| Forum Home | ||||
| Press F1 | ||||
| Thread ID: 98404 | 2009-03-24 03:00:00 | Avoiding multiple installs of a USB printer | GordonBennet (13808) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 758866 | 2009-03-24 03:00:00 | Hi Folks I've got two USB ports on my laptop and four on an external powered hub. I'm constantly plugging and unplugging. This means that there are six possible ports I might plug my laser printer into. The problem is, if I plug it in where it hasn't been before, windows prompts me to install software for it. If I quit the install, it's unusable. I just want one installation of the software and the printer to "see" it whichever port I may happen to plug into. Is this possible? Thanks in advance. |
GordonBennet (13808) | ||
| 758867 | 2009-03-24 03:03:00 | What version of Windows are you using? | stormdragon (6013) | ||
| 758868 | 2009-03-24 03:06:00 | just use one port and remember what one you use. | GameJunkie (72) | ||
| 758869 | 2009-03-24 03:20:00 | Does it work in the hub?? Because not all USB devices work / or work properly when plugged into a hub. | Speedy Gonzales (78) | ||
| 758870 | 2009-03-24 03:32:00 | By any chance does the Laser have an Ethernet Port. | wainuitech (129) | ||
| 758871 | 2009-03-24 04:01:00 | Thanks for the replies. It's XP-Pro. Prefer to find a solution rather than have to leave one port permanently empty for the printer or "safely remove"/unplug something else every time. No, the printer is not network-capable. It's a brother HL-1430 - a fairly cheap domestic laser. Yes, it does work in the hub - one of the hub slots is the one that it "knows", but sometimes I just want to put down my laptop and quickly print something without having everything else connect and start up. I have more devices than the five (one used by the hub connector) available to me at any one time, so I chop and change. |
GordonBennet (13808) | ||
| 758872 | 2009-03-24 04:06:00 | You dont have to use safely remove hardware for a printer. Just unplug it You only use it for things like USB flash drives / removable hdd's Thats probably why its asking for the drivers all the time. |
Speedy Gonzales (78) | ||
| 758873 | 2009-03-24 04:21:00 | Install the printer with it connected directly to your PC - not using the hub - this way it knows its the printer only and doesn't get confused.. Then connect it to the hub - any port. And then, as Speedy says, don't shut it off. |
pctek (84) | ||
| 758874 | 2009-03-24 11:33:00 | Install the printer with it connected directly to your PC - not using the hub - this way it knows its the printer only and doesn't get confused.. Then connect it to the hub - any port. And then, as Speedy says, don't shut it off. Okay, thanks - I'll give that a try. |
GordonBennet (13808) | ||
| 758875 | 2009-03-31 00:58:00 | Well, it was a while before I came back to this. I've bought a new laptop since, and much of my spare time has been absorbed by it. I decided not to bother with this printer problem on the old laptop, but when I try out the solution on the new one, I get a different problem. I followed the instructions exactly. Now, rather than being prompted to install software, if I use a different USB slot (on the laptop itself rather than on a hub) than I originally used when I installed the software, Windows creates another instance of the printer. This is a pain because only the instance that matches the port I happen to be using for the printer will be on-line, so I have to explicitly choose the right printer each time. I don't get why the computer doesn't treat the printer like any other USB device - I can use my mouse, USB flash, keyboard, external drive & iPod cradle on any slot without any delay or any problem. |
GordonBennet (13808) | ||
| 1 2 | |||||