Airprint and Time Capsule advice needed.

NewfieDrool

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Hi
Just spent the day trying my hardest to get a HP p1102w working on a wireless setup with the AirPrint function working. I upgraded the driver and firmware and was able to get into the HTML setting this time but can't get the AirPrint to work or get it to join the network. I could see the printer when I clicked on the network icon at the top of the screen but if I selected the printer I lost the network for the Internet. I am sure I configured it correctly to join her network but after 4 hours I began to change colour and started to feel like the Hulk.

So I thought blow it I would connect the time capsule. My first idea was to replace the home hub 3 with it but changed my mind as she wanted the printer wireless and the home hub is the other side of the property.
I connected the printer to the capsule and then powered it up and straight away through the airport on her Mac I managed to get the capsule running and the printer works fine as a wireless setup. However I was caught out as the 37Gb backup was going to take 2 days to do!! I tried resetting but again it was slow.
Would I be better to connect the capsule via Ethernet for the first time backup and then allow it to do its daily thing via wireless?

I can't see why it was so slow, there where 430000 files which it reported but wow it was slow. are they that slow or was I doing something wrong?
 
A little update.
I managed to set the time capsule up via Ethernet cable and it managed to back up in under 1 hour, so much better than 2 days.
Once I had done this I then changed it to the wireless network and all is working well.
Still no luck with the printer but it's connected via time capsule so it's working ok.
 
NewfieDrool said:
A little update.
I managed to set the time capsule up via Ethernet cable and it managed to back up in under 1 hour, so much better than 2 days.
Once I had done this I then changed it to the wireless network and all is working well.
Still no luck with the printer but it's connected via time capsule so it's working ok.

Sorry, I can't help you with AirPrint, but glad you've got the TC sorted. It's always best to perform the initial back-up via Ethernet, as you've found.
 
mikelj said:
Sorry, I can't help you with AirPrint, but glad you've got the TC sorted. It's always best to perform the initial back-up via Ethernet, as you've found.

Thanks for the reply.

I should have said in my first post that this setup is a friends setup and not mine. Been helping her from day one and we both have a giggle over the problems at the end of the day.
I really wanted the printer to work wirelessly so I could use the TC as her router on the BT Infinity setup. according to the instructions this speeds up backups as I guess it does not have to travel around the network.
I have been thinking about getting her an airport extreme to use as the router and then also extend the wireless range using the TC.
I know very little about networks and how this will effect speeds, if it does I will simply turn off the extender on the TC setup.
I was thinking as the extreme is dual band width this may give her better speeds as the MacBook accepts the 5Ghz and will adjust to what is best. I wonder if this will also help to speed up the backups on the TC????

Handy to know all this as I am waiting for infinity to be installed and I will replace the home hub too with an extreme and also have a TC for backups.
 
There are several ways you could set up the TC with the BT router. I've no experience with Infinity but my Home Hub II wifi had issues, so I purchased a TC for backing-up my MBP and to use it's wifi.

If you wish the TC to create a wifi network then basically plug the TC WAN into an Ethernet port on the Infinity and set the TC to Bridge mode (in the Internet settings, I think) and in the TC wifi settings select 'create a wireless network'. Note that ideally you would want to switch the Infinity wifi off (to prevent interference with the TC), however this would mean that you have opted out of the BTFON service, since you must have your Infinity's wifi on to be eligible to use this. Personally, unless you really, really desire BTFON I would use the TC wifi.

You could use an Airport Express (AE) to enable wireless printing (I assume that the printer isn't wifi capable?) - I have two myself, used for streaming music from iPhones/iPods. Unless the wifi range of TC is insufficient, then the AE isn't used to extend a wifi network - it is simply set to Bridge mode and sits as a client on the network.

Regarding the 5GHz wifi, it is quite limited in range and I find that my MBP usually connects to the 2.4GHz network (I believe it uses the best quality signal rather that the quickest, which is fair enough imo since you want reliable back-ups). My MBP does connect at the max-speed when in the same room as the TC though (300Mbs since its a 2010 model).
 
