Connection to Print server lost on wireless network

Hi,

Is anyone else experiencing something like this?

I have set up my home network to share an internet connection on a DSL
modem, and to share a printer. I have an SMC wireless barricade, 7004AWBR,
connected to a DSL modem. The
network consists of three laptops, all with a Siemens SS1021 wireless card.
One of these laptops is running Win 98, and functions as my print server,
connected to an HP officejet 720. (I originally bought the SMC 7004AWBR
because it has a built-in print server, but because of space/location
problems, I can;t connect it directly to the router).
When I first set up the printer as a shared printer, everything is fine, and
I can print to it from the other 2 laptops. However, after a short while,
when I try to print from the other 2 laptops (both run Win2K) , I always get
a message that says "Printer not found on server, unable to connect".
I can ping the print server from these two laptops, but if I try to add the
printer again, the using the Add Printer wizard, it is unable to see the
print server on the network.
The print server is in a remote corner of the house, where the signal is
pretty weak and the connection is slow - but the connection is still there
(I can ping, I can access the internet from the print server, etc...)
Is it perhaps related to inactivity on the print server?

> Hi,
>
> Is anyone else experiencing something like this?
>
> I have set up my home network to share an internet connection on a DSL
> modem, and to share a printer. I have an SMC wireless barricade,
> 7004AWBR, connected to a DSL modem. The
> network consists of three laptops, all with a Siemens SS1021 wireless
> card. One of these laptops is running Win 98, and functions as my
> print server, connected to an HP officejet 720. (I originally bought
> the SMC 7004AWBR because it has a built-in print server, but because
> of space/location problems, I can;t connect it directly to the
> router).
> When I first set up the printer as a shared printer, everything is
> fine, and I can print to it from the other 2 laptops. However, after
> a short while, when I try to print from the other 2 laptops (both run
> Win2K) , I always get a message that says "Printer not found on
> server, unable to connect".
> I can ping the print server from these two laptops, but if I try to
> add the printer again, the using the Add Printer wizard, it is
> unable to see the print server on the network.
> The print server is in a remote corner of the house, where the signal
> is pretty weak and the connection is slow - but the connection is
> still there (I can ping, I can access the internet from the print
> server, etc...)
> Is it perhaps related to inactivity on the print server?

When the server goes away, can you ping it from the other two laptops
(your ping comment was unclear)? Is there any packet loss? If there is
any packet loss, you should either move the server to a better location
or wire it.

To eliminate some other potential causes, set the Win98 server to always
on - no screen saver, no HD spin-down, etc. Is the printer itself going
into power saving mode and then not responding? If it does, power it up
manually without any other intervention and see if you can then print.

ps: crossposting the universe is frowned on by many.

Q

In article <7HAXa.736$(E-Mail Removed) >,
(E-Mail Removed) says...
> Hi,
>
> Is anyone else experiencing something like this?
My first guess is that the printer is "sleeping". My wife PhotoStylus
820 does this after about 10 minutes of not being used. Under 98se,
network access would not wake it up. However, with the printer
connected to XP-Pro it does wake up.

You could always buy a wireless print server. That should solve the
problem and allow you to put the printer anywhere you wish.

"Quaoar" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:892dnbsJ6fURQ7OiU-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > Hi,
> >
> > Is anyone else experiencing something like this?
> >
> > I have set up my home network to share an internet connection on a DSL
> > modem, and to share a printer. I have an SMC wireless barricade,
> > 7004AWBR, connected to a DSL modem. The
> > network consists of three laptops, all with a Siemens SS1021 wireless
> > card. One of these laptops is running Win 98, and functions as my
> > print server, connected to an HP officejet 720. (I originally bought
> > the SMC 7004AWBR because it has a built-in print server, but because
> > of space/location problems, I can;t connect it directly to the
> > router).
> > When I first set up the printer as a shared printer, everything is
> > fine, and I can print to it from the other 2 laptops. However, after
> > a short while, when I try to print from the other 2 laptops (both run
> > Win2K) , I always get a message that says "Printer not found on
> > server, unable to connect".
> > I can ping the print server from these two laptops, but if I try to
> > add the printer again, the using the Add Printer wizard, it is
> > unable to see the print server on the network.
> > The print server is in a remote corner of the house, where the signal
> > is pretty weak and the connection is slow - but the connection is
> > still there (I can ping, I can access the internet from the print
> > server, etc...)
> > Is it perhaps related to inactivity on the print server?
>
> When the server goes away, can you ping it from the other two laptops
> (your ping comment was unclear)? Is there any packet loss? If there is
> any packet loss, you should either move the server to a better location
> or wire it.

yes, I can ping the server (even after it goes away) from the other 2
laptops, and there is no packet loss.

