the tab 'Computer Name' there should then be a buttong at the buttom saying 'Change' click theat, then tick the box for a domain, type in your network address, Here at Montgomery High School we have montgomery.blackpool.sch.uk for our domain, im not sure how you would do this on a mac, as i only hjave a PC, but at work we have over 10 macs joined to our network, 4 of which are wireless.
I'm sorry but that was a bit confusing. What is the Pause button? Also, what program are you in. Also, I don't quite have a network address. This is sort of an ad hoc network I tried to create at home. And if this is on a PC, how do I do it on a Mac?
 

scan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 24, 2005
344
0
this all is VERY confusing. maybe I'm being confusing,, who knows? OK here's my side again:

I have a 12" PB 1.5ghz and a home built PC. I have created a network using a Linksys WRT54G wireless router (version 5). Everything is fine and dandy. I have my PC wired to my router and my pb is connected wirelessly. I can share files between both computers no problem. Only thing i can't do is share a printer. I have a canon i560 connected to my PC. It works when I print from my PC but I get that error mention above when I try to print from my PB
 

Clix Pix

macrumors Core
It may not be possible to share the printer wirelessly between a Mac and a PC or it may be that the printer itself is non-configurable for that purpose.

I had a situation with a network of two PCs and then I added my iMac. No problemo. Then I added the PB a few weeks later. Again no problemo. Then I had the idea of sharing the printer, but what I did was to put an old printer on the main PC and then I bought Airport Express and plugged that in and configured it so that the two Macs can share the "good" printer that I set up with it. Works a treat! I don't think you can use the Airport Express to set up a PC and a Mac for wireless printer sharing, though, I think it has to be two Macs.

OTB
 

scan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 24, 2005
344
0
interesting. anyone out there succesfully network a mac and pc together?

On the Brink said:
It may not be possible to share the printer wirelessly between a Mac and a PC or it may be that the printer itself is non-configurable for that purpose.

I had a situation with a network of two PCs and then I added my iMac. No problemo. Then I added the PB a few weeks later. Again no problemo. Then I had the idea of sharing the printer, but what I did was to put an old printer on the main PC and then I bought Airport Express and plugged that in and configured it so that the two Macs can share the "good" printer that I set up with it. Works a treat! I don't think you can use the Airport Express to set up a PC and a Mac for wireless printer sharing, though, I think it has to be two Macs.

OTB
 

Will Cheyney

macrumors 6502a
Jul 13, 2005
701
0
United Kingdom
The easiest way would be to buy a simple network router. If you already have a wireless network then your Mac should be able to just use the PC-connected printer already.

Anyway. Yep, buy a router and have the PC and Mac connected to it. The Mac will then be able to pick the PC printer up automatically.
I used to do it all the time a uni with my PowerBook. I just plugged the PowerBook into on of the colleges network sockets, clicked print and "boom", it found the printer.
Best thing was that printing this way by-passed the 'printer credit' scheme :)
 

scan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 24, 2005
344
0
As said above I do have a router

Will Cheyney said:
The easiest way would be to buy a simple network router. If you already have a wireless network then your Mac should be able to just use the PC-connected printer already.

Anyway. Yep, buy a router and have the PC and Mac connected to it. The Mac will then be able to pick the PC printer up automatically.
I used to do it all the time a uni with my PowerBook. I just plugged the PowerBook into on of the colleges network sockets, clicked print and "boom", it found the printer.
Best thing was that printing this way by-passed the 'printer credit' scheme :)
 

Clix Pix

macrumors Core
scan said:
interesting. anyone out there succesfully network a mac and pc together?


It's not the networking of the Mac and the PC that seems to be a problem, it's if you bring a printer into the equation and want to wirelessly make it available to machines on the network. My PCs and Macs are all working together very nicely -- can access the internet, can share files, are getting all the benefits of wired/wireless networking. I had the feeling, though, that trying to configure things so that they could all share a printer would be an exercise in frustration (on the PC side, not the Mac side), so made life easy for myself by just deciding to give the main PC its own printer and then sharing the other printer wirelessly via Airport Express just between the two Macs (and any other Mac that I might get in the future). The main router is a Linksys WRT54Gx2 and it works very well with the wired PC and the other wireless PC and the two Macs.

There are instructions for networking a printer with a PC as well as with a Mac in the manual that comes with the Airport Express device, but it sounds much more complicated than it was setting up the Macs. Since I am not planning to be using that old PC much any more, I decided to save myself a hassle and just put a printer directly on it in the off-chance that at some point I might decide I want to print something while using that machine.

All of this doesn't really help someone who is trying to network a printer between a Mac and a PC, though..... OK, let's see. All I can suggest is to first of all check to be sure that your printer is compatible with being shared on a network. I seem to remember hearing that many Canon models are not. Some printers now come with an ethernet port so that they can be wired or wirelessly shared, but many do not. My printer is an HP Photosmart 8450 and it does have the ethernet port, but I didn't need it in this instance. Instead I have plugged the USB cable from the printer directly into the Airport Express, which is in turn plugged into a surge protector. There is no physical connection now between the printer and the two Macs. If I had not gotten the Airport Express I could have plugged an ethernet cable from the printer directly into ethernet port in the router, which would have made it accessible to all computers on my network, but I did not choose to do that because of the inevitable PC configuration issues which would have resulted and I just wanted to share that printer wirelessly only between the Macs.

Be sure that you've actually installed the printer software on both machines you've networked. That's a step which can easily be overlooked but it needs to be done.
**Edited to Add: I just re-read your posts and I see that you have not done that. YES, you need to install the printer software on any machine in the network which is to share the printer.

There are several things which must be configured in each computer to ensure that sharing goes smoothly. In the Mac it's much simpler, involving the use of "Bon Jour" as well as clicking the sharing boxes. With a PC it's more involved than that, as it's not just a matter of clicking the sharing boxes that say "share this printer," it also involves providing the machine with the printer's sharing data (TC/IP, all that).

I hope this helps a little. I'm sure you're frustrated by this process, which on the surface seems so simple but can be fraught with complications when a PC is involved.... You might want to ring up or visit your local Apple store and see if they can walk you through this step-by-step. I'm sure they've had this sort of question come up before. Good luck!

OTB
 

scan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 24, 2005
344
0
interesting. i guess i can invest in a new printer. I was thinking of getting a new printer for awhile. thanks for your post. i'm sure that took a while to type. many thanks
 

Clix Pix

macrumors Core
Just realized that I made an error when writing my other response so have since corrected that. I had written that I use an ethernet cable to connect my printer and the Airport Express. Realized today that this is incorrect; I actually used the USB cable from the printer; there is no need for an ethernet cable unless I were plugging directly into the router. This is with Airport Express; I am not sure which cable you would need with Airport Extreme, since that is a base router.

Sorry if I caused any confusion!

OTB
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.