Installing Printers


Windows XP Professional installs and configures printers in a several ways.

Using Plug and Play support, you can install printers that are attached directly to your computer. After you attach a Plug and Play printer to the computer, Windows XP Professional installs the necessary device drivers. When you install printers over a network, Active Directory helps you locate printers based on criteria such as the printer location, or color and resolution capabilities.

Using Point and Print to install a network printer connection, you can download all required printer drivers. After a print server is configured to support printers and provide drivers to clients, users do not need to know which driver is required for the printer or how to install the required drivers. Windows XP Professional installs the required drivers for them.

If your printer and printer monitor support bidirectional communication, the print device can actively report errors. If the printer is jammed or out of paper, Windows XP Professional lets you know.

Installing Network and Internet Printers

In Windows XP Professional you can install network printers by using the following features:

  • Point and Print

  • Add Printer Wizard

  • Run dialog box

  • Internet Printers

Users can choose the method they find most convenient.

Note 

Windows XP Professional has removed the NetBEUI networking protocol from the operating system. It is recommended that you use TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, or the software provided by the Printer manufacturer in place of the NetBEUI protocol on your network.

Point and Print

When you use Point and Print to install a printer over a network, the server sends Windows XP Professional information about your printer, such as:

  • Printer driver files.

  • The name of the server on which printer driver files are stored.

  • Printer model information that specifies which printer driver to retrieve, either from the Windows directory on a local computer or over the network.

To install a printer by using Point and Print

  1. Open a network print server, and then open the Printers and Faxes folder.

  2. Right-click a printer icon, and then click Connect.

Add Printer Wizard

The Add Printer wizard walks you through the steps of installing a non-Plug and Play printer.

Run Dialog Box

If you know the universal naming convention (UNC) name or the URL of the printer you want to install, you can use the following procedure to complete a fast, direct installation.

To install a printer by using the Run dialog box

  • In the Run dialog box, type the UNC or URL.

Internet Printers

In Internet Explorer, you can find all the printers that are available on a Microsoft Internet print server. To view these printers, enter the URL of the print server in the address bar of Internet Explorer.

For more information about a printer on a Microsoft Internet print server, click the printer name. A Web page displays information such as:

To install an Internet printer by using the URL

  1. In Internet Explorer, in the Address text box, type the URL of the print server (for example, http://servername/printers), and then click Go.

  2. Click a printer icon, and then click Connect.

Installing Local Printers

There are several ways to install local printers. Use the one that is most convenient for you.

Warning 

To install local printer drivers, you must be a member of the Power User or Administrator group and have permission to Load and unload device drivers.

To grant permissions to load and unload device drivers

  1. In Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Local Security Policy.

  2. In the console tree, double-click Local Policies, and then double-click User Rights Assignment.

  3. In the details pane, right-click the Load and unload device drivers policy, and then click Properties.

  4. Click Add User or Group, enter the appropriate user name, and if you are done adding users, click OK.

    To avoid having to grant permissions on a per user basis, you can click Load and unload device drivers to grant permissions to add local printers to the Power Users group.

  5. Click Add User or Group, click Object Types, select the Groups checkbox, and then click OK.

  6. Click Locations, select the local computer at the top of the network tree, and then click OK.

  7. In the name box, type Power Users, and then click OK.

  8. Click OK.

Plug and Play Printers

Plug and Play is a set of specifications that a computer uses to detect and configure a print device and install the appropriate drivers. This installation technique is available only for printers that are connected directly to your computer. Plug and Play is not available for networked printers.

To start Plug and Play printer installation, plug your printer into your computer. In most cases, Windows XP Professional automatically configures the printer and activates it. During this process, Plug and Play installs the appropriate drivers; and you do not need to restart your computer. If the installation fails, you can use manual detection for Plug and Play printers by using the Add Printer wizard or Device Manager.

To install a local printer by using the Add Printer wizard

  1. In Control Panel, double-click Printers and Faxes.

  2. Double-click Add Printer, and then follow the instructions.

Although Windows XP Professional includes drivers for many popular printers, you need to provide the driver if your printer uses a driver that is not included with Windows XP Professional. If Plug and Play detects that your computer does not have a driver for your printer, you are prompted to provide it.

You can have the Add Printer wizard search for drivers on the CD, local drive, network path, or Windows Update.

Automatic Detection and Installation

Windows XP Professional detects supported printers and completes the entire printer installation process by installing the proper drivers, updating the system, and allocating resources. You do not need to restart the computer, and the printer is immediately available for use.

