mcnscott
asked on
How do I change a network printer port need step-by-step please
Our office has a network printer a savin 4045. The details are following:
IP address for the printer 192.168.20.250 this is reserved in active directory for it.
port address HP standard port IP_192.168.20.250
The problem I'm having is that often when a large job is spooled on the printer an error message comes up on the server (windows server 2003) that the spooler could not connect to the printer and the job will finish when it can connect. As soon as you clear the error box the spooler connects, and finishes and job prints.
I read that this problem could be fixed by changing the port from the hp_standard_port, to a standard tcp/ip port on the server. I've tried doing this by deleting the reserveration and making a new one 192.168.20.251, then adding a new port through the add a port wizard in server 2003, when I was finished though the server said the printer was offline.
I went back deleted my new reservation, created the old reservation again, and switched the check box from my new port I made back to the old hp_standard_port, now I'm back to square one.
So my question is how do I properly change the printer to a new port, and ensure that new port is working, or is there a way I can suppress that error message from coming up that the spooler will keep trying to connect to the printer? Thanks in advance!
IP address for the printer 192.168.20.250 this is reserved in active directory for it.
port address HP standard port IP_192.168.20.250
The problem I'm having is that often when a large job is spooled on the printer an error message comes up on the server (windows server 2003) that the spooler could not connect to the printer and the job will finish when it can connect. As soon as you clear the error box the spooler connects, and finishes and job prints.
I read that this problem could be fixed by changing the port from the hp_standard_port, to a standard tcp/ip port on the server. I've tried doing this by deleting the reserveration and making a new one 192.168.20.251, then adding a new port through the add a port wizard in server 2003, when I was finished though the server said the printer was offline.
I went back deleted my new reservation, created the old reservation again, and switched the check box from my new port I made back to the old hp_standard_port, now I'm back to square one.
So my question is how do I properly change the printer to a new port, and ensure that new port is working, or is there a way I can suppress that error message from coming up that the spooler will keep trying to connect to the printer? Thanks in advance!
jhyiesla
When you did the change did you change the IP on the printer itself?
Ok, first, get the printer to accept it's new IP address - Modify the reservation in DHCP that is already set up for this printer, and add in the new IP address instead of the old one. Once this is done, you'll need to power the printer off and on again for it to pick up it's new address. Test the new address by pinging it from a command prompt (Click Start > Run > type 'cmd', and then in the black window that opens, type ping 192.168.20.251 and press Enter - If it's replying, then the new address has been accepted, if it times out, you may need to restart the printer again...)
Remember that until the first step above has worked, the printer will not work, regardless of whether you get the port right or not.
To set up the port, go into Start > Settings > Printers and right-click on the print queue (doing this from the server the print queue is set up on) and select Properties.
Once in the print queue properties window, select the Ports tab, and select Add Port.
Choose a standard TCP/IP port, and click 'New Port'. This then runs the wizard (probably the same one you used earlier). Type in the new IP address you're going to assign to the printer (192.168.20.251) in the top of the 2 boxes (you'll notice that the bottom box fills in automatically).
Click Next.
I usually leave this bit on the generic network card, and click Next, and then Finish.
This adds the new port to the list of available ports in the Ports tab of the print queue properties - You need to ensure that the tick is in the new port you created instead of the old one, before clicking OK.
Remember that until the first step above has worked, the printer will not work, regardless of whether you get the port right or not.
To set up the port, go into Start > Settings > Printers and right-click on the print queue (doing this from the server the print queue is set up on) and select Properties.
Once in the print queue properties window, select the Ports tab, and select Add Port.
Choose a standard TCP/IP port, and click 'New Port'. This then runs the wizard (probably the same one you used earlier). Type in the new IP address you're going to assign to the printer (192.168.20.251) in the top of the 2 boxes (you'll notice that the bottom box fills in automatically).
Click Next.
I usually leave this bit on the generic network card, and click Next, and then Finish.
