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Level 10

141,210 points

Adding an AppleTalk network printer to Windows XP

I posted this in the Windows Compatibility forum, but I think it's misplaced.

I need a serious guru here... someone versed in AppleTalk and Windows XP and maybe CUPS.

My workhorse laser printer is an old HP LaserJet 4MP, circa 1992. Nevertheless it works fine and I want to keep it that way. It's an Appletalk printer which means it only speaks Appletalk. It's connected to my wireless home network via an AsanteTalk bridge. It prints about 4 pages per minute (wow).

If you want to add this printer in OS X, it's easy: it simply shows up as both a shared printer and an Appletalk printer in System Preferences > Print and Fax. Select it and that's pretty much all I need to do. Obviously I've been using this printer since System 7 using its built-in drivers. No other drive software was ever necessary. Like everything Apple, it just works.

I'd like to be able to use this printer from my employer-supplied Windows XP laptop. I'm not well versed in Windows, but I've been able to muddle through setting up networked printers in the past. But I can't seem to find this printer using Window's "add printer" thing.

I've tried entering the URI for this printer which CUPS reports is pap://*/HP%20LaserJet%204MP/LaserWriter. I've tried underscores and spaces instead of %20 but Windows can't find the printer.

Even after getting Windows to recognize the printer I suppose it would only print gibberish unless I could find a way for Windows to speak Appletalk, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Any insight appreciated. Yes I know I can buy a brand new wireless printer for less than a replacement toner cartridge; I'm more motivated by geekdom here.

Next I'll tell you about my Appletalk Imagewriter II. It still works too.

PB G4 Ti 1 GHz  PB G4 17" 1.33 GHz  iMac DV SE  iMac rev D , Mac OS X (10.4.11),  iPod mini  iPod Shuffle  Appletalk printers  24 years Apple!

Posted on Jan 11, 2009 9:32 PM

27 replies

John Galt Author

Level 10

141,210 points

Jan 15, 2009 4:06 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I'm still with you on this topic - I've done a lot of additional reading about Windows drivers and ports devices and so forth. What a horrendous mess. Despite all that I have had no success yet trying to connect to the printer wirelessly. My next step is to simplify things a bit and connect the AsanteTalk bridge directly to my Windows computer's Ethernet port.

Just wanted to let you know I appreciate the help. I'll let you know when if get anywhere with this.

John Galt Author

Level 10

141,210 points

Jan 15, 2009 4:10 PM in response to Stuart Hazeldine

Stuart Hazeldine wrote:
AppleTalk Protocol should now be available under the list of Protocols you can add in Network Connections - Local Area Connections Properties

Well, it's not - yet - but I suppose it must be something I'm doing wrong. No new protocol appears, and I'm not sure what incantation must be performed to make it show itself.

Thanks for the files BTW.

Jan 16, 2009 6:49 AM in response to John Galt

If all the files were placed in the correct location and the computer restarted, you should now be able to go to network connections (local area connection) and choose properties from the right click menu. If AppleTalk is not in the (This connection uses the following items) list, then press the install button, choose protocols followed by add. At the bottom of the list you should see AppleTalk, choose it and press OK, it will then add it to the previous list. If you are going to connect the computer directly to the AsanteTalk you will need a crossover ethernet cable, compaired to a normal ethernet cables if you use you router. Next go to the add printer section and choose the local printer option (uncheck the detect plug and play option) and when you get to the next section choose create a new port option and pick the AppleTalk option. It should then go and scan your network for AppleTalk printers. After it as found the printer, don't choose the option to capture the port but proceed to choose the correct printer model from the lists and after you have finished the rest of the menus, choose the test page option and hope that one will print out for you. If you are able to get this to work for you you can then try this with the wireless connection.

John Galt Author

Level 10

141,210 points

Jan 17, 2009 8:37 AM in response to Stuart Hazeldine

Stuart, thanks to you and Grant I've had a major breakthrough!

You wrote:

and the computer restarted, ...

This little detail prevented the AppleTalk port from appearing. A reboot fixed it.

I have one setback that's preventing further progress though. Using a directly connected crossover Ethernet cable to the bridge, I've gotten this far:

After it as found the printer, don't choose the option to capture the port but proceed to choose the correct printer model from the lists ...

The Windows "add a printer" wizard finds my HP LaserJet 4MP on the AppleTalk network just fine. After I select it and decline the option to capture the port, I get the following dialog:

"Specified port cannot be added. This printer or printer share name already exists. Select another name for the printer."

This may be due to my attempting to add this 4MP in the past, but I've since deleted it from available printers and I can't find where that name exists any more in my system. I'd be delighted to change its name as the dialog suggests, but there's no obvious way to do that. It automatically appears as HP LaserJet 4MP in a field that can't be changed.

Can you suggest what to do next? I sense that I'm very close to success.

Edit to add: Yes I tried rebooting this time.

John Galt Author

Level 10

141,210 points

Jan 17, 2009 8:51 AM in response to John Galt

Stuart, disregard my previous post - I found the duplicate port - not sure how I did that, but I deleted it. I was able to add the 4MP and it now appears in the Print dialog!

