What's the trick to make Ethernet work on an HP 2100TN printer?

I had never heard of JetDirect until yesterday; so I'm still a novice. I "think" this printer has the server attached where the ethernet cord plugs into the side.

Hmmm... I didn't "configure" JetDirect, so, I must be using whatever defaults my friend had previously set.

I am a bit worried that the printer for both my friend and for me was at a seemingly static IP address of 192.168.1.116.

Yet ...

I have DHCP configured ... so I'm shocked that DHCP just happened to give the printer the *same* IP address it had at my friend's house.

So, I'm a bit worried that the IP address configuration is not obvious to me. But if it works as it is, I'm ok with that. I hope.

Reply to
Misha
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How can I tell if my JetDirect is using a STATIC or a DYNAMIC IP address anyway?

Reply to
Misha

I must admit, I was just shooting blindly, but, looking back, I never did "configure" the printer.

All I did, in effect, was clumsily click on the operating system GUIs for configuring a networked printer.

Reflecting back, this is what I did:

  1. I plugged the printer ethernet port into the router; nothing happened.
  2. Dumbfounded, I clicked around in Windows XP like a foraging ant searching for crumbs, and, at one point, the wizards favored me, and the printer showed up.
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  3. I then did the same for Windows 7, and again, the wizards eventually favored me for having clicked enough buttons.
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  4. I did the same for Linux, and yet again, the wizards allowed me to print.
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Point is, I never did 'configure' anything as I took all the defaults.

I would never have known (especially on Linux) what to put in the fields anyway.

Reply to
Misha

so have you discovered how to make the print darker?

Reply to
Malcom "Mal" Reynolds

Nope.

All I know, at the moment, is how to make the thing print. :)

I never explicitly downloaded any drivers as I let the operating system figure all that out. I never changed anything from the default yet.

I'm not even sure WHERE to go about looking to make the print darker, since the HP LaserJet 2100TN has only two buttons, and no display.

I do have the user manual, so, I'll comb through that.

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Reply to
Misha

From: "Misha"

I always shoot for PCL v6 and if I have a problem, I'll downgrade to PCL v5

Reply to
David H. Lipman

From: "Misha"

In the Telnet session you can hit the key; "/" { no quotes } for current settings, and hit "?" top see a list of interpreted commands.

For example the following line will disable IPX/SPX { you may not see what you type }

ipx/spx: 0

Success is shown by the showing of an additional ">" and then you can hit "/" to see that change was made.

Typing "quit" will Save the configuration and close the Telnet session.

A way to test printer communication is by a Telnet session to port 9100 For example if the JetDirect IP is 192.168.1.3 you would type;

telnet 192.168.1.3 9100

That will open up a Telnet bsession with no feedback. just type anything and everting and include hitting the "Enter" key.

When you close tghe Telnet session, whatever you type in the Telnet session will be printed by the printer. This is a good way to test the Print Server at a low level.

Reply to
David H. Lipman

From: "Misha"

That would be under "Administration"

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Reply to
David H. Lipman

From: "Misha"

That can be determined using Telnet or HTTP.

telnet 192.168.1.16

Hit the "/" key.

If it shows "DHCP Config : Disabled" It is a static address.

Reply to
David H. Lipman

The funny thing is that the printer *appears* to have a static IP address of 192.168.1.116; yet, DHCP is clearly enabled as shown in the web browser pointing to http://192.168.1.116:

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Your nice telnet suggestion above also confirms DHCP is enabled: $ telnet 192.168.1.116 Trying 192.168.1.116... Connected to 192.168.1.116. Escape character is '^]'.

HP JetDirect

Please type "?" for HELP, or "/" for current settings

===JetDirect Telnet Configuration=== Firmware Rev. : G.07.20 MAC Address : 00:10:83:a0:bb:cd Config By : DHCP IP Address : 192.168.1.116 Subnet Mask : 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway : 192.168.1.1 Syslog Server : Not Specified Idle Timeout : 90 Seconds Set Cmnty Name : Not Specified Host Name : NBIU830AC DHCP Config : Enabled Passwd : Disabled IPX/SPX : Disabled DLC/LLC : Enabled Ethertalk : Enabled Banner page : Enabled

So, I'm confused why, if DHCP is operating, why the printer is always at the IP address 192.168.1.116, even when it was at my friend's house.

