OT: Printing from Windows 7 via SMC Barricade router?

Folks,

Did everything in the book. Configured it via a TCP/IP port because the SMC software will not run on Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. This direct method generally works also on machines with other OS'es. Since Windows

7 is seriously dumbed down there are zero error messages and the so-called troubleshooter finds nothing. If I print to the connected printer it all disappears somewhere in lalaland.

Did anyone make the SMC Barricade printer port work with Windows 7? If yes I'd appreciate some hints on where to apply the hammer.

--
Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Reply to
Joerg
Loading thread data ...

publish the answer when you get it working. i've got one of those too.

Reply to
mike

Disable IPV6? I have an old direct jet lan port that works fine with win 7

Cheers

Reply to
Martin Riddle

For 7 Pro, you can get "XP Mode" as a free download from Microsoft, which is basically XP in a VM. You can probably get the SMC software to run in there, but I don't think the printer it makes will be visible to the "host" Win7. You might be able to share the printer as a network printer from XP and then print to it from Win7, but then you have to have the VM up and running whenever you want to print.

Try Event Viewer, which shows you the log files. Click Start and type "Event Viewer" in the search box. (I think the executable is still evntvwr.exe but don't quote me on that.) By default you get a list of about five or six log files; I think maybe Application or System is the one you want. Open it up and look for messages from the Spooler or Print Spooler service. You might also look in the Security or Network log for messages from the firewall.

I know if you set up an HP printer with a JetDirect card, you need to tell Windows to use TCP port 9100. The printer setter upper is smart enough to poke a hole in the Windows firewall for that port. If the SMC box uses some other port, you may need to specify that.

You can install Wireshark (

formatting link
) on the same PC you're trying to print from. Run it as administrator and try to print something; you can see if any packets for the printer are making it out of your PC at all. If nothing makes it out, look for firewall or IP address problems on the Windows 7 PC. If something makes it out but the SMC box ignores it, see if it's on the right TCP/UDP port, and see what protocol it is - Wireshark should detect most of the common printing protocols.

This document

formatting link
implies that at least one SMC printer server speaks LPR (an older Unix printing standard) instead of RAW (which is what I think HP printers use). I know Win7 can do raw by default but I don't think it has LPR installed by default. It is available for install though:
formatting link
and after you do this, you should get the option for "LPR port" when you set up a new printer.

If you still have an XP box on your network, set up the printer there as a local printer, and then share it on the network. That XP box will have to be up if you want to print, though.

If none of this helps, and if the printer you are trying to install is an HP laser (LaserJet 4 or newer), you can probably still find a new or used JetDirect network card to install in the printer. There are network cards for some other makes, but HP is easiest to find.

Matt Roberds

Reply to
mroberds

The solution will find you wanting to apply it to your brain. Probably something very simple like a user group name error or such.

Reply to
DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno

Oh look! mike found something that doesn't "just work" in Windows.

Always a joy to see you "help out" too. What did you spend all of 5 minutes with yours before you dismissed it as "not working"?

Reply to
DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno

Open a DOS VDM and type "net help" at the prompt. You may be able to make it an accessible share that way. Then, you can add it at startup.

Reply to
DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno

That was your first mistake. I never read the instruction (unless I'm stuck).

The SMC Barricade 7004ABR is an antique. As I vaguely recall, and am too lazy to lookup, it will only print using LPD/LPR protocol. The stuff that's normally configured for printing with Windoze won't work. Here's how to enable LPD/LPR on Windoze 7 and configure it for printing. The real trick is to make sure that the name of the LPD print queue on the SMC Barricade is exactly the same as on the Windoze 7 LPR client. Usually it's something like LPT1 (which must be in all upper case).

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Tried that. Did nothing :-(

If at least I had some tiny error message ...

--
Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Reply to
Joerg

It probably wouldn't even get through because it has to pass the low level stuff in Win-7 before hitting the LAN. That's where things are stuck.

There are all kinds of events but no messages from the print spooler.

I tried that already top no avail. 9100 comes up as default. But grayed out when LPR. I also tried the usual 515. Nothing works.

Disabled the firewall as well ... nada.

Mine does speak LPR.

That's what I want to avoid.

That may be an option. Or use an old XP Laptop as print server although that would consume a lot of idle power.

It's just said that Microsoft screwed this up.

--
Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Reply to
Joerg

I have the 8-port version but just because something is old I don't want to throw out a perfectly working device.

