XP Pro used as a print server

I have a network where lots of different people come in and need to have
internet/printer access.

We have setup a guest internet access and there are network printers
that can be installed printing direct to the ip but they need the driver
installing, etc.

Would adding a basic win xp pro workgroup pc with all printers
added/shared - guest account enabled allow majority of w2k/win xp
laptops to simply connect via \\ipaddressofpc\printque which would setup
the printer.

I know xp pro would be limited to 10 concurrent connections, this is not
likely to be a problem, if it was I could up the os to win2k3 server.

The main issue I am trying to avoid is installing drivers for people on
their systems .. their laptops will be various personally owned or from
other company domains, etc and with xp non admin accounts allowing folk
to install network printers but not local printers thats a limitation im
trying to get around.

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, jas0n
says...

> The main issue I am trying to avoid is installing drivers for people on
> their systems .. their laptops will be various personally owned or from
> other company domains, etc and with xp non admin accounts allowing folk
> to install network printers but not local printers thats a limitation im
> trying to get around.
>
Good luck. Not quite that easy. At some point they're going to have to
do some configuring so it might as well be automagically installing
drivers rather than having to edit printer properties.


--
Conor

The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how
seldom they defeat us.

In article <(E-Mail Removed)> ,
(E-Mail Removed) says...
> In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, jas0n
> says...
>
> > The main issue I am trying to avoid is installing drivers for people on
> > their systems .. their laptops will be various personally owned or from
> > other company domains, etc and with xp non admin accounts allowing folk
> > to install network printers but not local printers thats a limitation im
> > trying to get around.
> >
> Good luck. Not quite that easy. At some point they're going to have to
> do some configuring so it might as well be automagically installing
> drivers rather than having to edit printer properties.
>

I'll know after tomorrow - I left an unnatended install of xp going
before I left tonight - will setup standard xp sp2 + printers shared
out, enable the guest account and see if will allow other
domain/workgroup systems to install the shared printers via:-

\\ipaddress\printshare

.... We do all the automagic installs on our domain - its just the
rabble, sorry guests they allow onto the guest network im trying to
minimise support for.