Academic and Research Computing
QUICK STUDY #8
June 2002

Installing an RCS Printer on Your PC

This document will provide you with instructions for authenticating and connecting to the RCS network and installing a printer on your personal computer. Please note that, before you can install a network printer, you must complete some preliminary configuration by following the steps below. (Students who acquired their laptops as part of Rensselaer's Mobile Computing Program should note that these three steps have already been done for them.)

• Install an Ethernet card (available at the Campus Computer Store).
  
• Configure your computer for network access by installing and configuring Microsoft's TCP/IP protocol.
  - Windows 98 users can refer to Quick Study #12, Installing and Configuring a TCP/IP Stack: Dynamic and Static IP Addresses. This document is available at the VCC Help Desk, and on-line at http://www.rpi.edu/computing/docs/docs.html.
  - Others (as well as Win98 users) can find on-line instructions by going to the URL http://www.rpi.edu/computing/pc/networking.html and clicking on Networking Configurations.
  
• Update the registry. You can do this on-line by going to the URL http://www.rpi.edu/computing/pc/networking.html and following the instructions in the section ``Updating the Registry.''

Authenticating and Connecting to the RCS Network

First, be sure you have supplied your RCS userID and password in the Enter Network Password dialog box, displayed at Windows startup. Next, connect to RCS through sambasrv, the server that connects Windows machines to the networked campus printers and to RCS files and directories, as follows:

• If you're using a Rensselaer laptop: Double-click on the RCS File and Print icon on the desktop. In the connect window that appears, check either (or both) of the boxes that allow you to connect to your RCS home directory or to the RCS public areas. Click on the OK button.
• If you're using a desktop PC or a non-Rensselaer laptop, you will need to map a network drive. For information on how to do this, see Quick Study #9, Mapping an RCS Drive on a PC, or the URL http://www.rpi.edu/computing/printing/mapnd.html. However, you may want to put the RCS File and Print icon on your desktop (like the Rensselaer laptops): go to http://www.rpi.edu/computing/pc/networking.html and follow the instructions in the section ``Mapping a Network Drive,'' which tell you how to get the GETSMB program.

Installing the Printer Driver

Before installing a printer driver, you need to know:

• The network name of the printer you wish to install; for example, tr2018lw (the black-and-white LaserWriter in Troy 2018)
• The recommended printer driver for the chosen printer

You can find this information on line via the RPInfo homepage: select the Academic & Research Computing option under the ``Computing Services" section, then select Printing, RCS Public Printers, and finally either the Sorted by location or Sorted by type. From the resulting list, you can click on the name of any printer to find out its recommended driver.

For almost all of the black-and-white printers on campus, ARC recommends using the Apple LaserWriter 16/600 PS driver. (This driver is on the hard drive for the laptops and most other Windows computers.) A few printers have special features; for example, the printer called vcblw, which is located in the VCC machine room, is an HP LaserJet 5000, configured to print on B-size (11" x 17") paper. To take advantage of such special features, you will need to install the printer driver for that particular model printer. When downloading any printer driver for the public RCS printers, be sure to select the PostScript version!

Now you are ready to install the printer. The steps below illustrate the procedure for Win98; however, the other Windows operating systems have their own wizards with similar steps. (In Windows XP, for example, you begin by going to the Start menu and clicking on Printers and Faxes.)

1.

Open the Start menu, and select the Settings and Printers options. When the Printers window appears, double-click on the Add Printer icon.

2.

When the Add Printer Wizard window opens, click on the Next button. In the next window that appears, select the Network printer option to connect to one of the RCS public printers, and click on the Next button.

3.

The system will now prompt you to type the network address for the printer in the Network path or queue name field. This address is defined by the server name (\\sambasrv\), followed by the RCS printer name. For example, to connect to the printer in Troy 2018, you would type \\sambasrv\tr2018lw. Be sure to type backslashes as shown, not forward slashes (/)! Click on the Next button. (Note: If you get the message that the printer is currently offline, it probably means you typed the name wrong. Go back and make sure you type the name exactly.)

4.

Next, you need to specify the driver for the selected printer. For example, select Apple from the Manufacturer's list, and choose the Apple LaserWriter 16/600 PS driver, which is recommended for almost all campus black-and-white printers. Click on the Next button. If you get a message that the driver is already installed, select the Keep existing driver option and click on the Next button.

5.

Now you need to name the printer. You should use the RCS printer name, in this case, tr2018lw. Click on the Next button.

6.

Finally, the system will prompt you to print a test page. If you wish, you may test your installation by selecting the Yes (recommended) option and clicking on the Finish button. Ensure that the test page has printed successfully.

The printer should now be installed, and you should be able to select it from within application programs.

For More Information...

You can find additional printing information, including a list of public printers, on-line via RPInfo. To do this, select the Academic & Research Computing link from the RPInfo homepage, then select the Printing link. Alternatively, you may enter the following URL in your browser window:

http://www.rpi.edu/computing/printing/printing.html

About this document ...

Published by Academic and Research Computing, RPI, Troy, NY 12180