Doesn't all that. Does not work. I strongly believe MS screwed up on this.

--
Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Reply to
Joerg

How do you know?

"Put a scope on it."

"Well, I put this NE-2 on it, and it didn't light up, so I know it's less than 90 V. Why isn't it working?"

"Put a scope on it."

:)

I'm guessing you disabled the Windows firewall. Does your anti-virus software include any firewall or net-filtering functionality?

Can you ping the router from the Win7 command line? Is there other traffic to or from the Win7 PC that makes it through this router OK?

Is the Win7 PC connected to the LAN Ethernet ports on the router? The router probably doesn't accept print jobs from the WAN side.

Use a desktop that has wake-on-LAN configured. It sits there drawing

5 W until you send the magic packet, then it boots up. Send magic packet, ping it until it comes up, send print job, then log in remotely and send "shutdown" command.

Matt Roberds

Reply to
mroberds

Well, it has to go through the same TCP/IP port that I have set it to right now. It's the only way to reach the Barricade. On older OS'es it does that just fine, on Windows 7 it doesn't.

I did on the printer port :-)

Dell has unfortunately put Nagware in there, one year "free" McAfee after which I guess any attempt to uninstall it will be a royal pain. It controls the Windows 7 firewall and yes, I did try with this whole firewall disabled. It no work.

Yes on both counts. It reliably pings at 2msec and all Internet traffic goes through it as well.

Yes. And it is plugged in :-)

That would be the last resort sledge hammer method where I'd have to wait 5-10sec for every print job instead of 100msec. But because they seem to have screwed up Windows 7 I guess that'll be my only choice now.

--
Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Reply to
Joerg

With the tests you have done, I don't think you can distinguish between "not making it out of the software stack on the Win7 PC; no packets ever hit the wire" and "packets are hitting the wire, but have a bad destination IP address, port, contents, or some other problem that prevents the router from seeing them as a valid print job". That's why I suggested Wireshark; it will help you make this distinction.

Try formatting and reinstalling from a clean Win7 install DVD. Caution: this process may lose data. :)

If you have or can borrow some other PC that both has Win7 and doesn't have an overzealous antivirus/firewall, it might be interesting to try printing from that PC.

I am almost certain that you aren't the first person in the world who has wanted LPR printing to work from Windows 7. Otherwise every Google hit would say "LPR printing doesn't work on Win7". So I think there is something else going on.

Matt Roberds

Reply to
mroberds

Hmm, maybe this?: unfortunatly in german ;-)

Ciao Walter

Reply to
Walter Brill

Generally true, as witnessed by the mess in my office consisting mostly of "old" junk. In computers, anything over about 5 years old is junk. I had to deal with the Barricade problem in the distant past with SCO OSR5 (Unix). I could make it work, but it was difficult. I never tried it with Windoze, but expect more of the same.

Maybe, but I doubt it. MS never makes a mistake. Just ask them.

Looking at my ancient notes, the most common problem was the name of LPD queue. Some combinations of common device names simply didn't work. Also reserved driver names don't work (such as LPT1, PRN, NULL, COM1, etc). I have a note that "YUCK" worked just fine. Make sure it's all upper case.

If that fails, buy a real print server.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

I've just about had it with Windows 7.

If I'd have to do that the whole machine would go back to Dell for a refund and I'll be back on XP.

Well, even Thunderbird won't run properly, for crying out loud. By now I am under the impression that Windows 7 is a piece of junk. My go back to XP since that is clearly a better OS.

--
Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Reply to
Joerg

That's exactly how I did it. Does not work. Windows 7 is a bad OS, IMHO.

--
Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Reply to
Joerg

On the contrary, older = better. Looks at software. Or OS. NT was the best, Win 2k was ok, XP was good, and with Vista, Windows 7 and later things took a nosedive. So, older is better.

It works reliably with any Windows OS up to XP. Never tried Vista because that piece of junk was not allowed in these here walls. Windows

7 doesn't seem to be very good either.

I'll try and throw more spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks, some day. With Windows 7 that seems to be the "normal" method. But now even email doesn't work. Thunderbird will not accept my profile. It does in all other OS'es but not Windows 7. Why am I not surprised anymore?

--
Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Reply to
Joerg

XP compatibility mode?

I've been running Win7 for a couple of years. No problems but Thunderbird has recently stopped working. Reinstall didn't help.

Reply to
krw

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.