Reply to
Misha

Actually, while I downloaded the printer drivers from the HP web site, what is missing is how to set up the printer on the network.

For that, I used the respective operating system wizards (WinXP, Win7, and Linux).

Interestingly, each of these wizards obtained the HP drivers on their own, so, in the end, I never used the HP drivers that I had downloaded.

I have no idea what the *practical* difference is between the drivers anyway (e.g., PCL5 vs PCL6 vs PS); but, all I know is that the printer appears to now be networked to all the devices except the Android cellphone.

Reply to
Misha

From: "Misha"

"Config By : DHCP "

I won't go into the DHCP protocol to explain why it will stay at

192.168.1.16 for a lengthy period or how a new IP could eventaully be assigned (Leased) to it.

BTW: That's a HP Jetdirect 600n and the last Firmware is Version = G.08.49 Your Telnet session shows; "G.07.20" so it could be upgraded. However it isn't too important and you are just learning about HP JetDirect Print Servers.

Reply to
David H. Lipman

Hi, Practical wisdom is if all works the way you are satisfied. Leave it be. Reason to update driver or firmware is if want particular feature or improvement is needed according to the release note. So many folks just update for the sake of update's and getting into trouble. PCLs for PC, PS is for Mac(Apple).

If you are curious, reboot the router and see if IP changes. Or you can assign fixed IP from router GUI or from printer set up. My WiFi printer and NAS are given fixed IP for the convenience.

Under one submask you can have a range of IP(0 to 256) but if you don't have that many devices, limit it to like 0 to 20. No need to wasting time scanning all those unused IP addresses. My router has IP range of gateway one plus 15 which is enough for our home network.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Thanks for that foreknowledge.

I'll probably keep the "JetDirect" at the current version unless I know of a reason to change it. I don't want to have to reconfigure the windows machines if I don't have to. I'm not sure what's transparent and what isn't, to the windows and Linux machines.

BTW, I think "this" is the JetDirect box on the side of the printer:

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Right?

Reply to
Misha

I can't count the number of times I've worried that I've bricked a device simply upgrading it to the latest firmware.

So I don't disagree with you.

Reply to
Misha

From: "Misha"

Yes, inside that metal cage and under that plastic door.

Reply to
David H. Lipman

From: "Misha"

Well I have upgraded hundreds of JetDirects with no sequalae. Either using HP Download Manager or via HP Web JetAdmin over TCP/IP or with the printer connected via USB or parallel port. I keep HP Download Manager on my notebook with all the JetDirect Firmware files so I can download the latest Firmware to client printers as needed.

If the printer has power and you leave it alone for the time it takes to download the Firmware to the printer, it will work as expected.

Reply to
David H. Lipman

In Windows, if you go to the printer section of control panel, find the printer, under the advanced options, you can adjust various print settings, including the darkness. At least you can with my Brother MFC printer.

Reply to
trader4

This reply comes late, but for those who might search the internet desperat ely in the future. The solution is easy. HP printers with an ethernet port come preset with TCP/IP values. In the case of the HP 2000DN or in my case

2100TN, a person needs to hold the Power and Reset button on printer at sam e time for 5 seconds to print out the configuration of the printer.

HP printers are typically set to Default Gateway 192.168.0.1 ASUS routers like the RT-AC66U and RT-AC68U are set to 192.168.1.1

A network cannot mix gateways, they all must agree by the third number valu e set, 1 or 0. Since the HP printer is fixed with 192.168.0.1, the ASUS rou ter (or any other router for that fact) must be set to match.

From your administrator interface on the router, select LAN > Configure you r LAN. Change the value from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.0.1 and click Apply. Th e router will reset and the DHCP will issue not IP values network wide. You r ethernet computers will roll over after a few seconds. Wireless devices w ill have to be manually reconnected to the LAN, which is simply a matter of selecting the connection source again.

Download and installed the HP wizard for Windows to connect your computer t o the Ethernet connected printer:

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or search for hp piw.exe.

If you can see the printer by this software, you know it is connected. Then proceed to download the PCL6 drivers and install. For the Mac,

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Reply to
steveneray

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