All printers that Plug and Play automatically detects use Universal Serial Bus (USB) connections, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 cables, parallel connections, or Infrared Data Association (IrDA) transmission.

Manual Detection and Installation

Manual Plug and Play detection is similar to automatic Plug and Play detection in that Windows XP Professional completes printer installation. However, you must restart your computer to prompt the automatic installation, or use the Add Hardware wizard to prompt your computer to detect the printer. When you restart the computer or use the Add Hardware wizard, Windows XP Professional updates your computer, allocates resources, and installs drivers. If drivers for the printer are not available, you are prompted to provide them.

Typically, manually detectable Plug and Play printers use parallel cables. In Windows XP Professional, for a printer using a parallel connection, you can click the Automatically Detect box in the Add Printer wizard to verify that the printer is installed. For more information about Plug and Play, see Managing Devices in this book.

Note 

Most Plug and Play printers use USB or parallel connections.

Printer Installation Considerations

Typically, Plug and Play automatically detects printers that use USB ports. Plug and Play also detects printers that use parallel ports, but if the print device does not have an in-box driver, you must install these print devices by using the Add Printer wizard. Windows XP Professional requires that you have Power User or greater permissions and have the Load and unload device drivers permissions assigned to you to install printers.

Some printers require drivers that are not included with Windows XP Professional. Using the Add Printer wizard, you can install a printer driver from a floppy disk, a network share, a CD ROM, Windows Update, or the printer manufacturer s Web site.

Note 

Windows Update makes it possible for you to download updated device drivers as they become available.

If Microsoft does not supply a driver for your printer, request a printer driver from the printer s manufacturer. To ensure quality, use drivers that are Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) certified. Microsoft Product Support Services does not support systems that use drivers that are not on the WHQL list.

You can send e-mail to mswish@microsoft.com to request Microsoft support for a driver or feature. Please include the following information in your request:

Driver.cab File

When you install a Plug and Play device, Windows XP Professional installs a driver from the Driver.cab file.

Windows XP Professional installs the cabinet file as part of the operating system installation process. The Driver.cab file contains thousands of commonly used files, including drivers, application extensions, and color profiles. These files enable Windows XP Professional to work with a broad range of hardware devices and applications.

Windows Update

If the device drivers you need are not available in the version of Windows XP Professional you have installed, they might be available from Windows Update, which updates your system by adding new Windows XP Professional features, including device drivers and system updates.

You can gain access to Windows Update by selecting Windows Update from the Start menu.

Printing from Other Operating Systems

A network printer installed on a computer running Windows XP Professional might use a print server that is not running Windows 2000. In that case, you must install additional components so that the client computer, server computers, and printer can communicate and transfer print jobs.

NetWare Print Servers

To use a printer connected to a NetWare server, you must install a client such as Microsoft Client Service for NetWare or Novell Client 32 on your computer. These clients let your computer send print jobs to the NetWare server, which the server relays to the printer.

UNIX Print Servers

Before you can print to a remote UNIX printer configured using Line Printer Daemon (LPD), you must configure Windows XP Professional to print by using Line Printer Remote (LPR). You must first install Print Services for UNIX, and then install and configure a printer using LPR as the printer port.

To install Print Services for UNIX

  1. In Control Panel, double-click Network Connections.

  2. On the Advanced menu, click Optional Networking Components.

  3. Select Other Network File and Print Services, and then click Details.

  4. Select Print Services for UNIX, and then click OK.

To add an LPR port

  1. In Control Panel, double-click Printers and Faxes.

  2. Double-click Add Printer, and then click Next.

  3. Click Local printer, clear the Automatically detect my printer check box, and then click Next.

  4. Click Create a new port, and then click LPR Port.

  5. Click Next, and then enter the following information:

  6. Follow the instructions to finish installing the printer.

Note 

The standard port monitor supports the RAW protocol, TCP/IP printing, and the LPR protocol.

IBM Host Printers

IBM host printers are a component of Systems Network Architecture (SNA), a computer networking architecture developed by IBM. SNA provides a network structure for IBM mainframe, midrange, and personal computer systems. SNA defines a set of proprietary communication protocols and message formats for the exchange and management of data on IBM host networks.

To send print jobs to printers that are part of an SNA environment, you can use the Add Printer wizard to connect to the LPT port or print queue that corresponds to the printer you want. An administrator must configure SNA hosts and printers to accept these connections before users can connect to them. For more information about configuring printers in an SNA environment, see the documentation provided with your printer.




Microsoft Windows XP Professional Resource Kit 2003
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Resource Kit 2003
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2005
Pages: 338
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