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- Dec 28, 2011
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Hi there: I’m brand-new here, though a long-time Mac user (who doesn’t always know that much about getting into the innards of things). We recently switched to FiOS, which means Verizon installed their own wireless router and created a new network. I want to keep printing to my trusty old pre-wireless Apple Personal LaserWriter 12/640 PS, but it's not really feasible to run a cable to the new router, which is now on a different floor.
- I've tried without success to configure and use an Airport Express (not Extreme) in "bridge" or "client" mode to extend the Verizon network, but the system message keeps saying that network cannot be extended.
- I thought I would then use a new router (SMC WBR14S-N2) to set up a separate wireless network just for the Airport Express-to-printer bit, no Internet connection at all...but the fellow at the local Apple store said that the Express cannot connect with a printer at all via Ethernet, only USB.
- I haven’t succeeded yet in setting up the SMC (still as a separate network) with a cable to the printer and leaving the Express out entirely, but a quick stab at that last night seemed to suggest the thing won’t do that without an Internet connection. But I’m not at all certain of that part. (Of course, I just now realized that the printer’s IP address is 192.168.1.50, but the SMC is defaulting to 192.168.2.xxx so I think that means I’ll have to change the printer’s address to match…right?)
- Would a USB-to-Ethernet adapter do the trick in connecting the Express to the LW? If so, do they come in different configurations that I should watch for?
- Or should I pursue using the SMC as outlined and have two concurrent networks? If so, would there be a way to connect to both networks simultaneously in order to avoid having to switch back and forth to print?
- Or is there some other way to get this notion to work short of spending money I do not have on still more hardware?
- Or am I reduced to drilling a hole in the floor?