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Thanks again for the reply.
The silly printer is wireless and AirPrint compatible but there is some issues with it when used with Lion. I managed to get into the HTML just once and now can't get back to it. AirPrint should be painless but it just refuses to work and I could not get the printer to join the network so in the end I plugged it into the time capsule via USB. according to Apple support the AirPrint will not work via a USB connection to TC. A real pain to be honest and I am hoping HP manage to address this.
Can't understand why it never connected to the network and until I can get back into the HTML settings I can not adjust it again. I have a feeling I had a setting wrong which is why I can see the printer under the network app . I am sure I should not see it as its setup at the moment as a separate device if that makes sense. If I could get into the HTML again I could correct it. The new driver from HP was supposed to have fixed this but looks like it needs another update.
I may try the old way again and find its address which is what I did before. I can print out a config page which will have its address and then put that in the browser which then should get me into it. I did this when she first got it but I had issues with it crashing but I could try again.

If I could get the printer to work I would just as you say have the TC as the router which from what I have read is very simple to setup and she would be wire free.
I have read others have managed to get this printer to work including the AirPrint function but I just can't get it to work. Her iPad just refuses to see it and if I connect to it the connection to the Internet is lost which is why I know it's not on her network.
Damn I wish I was 20 again, when you get to 40 plus all this techno stuff seems so confusing :)
 
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That printer sounds like a right bugger. Yeh, the only way to print from an idevice would be AirPrint, I believe, so an AE wouldn't be any help. I guess the best advice is to search the Internet for a solution. I assume you've tried resetting the printer to factory settings and starting over. Is it purely an issue with the printer failing to connect to the network, or have you managed to get it to join the network but AirPrint doesn't work?
 
mikelj said:
That printer sounds like a right bugger. Yeh, the only way to print from an idevice would be AirPrint, I believe, so an AE wouldn't be any help. I guess the best advice is to search the Internet for a solution. I assume you've tried resetting the printer to factory settings and starting over. Is it purely an issue with the printer failing to connect to the network, or have you managed to get it to join the network but AirPrint doesn't work?

I found a solution to the HTML settings from another forum which worked once and I have done several resets and yet I have had no luck as yet.
When I did manage to get into the HTML with the latest driver I set it up to connect to the network, went through all the setting and added passwords and when it saved it seems to crash out at that point. I even deleted the printer under sys press and found it under bonjour but that too failed so I connected to TC and it worked straight away through the TC.
I have spent a day and a half on this printer so far and I will not be beat by a black plastic printer lol.

If only Apple did a printer, you just know it would work.

My local Apple reseller don't sell printers, I can see why.

I did read on a few forums that if you install the printer via a Windows pc you can set it up as the software is fine with Win7 and she still has her Dell so it's an option but I really wanted to crack it with the Mac.
 
Does the printer have a screen of its own? Have you tried getting it connected to the network in its own right before you add a computer of any kind to the mix?

I did it this way, by instinct, with my HP recently. Then went to my 5 year old iMac and just added it via Bonjour and took seconds to set up.
 
bpsmith said:
Does the printer have a screen of its own? Have you tried getting it connected to the network in its own right before you add a computer of any kind to the mix?

I did it this way, by instinct, with my HP recently. Then went to my 5 year old iMac and just added it via Bonjour and took seconds to set up.

No sadly no screen. To add to the network I need to enter the HTML settings and that's is failing to open again on Lion. I get an icon on the dock appear like a letter/script but nothing appears on the screen. Real pain as it should be so simple but it seems HP are a bit slow at correcting issues. It's a nice little laser printer but just a pain to get it going.
I'm pretty sure when I did get into the HTML on the first attempt I messed up on a setting and I need to get into it again to correct it. Why the AirPrint function fails , I have no idea apart from not being on the network.
 
Thought I would update this.

My friend purchased the white HP1102 to replace her HP1102W as we failed to get the W version to work on her network.
I took the W version home, installed HP driver from their site, reset printer, set it up under USB, went through settings and picked my network. Added password then saved.
went to printer preferences and deleted USB printer then added printer showing Bonjour and away it went. Wireless works fine on both MacBook and iPad!!!!!

I spent ages at my friends and for some unknown reason it failed to work yet at home I set it up in about 2 mins. Strange, can't see what I did different.
 

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