>
> To eliminate some other potential causes, set the Win98 server to always
> on - no screen saver, no HD spin-down, etc.
Yes, that's the way i've got it.


>Is the printer itself going
> into power saving mode and then not responding? If it does, power it up
> manually without any other intervention and see if you can then print.

I'll check this later today - but I don't think this is it, because when I
had it hardwired before (the win98 print server to the wireless router), I
never had this problem, and if it was the printer powering down, I think it
would happen even when hard-wired, no?

>
> ps: crossposting the universe is frowned on by many.

Which groups do recomend?
>
> Q
>
>

"Stromm Sarnac" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> In article <7HAXa.736$(E-Mail Removed) >,
> (E-Mail Removed) says...
> > Hi,
> >
> > Is anyone else experiencing something like this?
> My first guess is that the printer is "sleeping". My wife PhotoStylus
> 820 does this after about 10 minutes of not being used. Under 98se,
> network access would not wake it up. However, with the printer
> connected to XP-Pro it does wake up.
>
> You could always buy a wireless print server. That should solve the
> problem and allow you to put the printer anywhere you wish.

Thanks for the advice.
Wouldn't the printer "sleep" with a print server too?

Not with a HP wireless JetDirect print server.

Dave

"I.S>" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:AOCXa.753$(E-Mail Removed) .com...

| Thanks for the advice.
| Wouldn't the printer "sleep" with a print server too?
|
|

"I.S>" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:7HAXa.736$(E-Mail Removed) .com...
|When I first set up the printer as a shared printer, everything is
fine, and
| I can print to it from the other 2 laptops. However, after a short
while,
| when I try to print from the other 2 laptops (both run Win2K) , I
always get
| a message that says "Printer not found on server, unable to connect".

I have a feeling your laptops are looking for the printer server of the
router. The error "Printer not found on server, unable to connect" is
not an error that a shared printer will produce. Try to remove the
printer in the laptops then readd new printer pointing to the win98
shared printer.

In article <AOCXa.753$(E-Mail Removed) >,
(E-Mail Removed) says...
>
> "Stromm Sarnac" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> > In article <7HAXa.736$(E-Mail Removed) >,
> > (E-Mail Removed) says...
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > Is anyone else experiencing something like this?
> > My first guess is that the printer is "sleeping". My wife PhotoStylus
> > 820 does this after about 10 minutes of not being used. Under 98se,
> > network access would not wake it up. However, with the printer
> > connected to XP-Pro it does wake up.
> >
> > You could always buy a wireless print server. That should solve the
> > problem and allow you to put the printer anywhere you wish.
>
> Thanks for the advice.
> Wouldn't the printer "sleep" with a print server too?
>
>
>
Yep, but I've found that the print servers wake up the printer before
sending a "device not found" back to the sending PC.

In another post, you said you set the Win98 laptop to "always on".
Did you also set the power saving settings on the 2 Win2k laptops to
always on? You may be able to adjust the settings for the network
cards only.

"I.S>" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:<7HAXa.736$(E-Mail Removed) y.com>...
> Hi,
>
> Is anyone else experiencing something like this?
>
> I have set up my home network to share an internet connection on a DSL
> modem, and to share a printer. I have an SMC wireless barricade, 7004AWBR,
> connected to a DSL modem. The
> network consists of three laptops, all with a Siemens SS1021 wireless card.
> One of these laptops is running Win 98, and functions as my print server,
> connected to an HP officejet 720. (I originally bought the SMC 7004AWBR
> because it has a built-in print server, but because of space/location
> problems, I can;t connect it directly to the router).
> When I first set up the printer as a shared printer, everything is fine, and
> I can print to it from the other 2 laptops. However, after a short while,
> when I try to print from the other 2 laptops (both run Win2K) , I always get
> a message that says "Printer not found on server, unable to connect".
>