Home Forums SBS2008 and Printers

Everything is working well with getting the network setup but I cannot figure out how to get SBS2008 to install a printer. Do I just run the driver software or is there something in the console that I'm just looking overlooking?

I believe it's plug and play, so just plug it in and put in your driver CD if necessary. I would avoid using the software personally because they tend to have annoying pop up windows or lots of unnecessary software on them. (I.E. HP software suites and what not). Just use the drivers which should be located on the CD or available online. If it's not detecting it, it could be safety feature of server 2008, simply scan for hardware changes in the device manager. You should see a yellow exclamation point next to the printer.

It sort of depends if you are looking to share the printer from the server or just install a printer to be used by the server.

Microsoft makes installing printers a little weird, and it can be easier if, when you install a printer on a network or one connected to a computer on the network, if you add it to the directory.

Step 1: Click on printers on the start menu. Click on Add Printer. Select "Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer. This is where every networked printer should show up in the Select a printer window. But, they don't. Printers that are connected to computers with USB show up more often.

Step 2: Choose --> The printer that I wanted isn't listed. You can try using Find a printer in the directory, based on location, but that is generally futile as well. Best to choose Add a printer using a TCP/IP address or hostname. Click next. Enter the IP address of the printer. If it is connected to the network via an Ethernet cable, and you do not know the IP address of the printer, there is generally a menu screen on the printer where you can browse to the Print Network Settings. This will give you all the information including the IP address. Put this IP address in the field marked Hostname or IP address. The port name will automatically be filled in with a _1 or _2, etc. at the end. Select next. The next window will be Install the printer driver. Choose have disk if you have the driver. If not, download it from the website. It should be on the CD that came with the printer. At the next window, select browse and browse to the driver, which usually ends in .inf. Once found, click OK and it will install the print driver.

Thanks Bert, I'll try that out. Then do I just install the driver on each workstation as well, or can I push it out from the server? Do you think static IPs would be better for the printers?

Also, since I'm on the Microsoft Power Pack, do you recommend upgrading to SBS 2011. I thought since I really haven't got much set up yet it would be a good time to do that.

You can either share the printer from the server or do the same process on each client.

I also forgot to say in Step 1, that the printers the server is searching for would obviously need to be shared.

Personally, I have never found print drivers on the server to the all that advantageous. Not every computer will need access to a certain printer anyway. Many times, I just connect to the print driver directly from the client. The steps are the same, although the windows may look a little different.