machines lose shared printer when it is switched off.

[darrellw]

running Xp professional O/S.

some networking guys networked the 13 machines i built with the hp2300dn printer we bought, (i was not there at the time, had to work what a bummer, loads of stuff to ask them.) problem is as above. when the machine that is connected to the printer via the usb cable is switched off, and then switched on again the shared printer is no longer available. have to use the system restore feature to get the printers shared again. also sharing an old hp640c deskjet, parallel cable but that does not have the same issues when the machine that that is attached to is switched off.
wondering whether swopping the connection from usb to the network cable connection will do the trick.
was hoping to use the print server built into the draytek router we bought but cannot for the life of me get it to work
any help most appreciated

cheers
darrellw

[snap355]

With the USB settings and the HP director, there might be a bug in which you would need an upgrade or patch to fix it. If not, try uninstall and reinstall it. Secondly, by making it a network printer, that printer doesn't have to be on for others print. Very nice convenience. Everyone maps to the network printer now instead of going through the PC to print

[evasive]

when trying to use the draytek: you need to add a local TCP/IP port in your printer settings. Check the manual on that router, it should tell you where and how.