Connecting Macbook Pro to HP Laserjet 2100M using Jetdirect 600N

-- Hi folks. I have a wonderful old HP Laserjet 2100M printer, Model C4171A (1999), still works great. It has a Jetdirect 600N unit to allow it to be accessed via Ethernet.
-- Back in the day, I connected to it on my G3 using Appletalk. But now, my Macbook Pro (Lion) won't even recognize the printer when connected via the Ethernet port.
-- I know how to set up a new printer on the Macbook Pro, so skip that part.
-- Why won't my Macbook "see" the printer? What can I do to make that happen?

Thanks!

That printer is so old, I had to look up the specs on the HP site to see what it was capable of. The problem is the printer does not have a USB port and you're trying to get it recognized via ethernet. Without drivers for the Jetdirect 600N unit to be recognized as an ethernet port, I'm afraid you're out of luck.

Maybe someone else can come up with something. Usually, with older HP units open printing and Linux drivers will work, however, both depend on the printer having a workable USB port.

connect to printer with jetdirect

Thanks for the tip! IOt seems you asre saying I need a driver of some sort to allow the Macbook pro to connect to the Jetdirect card... I think the printer has an old-style parallel port, too. Maybe I can go that route.

I think the printer has an old-style parallel port, too. Maybe I can go that route.

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You might be on to something there.... I believe monoprice.com sells a parallel port to USB converter. Might be worth a try. Let us know if it works.

parallel to USB adaptor for HP Laserjet 2100M

I tried the adaptor route. I happened to have one in the junk box.
When I go to "add" a printer, I get the dialog headed by "USB2.0-Print"
I can menu down to the right driver for the printer, but when I click ADD it does not stick.
This indicates the system is not seeing the printer, right?
Discouraged.... It's such a reliable workhorse of a printer. Throwing it away seems criminal.

OK, here is an update. USB-to-parallel adaptors don't work in the Mac environment without a special driver. I found a workaround in freeware called "usbtb." Here is the description:

"usbtb is a high performance CUPS backend for USB printing in Mac OS X and Darwin. When used in combination with a printer-compatible CUPS-based printer driver, usbtb provides easy-to-use, high-performance printing. The installer for usbtb reduces administration burdens by automating the task of configuring, creating, and verifying new system printer queues."

Unfortunately, when I installed usbtb, it did not include a driver for my particular printer. The "generic postscript" option did not work. But it gives me hope there is a driver out there that will make this work.

So, bottom line, fellow sufferers: a cheap adaptor will most often work in Windows, but in Mac it takes more work.

That printer will work fine on a network as it uses standard PCL drivers and should work with just about any OS, despite its age.

When you say that you were connecting to it via Ethernet, were you trying to connect it directly to the Ethernet port on your Mac, or do you have a home network (like, say, a wireless router).

Good question!

Yes, I am trying to connect the Jetdirect (directly) to the Ethernet port on my computer usign an Ethernet cable.

In years past (on OS9, with a G3 machine) I shared my Ethernet port between a cable modem and the Laserjet using a router. Configuring it with AppleTalk worked.

Can I connect directly from Jetdirect to Ethernet port, or must I go through a router/switch? I don't use the Ethernet port for anything. I connect to my FiOS home network wirelessly.

I do not know what a PCL driver is.

medmandan said:

Good question!

Yes, I am trying to connect the Jetdirect (directly) to the Ethernet port on my computer usign an Ethernet cable.

In years past (on OS9, with a G3 machine) I shared my Ethernet port between a cable modem and the Laserjet using a router. Configuring it with AppleTalk worked.

Can I connect directly from Jetdirect to Ethernet port, or must I go through a router/switch? I don't use the Ethernet port for anything. I connect to my FiOS home network wirelessly.

I do not know what a PCL driver is.

Click to expand...

Generally speaking, you can't connect two client devices together on an Ethernet network, using TCP/IP, without some very special configuration. Apple has some neat tricks that they do, forcing the port to act as a though it were connected with a crossover cable when two clients are connected, and I'm assuming that AppleTalk protocols allow for that. But with a modern Mac, this wouldn't be the way to do things.

The preferred way to do this would be to run an Ethernet cable between the JetDirect and the FiOS router (which is a piece of garbage by the way, but that's another topic for a different thread).

Then, it's a simple matter of getting the JetDirect configured with an IP address. The 600N is quite old and not exactly user friendly, but it's still serviceable. Once it's connected to the router via Ethernet, it will hopefully pick up an IP address on its own. Then, you should be able to print out a test page from the printer and it should show its IP configuration.

Once we have that, I can instruct you as to how to add it to your Mac as a network printer.

Wonderful! Thank you. That makes total sense.

But the thing is, the FiOS router is two floors down from my home office, hence my decision to connect to it wirelessly.

I have an old working Linksys cable/DSL router/4 port switch. Can I use that to connect the printer to the Mac up here in my office?

medmandan said:

Wonderful! Thank you. That makes total sense.

But the thing is, the FiOS router is two floors down from my home office, hence my decision to connect to it wirelessly.

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Oy! Bad placement, especially for a weak wireless router. Your router should be as high up as possible for optimal signal throughout your home.

I have an old working Linksys cable/DSL router/4 port switch. Can I use that to connect the printer to the Mac up here in my office?

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While technically possible, this is very impractical... and you'd still need to run an Ethernet cable between the two devices.

Honestly, your best bet is to buy a cheap wireless printer if you can't move that router.

routing to printer via jetdirect and FiOS

cwa107 said:

Honestly, your best bet is to buy a cheap wireless printer if you can't move that router.

Click to expand...

Well, I *have* a cheap printer connected to my Mac already, and I hate it. And I have a high-end Laserjet I want to use. Just giving up in despair is not what I had in mind.

So, if I REALLY wanted to do this right, I would run cable upstairs and have the FiOS router in my office, and I would route through it to the printer? Have I got that right???

medmandan said:

Well, I *have* a cheap printer connected to my Mac already, and I hate it. And I have a high-end Laserjet I want to use. Just giving up in despair is not what I had in mind.

So, if I REALLY wanted to do this right, I would run cable upstairs and have the FiOS router in my office, and I would route through it to the printer? Have I got that right???

Click to expand...

Yep. The trick is getting an IP address set on that printer. I'm accustomed to administering LaserJets of that era in my professional life, but I wasn't familiar with that printer, so I gave it a Google.

It doesn't appear that the printer has an LCD screen on it and controls for configuring the printer via on-screen menus. Is that true?

Yes, that's the one, no screen. It's hazy, but there may have been some way to access printer settings via a browser. Byt HP also offers software based control of the printer. It's been a few years.....

medmandan said:

Yes, that's the one, no screen. It's hazy, but there may have been some way to access printer settings via a browser. Byt HP also offers software based control of the printer. It's been a few years.....

Click to expand...

Well, let's hope it uses DHCP (automatically configures its own IP address). If that's the case, it will be less complex to configure.

Years ago, HP had a piece of software called JetDirect Admin (or something to that effect) that was supposed to scan the network for new printers and allow you to set them up via software. In my experience, as with most HP software, it didn't work all that well - and I have my doubts as to whether there's a Mac version.

I don't recall having to type in an IP addess for the printer, so I suspect it is DHCP.
I'll bug you again once I get in the same room as the router..... Thanks for your help. At least I know what I'm up against.