LaserWriter Select 360 - no print driver comes up

Question

LaserWriter Select 360 - no print driver comes up

Hoping someone can help. I've reviewed the other posts, but am not getting what I need. Basically, I have an LWS 360 connected to my G5 via an Asante Talk and hub. I've had this connection for some time.

Problem is – I had turned off all my powerbars while on vacation and when I came back and turned everything on, my printer wouldn't work. I did the sequential power up/off as required – unplug ADSL, turn off Asante and printer, then power up printer to online green, plug in Asante and then ADSL.

My LSW is listed in the Print & Fax list in the system prefs, as is an Epson and Adobe Pdfs. When I "click" the "+" sign, the pdfs come up under "Default" printers, Epson (which I no longer use) under "More printers", but the LSW isn't anywhere. Not under Appletalk or Default.

Everything worked fine prior to my vacation and I have not changed any connections. I have run into this issue (rarely), but can't recall the fix. Should I delete the LSW from my Print & Fax list and try to add it again. Or just try that sequencing thing again, and again, and again?

Thanks in advance. Sandra

1.8 GHz PowerPC G5, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Aug 18, 2010 9:50 AM

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Answer 1

Aug 19, 2010 12:28 PM in response to Sandra MacPherson

The AsanteTalk does not re-acquire a printer that drops out for any reason. The AsanteTalk must be powered up LAST.

Be sure you have AppleTalk enabled in System Preferences > Network > (your primary network port). The printer (with AsanteTalk box) should be seen as an AppleTalk printer, and if it is not, deleting and re-adding it will not harm anything, and may correct the situation.

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Answer 2

Aug 20, 2010 9:47 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks Grant. Unfortunately there is no listing for the AsanteTalk in my network settings. All that's listed is "Built-in Ethernet", "Internal Modem (not connected)" and "Firewire. I'm not even sure where I would look for the AsanteTalk.

Also, I deleted the LSW360 from the Print & Fax settings, but (of course) now I can't find that either.

Any help would be appreciated. I'm really a bit of a knucklehead with this type of stuff.

Thanks. Sandra

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Answer 3

Aug 20, 2010 12:17 PM in response to Sandra MacPherson

there is no listing for the AsanteTalk in my network settings.

I think you may have read my suggestion above in a hurry. I was asking you to make certain that the AppleTalk checkbox was checked. It will usually be in the middle pane of the Advanced details for your built-in Ethernet interface:

TCP/IP | DNS | WINS | AppleTalk | 802.1X | Proxies | Ethernet

Checking the AppleTalk checkbox for your Ethernet interface will remove it from any other interface. Not to worry, that's where it belongs, unless you are using only wireless.

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Answer 4

Aug 22, 2010 1:03 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I did check to see that the AppleTalk checkbox was selected, and it was. My understanding, is the LSW should come up automatically if it's online – but it's not. So I did set the Network and Node ID numbers manually. Got those from the Network Utility. Still nothing. (and I'm not using wireless)

I've done the sequential start up and shutdown a few times now, with no results. I've noted on my LinkPro hub (10/100), the lights do blink when I plug in the AsanteTalk and the ADSL connections – so something is happening.

In any event, I do recall I had this same issue a long time ago and by adjusting the scuzzi cable connection it seemed to come up. I've done this again, but nothing. So I'm wondering if it's the cable between the printer and Asante – which I will try replacing. Maybe something is up there.

If you have any other suggestions, please let me know. Always appreciated.

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Answer 5

Aug 22, 2010 2:33 PM in response to Sandra MacPherson

Some third-party Hubs do not pass AppleTalk packets -- only TCP/IP packets. You could ask the Vendor or run an experiment using Manual addressing and plugging the cables in directly, without using the Hub. PowerPC G5 should be modern enough not to require a crossover Ethernet cable, which used to be required for computer-to-computer hookups.

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Answer 6

Aug 22, 2010 5:20 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Well I'm happy (relieved) to say the problem has been solved.

I reset my AppleTalk setting to "Automatic" in the Network (Built-In Ethernet) settings (as I had previously set it to "Manual"). Then did the sequential power off/on (AsanteTalk, Printer, Printer, AsanteTalk). Back to "Print & Fax", add printer. And there it was! My LSW was listed under AppleTalk (I actually gasped when I saw it). Selected it and then everything worked fine.

Thanks again Grant. I see your responses on the forum (at least under Apple Printers) and I'm very appreciative that there are people like you willing to share your knowledge.

Sandra

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Answer 7

Aug 22, 2010 5:51 PM in response to Sandra MacPherson

It never occurred to me that setting AppleTalk to Manual might be the problem.

Original AppleTalk/LocalTalk was an amazing, ground-breaking protocol that pre-dated twisted-pair Ethernet by several years. At 0.240 Megabits/second, it was comparatively fast and fairly easy to set up. It could be divided into Zones, there were Routers for it (best known was probably the GatorBox), and you could set the address of your node or your network Manually. So there was a lot more stuff in there than most folks will ever use, but Apple has maintained backward-compatibility.

Sorry some of those features left a trap for you.

Great that you got it sorted out!

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