However, and I was afraid of this - the test page prints a Postscript error. (Error... offending command... etc.)

So obviously my printer wants Postscript but that's not what Windows is sending. I'm not sure what Windows sends. Where should I go next?

Jan 17, 2009 9:47 AM in response to John Galt

You'll probably need to use an application like Adobe Reader 9 to print to your HP LaserJet 4MP which is known for its use of only PostScript which means that it can only print to proprietary PostScript printers such as your HP LaserJet 4MP: http://tinyurl.com/54w7uy. Just find a PDF file that you need to print in your My Documents folder & attempt to print it using Adobe Reader 9.0. That should be an adequate test for such a proprietary PostScript laser printer.

Jan 20, 2009 11:12 AM in response to John Galt

Windows XP as 4 possible drivers that you can choose in the HP list for this printer (4P, 4MP, 4P/4MP PS, 4P/4MP PS (300dpi)), the last 2 being for postscript. To change the driver select your printer followed by right clicking to get to properties. Go to the advanced tab and choose new driver, follow through the set of windows until you get to choose a different driver and complete the setup as normal. You can then try to print out a test page. Drivers can also be obtained from the HP support site, the difference in installing them is to select the "Have Disk" option when choosing the driver.

John Galt Author

Level 10

141,210 points

Jan 20, 2009 8:43 PM in response to Stuart Hazeldine

Thank you Stuart, I found that driver but I'm away from Galt's Gulch for a couple of days. You're right, I had selected HP LaserJet 4MP ( not 4MP PS). I always thought MP meant "Macintosh, Postscript" but apparently that's not the case. I'll try the other one when I return.

I suffered a minor setback last week while I was doing all this. After reconnecting the 4MP to my wireless network, I could not get my Apple computers to recognize the printer. I could recognize the AsanteTalk bridge, but not the printer. Everything was working fine before I tried the Windows setup and then it simply wasn't. I tried unplugging the Localtalk cable from the wall, bypassing my house wiring and going directly to the bridge. I deleted the existing print queues, created new ones, disabled / enabled Appletalk over Airport, downloaded new drivers from HP ⚠, tried different cables to and from the bridge, different PhoneNet connectors, with terminating resistors, without terminating resistors, I even reset the printer to factory defaults knowing that could not possibly have been the cause. No joy. I was tearing my hair out. Finally I traced the Localtalk cable to the phone jack...

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... and found where my daughter's rabbit chewed through one of its outer conductors.

If I ever need to defuse a bomb, I'm sending in that bunny.

Jan 21, 2009 11:23 AM in response to John Galt

The outer conductors are exactly the ones that carry AppleTalk/LocalTalk. They left the inner ones alone so that you could grab the "extra" two wires already in the wall and still use your phone.

John Galt Author

Level 10

141,210 points

Jan 22, 2009 6:25 PM in response to John Galt

Thanks to Jan, Stuart, and Grant, I've finally had success! I printed my first ever Windows XP test page on my antique HP.

Stuart Hazeldine wrote:
I would recommend that you first try to get the laptop printing via connecting an Ethernet cable to your router before trying to setup wireless printing.

That configuration works. Now that I've proven I can print intelligibly via directly connected wired Ethernet, how do suggest I configure Windows to make the wireless printer connection work? Apple simply uses any available port, whereas Windows apparently doesn't. I haven't a clue what wizardry must be invoked to make it happen.

All my Apple computers communicate with the printer wirelessly, thus:

Airport Extreme (802.11b/g) LAN port, with crossover cable <---> AsanteTalk bridge to HP

Appletalk is enabled over Airport so it simply works. Naturally I have no problem connecting to the internet using Windows with my Airport network

In the event the above is not possible, my backup plan is to install an inexpensive hub or switch so that I could connect the Asante bridge and have an additional Ethernet port which I'd use when I needed to print from Windows. Is there some reason to think that might not work?

John Galt Author

Level 10

141,210 points

Jan 23, 2009 4:26 PM in response to John Galt

Note: It was necessary to uninstall and reinstall Bonjour for Windows for the Bonjour Printer Wizard to appear on the desktop and in Explorer. One of those Windows aggravations, I guess.

John Galt Author

Level 10

141,210 points

Jan 26, 2009 4:00 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Grant, I just wanted to tell you I got Bonjour for Windows to work - for some reason I had to uninstall / reinstall it for the Bonjour Printer Wizard to appear on the Windows desktop. There isn't much in the way of documentation, but Bonjour simply finds the printers that I set up my iMac to share so it's pretty idiot-proof.

As long as the iMac is up and running I can print wirelessly from my Windows laptop - not only to the HP LaserJet, but to my Apple Imagewriter! The Imagewriter wants the C-Itoh driver (there's only one). It's certainly weird seeing this 20+ year old dot matrix serial printer make a Windows XP printer test page.

It may interest you to know the iMac is running wirelessly too. Since it functions just fine as a wireless print server, I still don't understand why I can't bypass it entirely and simply print from the Windows machine. I'll keep working on it!

Adding an AppleTalk network printer to Windows XP