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[cetoken]

I just got my -323 and plugged in my HP DeskJet 1220C.  I can see it listed as "lp" under the NAS in My Network Places.  However, I cannot get it to print.

1.  Tried adding it as a Network Printer - it added, but wouldn't print.
2.  Tried adding a Local printer with new Local port named "\\192.168.1.201\lp" - got error "The network path was not found"
3.  Tried above again using "\\NameOfNAS\lp" - same result
4.  Tried adding new Local port to existing (local) printer entry with same result.

My NAS is running firmware v1.05.  Static IP address.  Connected to a LinkSys WRT54G router.  PC used is cable-connected to router, Windows XP Pro SP3.  Printer works fine when connected directly to PC.

I do not currently have a drive installed in the NAS (waiting patiently for that darn UPS truck).  I do not expect it to make much difference when I do.

My printer is a plain old deskjet USB printer.  I can't find anything on the D-Link site that would indicate it is not compatible with the NAS print server.  I sure hope it is, since the print server is the primary reason I chose the -323.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[fordem]

Wait for the drive and then try again - let me know if it doesn't work.

If you have no disks, there is no place for the print spooler to store the print job, so it won't work.

[cetoken]

I had a sneaking suspicion that was the case.  I'll wait for the drives and let you know how it goes.  Just had a little dose of "new toy" impatience! 

[jrbilodeau]

pretty sure that its because when you print to a print server it send the file to be spooled by the print server. since there are no drive, there isn't a place to write this file.

[fordem]

Actually - it depends on the print server - I've used several that have no hard drive, however, this print server uses a spoolfile.

The reason I know about it is that D-Link made some partition structure changes from the 1.03~1.04 firmware versions and the location of the spool file was one of them - to get rid of that "network path not found" message we would manually create a folder called, I believe, /.lpd - I believe it may be documented in a post somewhere in the forum.

[cetoken]

Okay - got my drives today, plugged them in, formatted as RAID1.  Restarted, plugged in my printer, added a new printer on local port \\192.168.1.210\lp and sure as heck - it worked!

Thanks for the input!

EDIT:  Not working again, after updating to 1.06 firmware - see my next post.

[cetoken]

So I upgraded the firmware from 1.05 to 1.06.  Now, when I try to print, the printer acts like it's going to start - blinking power light, printhead getting into alignment, etc - then it just stops and blinks the power light at me.  After several minutes the Page Feed light blinks, I hit it, and it prints the top inch of the first page and nothing else.

I've tried deleting the printer and the local port I set up (\\192.168.1.210\lp), then re-adding.  No joy.

I tried deleting the printer and port, restarting the DNS-323, reconnecting the USB cable, then re-adding.  No joy.

Each time, after re-adding the port and printer, it successfully printed a Windows test page.  After that, it gives the behavior described above.

I disconnected the printer from the DNS-323.  The "Printer information" on the Status page now says "none" for manufacturer and product.  However, when I browse to the DNS-323 in Windows Explorer, it's still showing a printer (lp, 0 documents, "ready", "USB printer").  Tried restarting the DNS-323 - after it came up, the "lp" printer is still showing in Explorer, and the Status page still shows "none" for manufacturer and product.

Tried "clear print queue(s)", with zero effect. 

At this point I've given up.  Printer is still disconnected from the DNS-323, but still present in Windows attached to port "\\192.168.1.210\lp".  (Note that I can connect the printer directly to the PC and it prints, whiz-bang, no problem, so long as I select the correct port.)

Guess I shouldn't have done that firmware update...

Any thoughts?

[cetoken]

I've tried some other stuff with no success.

- Reset to factory defaults
- Shut down DNS-323, removed drives, started -323, shut it down again, reinserted drives, started up.

Note that all this was done with the printer USB cable disconnected from the unit.

Status page still shows "None" for printer manufacturer and product.  Browsing to -323 in Win Explorer still shows "lp" printer in Printers and Faxes list.

Of course the problem still remains - the printer just "stalls".

[cetoken]

If nobody has any ideas about this, I'm going to box the thing up and send it back.  I can get an HP print server that will work, and stick with my old external drive for backing up.

[drthorne]

I just "upgraded" to firmware 1.06 and my printer doesn't work anymore either, I tried everything you did in your posts. My printer is a hp 5550

[fordem]

A couple of different things you could try.

1 - Reformat the disks - yes - I'm  serious, and then reinstall the printer.
2 - If you have telnet access to the device create a folder called /.lpd in /mnt/HD_a2
3 - If you don't have telnet access, see if you can do the above through ftp - it's theoretically possible although I haven't tried.

I know the above may sound a little crazy - but here's what's going on.

Print jobs are stored in a "spool" file or folder called lpd which is hidden - when the first character in a name is a ".", linux hides it, hence the /.lpd - with firmware versions prior to 1.04, the /.lpd folder was in Volume_1, which is the Windows name for what linux calls /mnt/HD_a2, it was moved to a different location in 1.04 & 1.05 and, whilst fooling around with some of the new features in 1.06, I think I saw it back in Volume_1.

If I'm right - and I'm not 100% sure on this - simply creating the folder will fix the problem.

I could probably take a closer look tomorrow (it's just short of midnight here) and verify.

I guess I was mistaken - the /.lpd folder is still in /mnt/HD_a4 where it was moved to in ver 1.04 - and it still works for me.

[cetoken]

Thanks for your reply, but it's too late - already packed it up and sent it back.  I'm not interested in spending half my life reformatting drives and fooling with TelNet.  Will spend a few more bucks and get something that actually works.

[fordem]

Do remember to let us know what you got, how much you paid - and more importantly - how well it works.

[ECF]

I guess that works. However you do not have to update the firmware if 1.05 was working. If the printer server function is broken in the 1.06 firmware it will be fixed in the next release. However this has not been verified as it seems to be working fine so far I have not seem any issues.

If you were running any anti-virus or personal firewall software you may have wanted to disable that and see if it works.

Another thing after updating the firmware you will want to reset the DNS-323 to factory defaults and reconfigure also delete your printer from you system and setup the printer again.   

[kd2pm]

Ditto here with my canon i9900. 1.06 has issues with the print server.

But just in case, I will try the reset to factory defaults and then raid it again.  I thought I did everything right when I took it out of the box and did the FW upgrade before adding the drives.  That way when I did format them, the spool file would be in the right place.  Go figure....