Asus rt-n56u and Epson r320 Printer

[CtrldLoonacy]

Hey guys,

I've been getting a little overwhelmed with all the research that has gone into my new home network project, so I'm hoping I can just get some direct answers from the pros... (heh, sorry to overwhelm you with the huge post)

My current setup goes - Cable Modem to a new Asus RT-N56U Router, then atm I have my MainPC, an Xbox, and a PS3 wired to that router and an Epson Stylus r320 printer hooked up through USB. Very soon I will somehow add my OldPC into the mix. There is also a Laptop that connects through the wi-fi (g).

The Specs:

The router has the 1.0.1.2 firmware that came with it. Unless there were serious updates/upgrades I'd like to get everything setup with the original firmware before I start messin with stuff.

The MainPC: I'm not sure what the relevant info is here, but it is the main PC I use for everything, including configuring the router. It has the Windows 7 Builder version. I haven't setup Windows Media Center yet (for Xbox?), but I tried to enable some sharing in Windows Media Player. -Not sure it worked. I know I'm connected to a "HomeGroup" and/or "WorkGroup" too, but I don't think that means much for me. -It may actually. It's surfing the internet and the speeds are fine.

The Xbox 360 and PS3 are both wired to the router. I haven't turned the PS3 on since hooking up the new router, but I've downloaded a demo on Xbox fine. -I can also see the MainPC. -Haven't messed with the Media Center here either.

My OldPC could go either way as far as connection, but I haven't hooked it up yet. It's running an "old" version of Windows XP SP 2 that can't be updated. -I'd like to use this PC to stream music, etc through the network. I'd also like to transfer some of the files that are on it to (anywhere really) my MainPC.

The Laptop is really just used for solitaire type games and surfing the net. It has Windows XP all updated (most likely). I'd like to be able to stream from my MainPC or Xbox/PS3 (Netflix) to it. So far I can see the Laptop in the config page of the router, but that's it. -That's a lie! I just found out that I can see my "MainPC" from the Laptop when in the Explorer through "My Entire Network - Microsoft Windows Network - WorkGroup - "MainPC". I was stopped when it asked for a login/PW. I can't find the laptop from the MainPC though. -This is actually huge progress for me. It's on the net fine right now.

Now for the problems... Right now the main problem is the printer. -I can't use it. I can see it on the router config page and it says "Enabled" in ?red?, but that's the only place I can find it. It used to be connected to the Laptop but never to either of the PCs. I've read that the Epson Stylus r320 simply isn't a network printer, but I've also read that's not true. -Either way, would I have to connect it directly to the MainPC to get the drivers?

Next would be the file sharing. I don't even know if the different OS' matter? Can I just share through the router? How would I get it working? I'm really pretty lost here I think.

There is plenty more I want to ask but I feel like I should have stopped a while ago. Thanks a lot for reading this and for whatever progress you can help me make.

 

[CtrldLoonacy]

Hey, I have an update. I followed This Sticky and made a bit of progress. I can now see everything I looked for on the MainPC from the Laptop. I did this in Explorer\My Network\MainPC\User\ect... -I'll have to learn how to only share a specific (public) folder. The thing is, I still can't see anything from my MainPC. All I see when I go to the Explorer from my MainPC is "myself". And through all of this I really don't understand how I'm going to be able to stream netflix etc around my house.

Still no idea what to do with the printer though. -I couldn't begin step one in that guide.

Also, on the laptop, is there a way to disconnect from the WorkGroup that has access to all of my MainPC? I'm def happy that it's working (at least the one way) but I'd really like to be able to turn it off when I'm not transferring files.

I just connected the MainPC through the wi-fi with the same results. -I still can't see anything from it. I had to try...

Thanks again for any help...

 

[CtrldLoonacy]

Now I'm beginning to think that something is wrong either with the router itself or just with how its setup so far. -Without doing anything to the folder...I've seen the name of the laptop appear under the Network folder in Explorer (MainPC) but I wasn't able to do anything bc I kept getting the error x80070035 -there was a # before the x, but I forget it now. The error said something about how maybe the name of the laptop was spelled wrong and to make sure it was plugged in. Then after being on Firefox I noticed the laptop wasn't in the Network\ anymore. -I could still see vise-versa.

Seems like I have the home network without any of the features...which is pretty disappointing.

 

[CtrldLoonacy]

Before I give up (for the night anyway) something else is happening now. I had disconnected the MainPC from the internet, then re-enabled it. From there I went to the Explorer to see if the network had picked up the laptop. -It didn't. Also, when I clicked on my router under Network Infrastructure I got "Connection Failed!" after it tried to enable. -I was online already at that point, btw. While I was still wired in I decided to connect through the wi-fi...then that same connection seemed to go through fine...whatever this all means.

On what seems like a similar note... On the laptop, when I click Open Network Connections I'm missing one. -Right now I have 3 under the heading LAN, High Speed Connections. There used to be another Heading with another connection under it. -I think earlier in the day the heading was Internet or something like that.

I can't read or think anymore, so I'll check back in the morning. Please tell me what I'm doing wrong and maybe what I can do to fix it.

 

[CtrldLoonacy]

I feel like I'm sooo close! A few mins ago I turned the entire Windows Firewall Off on the laptop. -I'm really not comfortable with that, btw. Either way, as soon as I turned it off I got a notification that I can now see the Asus Network something. Good stuff! I come here to the MainPC and start looking around. I went to the Network folder in Explorer and clicked Add A Wireless Device...the laptop came up under Computers and I could look through it. -I can only see one specific folder that has a few pictures in it. When I'm on the laptop looking through this MainPC I can see everything in the My Documents\.

Tbh, I'd like to reverse that or at least be more restricted when looking through the MainPC from other computers.

More big progress!... When I click the laptop under Computer in the network folder I see 2 things... 1 is \Cottage Pics\ (which is those pics that aren't really supposed to be there) and it say Shared as the Type with no comments. The other is \Epsonty\ which is obviously the printer! -It says shared with some comments. Of course, I don't have drivers though. I double click and it says Windows can't find a driver on the network and to try to manually find one. --Is there a way to let/make Windows install the driver w/o directly hooking up the printer? Do I risk losing any of this progress by unplugging the printer to bring it over to the computer?

Also, how do I setup the firewall on the laptop so it can see the Asus router and everything on it but have it actually turned on like it was before?

Edit: I just read from microsoft.com that I can basically turn off all of the Windows firewalls. They said that the router's firewall protects the computers from the internet and the Windows firewall protects computers on the network from each other. Since you'd need a password to get on the network I'd know all of the computers that have the PW are safe. I'll only turn off the firewall on the laptop, because it's the only one that seems to make a difference...so far. I'm learnin... :Edit

Any other help or info would be great too. -Thanks

 

[dtaibi]

Asus now has a utility that allows you to easily connect to your printers via the RT-N56U. Just go to asus' support page. It recommends installing the utility and then your printer's drivers, but I just installed the utility and then the printer magically showed up as connected! I am running Windows 7 x64 Home Premium and this was done on both a laptop and a desktop on the home network.

 

[mschipperheyn]

I fixed my MANY problems with WiFi connections from a printer to the 2,5ghz radio of the RT-N56u, by lowering the RTS threshold to 2346 (it was 2347 on my router).