This adds the new port to the list of available ports in the Ports tab of the print queue properties - You need to ensure that the tick is in the new port you created instead of the old one, before clicking OK.
Oh and as an afterthought, just from reading your question, I'd say the bit that probably went wrong the first time you did this, was the setting up of the DHCP reservation - I don't think the printer had picked up it's new IP from DHCP - You probably set up the port fine.
So modify the reservation, restart the printer, and if for some reason it's still not responding to a ping, post back here with more details of what you've done and the results you're getting, and we'll troubleshoot that bit more... :)
Pete
So modify the reservation, restart the printer, and if for some reason it's still not responding to a ping, post back here with more details of what you've done and the results you're getting, and we'll troubleshoot that bit more... :)
Pete
ASKER
I tried doing as you suggested. These were my results. I changed the reservation to 192.168.20.251 and could ping it just fine. I then changed the IP address on the printer (It has a setup screen on it) to 192.168.20.251 turned off the printer and restarted. The printer now says it can't find the network.
I then added the new ports with the wizard using the generic card. Printer says it can't see the network and printers and faxes list says the printer is offline.
I went back and returned the old reservation address 192.168.20.250. Then I went to the new port I set up and configured the port, the port name says IP_192.168.20.251, but I changed the address in the box underneath to 192.168.20.250 hit accept and checked that port to be the default and now the printer sees the network and is printing, and is using a standard port.
So I think the problem is solved but I'm not sure until someone spools up a large job and it doesn't work. I'll keep the thread open and report back what happens.
I then added the new ports with the wizard using the generic card. Printer says it can't see the network and printers and faxes list says the printer is offline.
I went back and returned the old reservation address 192.168.20.250. Then I went to the new port I set up and configured the port, the port name says IP_192.168.20.251, but I changed the address in the box underneath to 192.168.20.250 hit accept and checked that port to be the default and now the printer sees the network and is printing, and is using a standard port.
So I think the problem is solved but I'm not sure until someone spools up a large job and it doesn't work. I'll keep the thread open and report back what happens.
What is the subnet mask of your network segment. Unless you have a short subnet I can't imagine why just changing the IP address would keep it from seeing the network. I have over 60 printers in my environment and over the last 10 years we have had to sometimes change IP addresses and as long as we are using a legitimate IP within the subnet and have the mask and GW assigned properly it should just work. And if the printer IP is .250 that is what needs to be in the print server. Could be that recreating the port was the necessary step, but if the port had an IP of 251 and your printer was .250, that wouldn't work...so when you changed the IP back to .250 and it started working that would make sense.
ASKER
The subnet mask is 255.255.255.0 The printer is looking for 192.168.20.250 and that is what the print server is providing. When I switched the reservation to 192.168.20.251 I printed out a config page off the printer and it said its address was .250. I changed the address to 192.168.20.251 and the printer then said it couldn't connect to the network. Then I changed the the option on the printer to DHCP mode, restarted it and still couldn't connect.
Finally I changed the printer back to 192.168.20.250 and it says it can connect to the network even though the reservation was still at .251. At that point I went back to the reservation and changed it back to .250
After all that I reconfigured the standard tcp/ip port to use 192.168.20.250 as its address, instead of 192.168.20.251 when I created the port.
Finally I changed the printer back to 192.168.20.250 and it says it can connect to the network even though the reservation was still at .251. At that point I went back to the reservation and changed it back to .250
After all that I reconfigured the standard tcp/ip port to use 192.168.20.250 as its address, instead of 192.168.20.251 when I created the port.
Like I said, the end things you did make sense...but if your subnet mask is 255.255.255.0 then you have available to you 1-254 and unless you have .251 reserved somewhere and assigned I can't think of any reason it would not have seen the network..I suppose that if .251 is assigned somewhere else the printer might not be clever enough to report back a IP conflict message, but that's the only thing I can think of that would keep it from finding the network.
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ASKER
Thank you for the assistance!