Appletalk

Why do you need AppleTalk active? It isn't required for an Ethernet network. It's primary use is for connection to legacy machines that only provide Ethernet over AppleTalk.

AppleTalk is normally activated using the Network preference.

<<Why do you need AppleTalk active? It isn't required for an Ethernet network. It's primary use is for connection to legacy machines that only provide Ethernet over AppleTalk.>>
He might need it for printing.

Have you restarted all the computers since switching?

Yes, which is why I asked the question in the first place. However, he'd have a pretty old printer if it required AppleTalk, and he'd need a hardware device to use it because all the old AppleTalk printers are serial printers, and Macs haven't had serial ports for ages.

I think my Magicolor 2210 is Appletalk/Ethernet... at least it shows up in Appletalk Printers and is setup that way in 10.3.9

The Magiccolor 2210 supposedly has both Ethernet and USB connectivity. If you connect the printer to your network with an Ethernet cable, then you don't need AppleTalk. If the printer were an AppleTalk printer it would be very old and use an old Apple serial cable that would not be usable on your computers without an adapter.

Correction.

AppleTalk is implemented as a communication protocol over Ethernet ( was called EtherTalk. ) you are refering to an RS-422 printer connection over LocalTalk.

EtherTalk was simply an Apple name for Ethernet over AppleTalk. Straight AppleTalk was a networking protocol (Apple Personal Network or APN) implemented on LocalTalk ports using AppleTalk adaptors and ordinary telephone line. The LocalTalk port was a mini-DIN 8 connector not RS-422. The AppleTalk adapters had two telephone jacks on one end and a standard Apple mini-DIN 8 serial connector on the other. The network was also referred to as PhoneNet. On later models Apple implemented Ethernet over AppleTalk (EtherTalk) that used standard Ethernet connectors and line. You switched between EtherTalk and AppleTalk using the AppleTalk control panel (as all this was implemented in Mac OS.) I believe this originated with OS 7.x when Apple adopted the new TCP/IP stack software. Least this is my recollection.

Hmmm, my Magicolor is shut down at the moment, but my OKI C5400n shows up under Appletalk Printers... what does this mean?
http://www.bdaqua.com/appletalk.tiff

Kappy, yes, something like that, but you can still connect to and use AppleTalk devices over TCP/IP on 10.4. The protocol is still there.

Yes, I'm aware of that. But the Magicolor 2210 printer is an Ethernet/USB printer according to Minolta so there would be no need for AppleTalk unless he had a legacy Mac that did not have Ethernet.

Ethernet over AppleTalk would be necessary for older Macs running OS 7 to 9.

Isn't the 5400n a network printer supporting Ethernet? If so there's no reason to have AppleTalk turned on. I have three network printers - Tektronix 560, Lexmark 510n, and HP 4M Plus. All have network cards. The Tektronix and the HP have network cards that support TCP (Ethernet) and AppleTalk. Both have TCP turned on and AppleTalk disabled. The Lexmark is straight TCP (Ethernet) and supports Rendevouz (nee BonJour.) I never use AppleTalk. Some years ago I had an HP-4ML that was a LocalTalk printer. I had to connect it to my network using an AsanteTalk device that enabled connecting a serial LocalTalk printer to an Ethernet network. That required using AppleTalk.

I just checked out the 5400n specs and it's got a standard Ethernet port. Perhaps the network card supports both AppleTalk and Ethernet TCP/IP. If that's the case set the printer to use Ethernet (or TCP/IP) and configure it to use DHCP if it's supported. Otherwise assign a fixed IP address that's within the DHCP range of your network router. If the printer supports Rendevouz (nee Bonjour) it may even show up on that protocol in the Printer Setup Utility. Configure the printer driver in the Printer Setup Utility to be an LPR/LPD printer if it doesn't support Rendevouz. You can then turn off AppleTalk.