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Network Gurus

A

airtj

Charter Member
Need some networking advice, I have a print server that is set up and working from my desktop. I'm trying to set it up on a laptop that has a wireless card in it, I can connect to the internet but cannot ping the print server. The laptop can ping the router with no problems. I tried seeing if the windows firewall had something to do with it but that doesn't do anything. Laptop cannot ping my desktop either. I've dropped the laptop last month and cannot use the Ethernet port.

Thanks


Laptop
Vista Ultimate wit SP2
32 bit OS
4 GB of Ram
Intel Core Duo T9300 2.50 GHZ
 
airtj,

Define "print server"....

Do you mean a separate computer that you are sharing out with the printer?

-or-

An add on device that interfaces your printer with the network? If so, what model?

Also, is the interface with the printer wireless or copper?

Do these systems all share the same Vista Ultimate OS?
 
The print server is Iogear GPSU21 that is hooked into the network via ethernet from the DSL Modem Zyxel PK5000Z. The printer is hooked into the Iogear via a usb cable. I want to share the printer with the laptops. My desktop is Windows Media Edition with SP3(32 bit), the other laptop OS is Vista 32 bit
 
Okay,

Let me ponder for a day.....If I can't figure it out I know a couple of guys who might be able to. However some quick checks.....

What kind of router are you using? Sounds silly, but we might have a router config deal going on....so check the IP addressing scheme on the router, and bounce that against the default scheme for the print server. You may need to go to a fixed IP on the router or server.

You may need a software install on each system that needs to use the printer. While you can use Vista to bypass, I'm not sure you can integrate multiple OS's like that, so use the software with the server and see how that works (if you haven't already).
 
Normally, I would suggest first that you try using the Enet port on your laptop to help narrow down the source of the problem but that's not gonna work if it's broke. :)
Maybe try one of those cheap USB to Ethernet adapters to get a working wired Enet port on the laptop...expensive troubleshooting if you have to buy one but maybe you know someone that's already got one laying around.


BUT...It sure sounds to me like the wireless and wired LAN connection in that modem/router are isolated from each other (I.E. not bridged) so they can't ping across between the two.
If you have the options in your modem/router config, look at the Routing Table to see if there are separate entries for the WLAN and the LAN.

Here's a few ideas from my Linksys router...details will probably be different on your modem/router.

See attached screenshot #1 for my routijng table. (I kinda doubt you'll have all the advanced features on your unit...but maybe).
My first line is the internal IP address of my network (both wireless and wired bridged together)
Second line is the external WAN (ISP) IP address.
Third line is a duplicate of Line 1...leftovers from me trying to setup FSHost on the same LAN as my FS9/FSX computer. You can ignore this one.
Fourth line is the external WAN (ISP) Gateway address.

Another one to check is the VLAN (virtual LAN) settings if you've got em.
Screenshot #2 shows my vlan page.
It shows that my wireless (the W column) is on a different vlan but it is bridged to the same vlan as wired ports 1-4.
You might also see this listed under a "Bridging Table" page or section.
Mine lists one bridge connection that is tying the wireless and wired LANs together.



I've seen a similar problem with the newer Motorola cable modem/router units. They have very few config options on the router side of the box so what we did was add a separate router (usually a Linksys) that has more config options.
 
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