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Jenny_P
Contributor
Contributor

Need Help -- Printer Setup

Hello

I recently bought a MacBook Pro and also Fusion software. I have installed Fusion and am running Windows XP, Home Edition, with SP2. I've been able to install McAfee security and CorelDraw Graphics Suite software without incident.

I am now trying to hook up a "printer". It is actually a laser engraver -- which is installed as a printer. I am using a crossover cable on the Ethernet Port and am not having much success.

I do have the IP addresses set and they will 'ping' successfully. That in itself was a major accomplishment.

However, when I went into Fusion and tried to get it to find the printer on the Mac side, no luck.

I have the "Printer" installed on XP ... when I originally went to set it up I did not realize it needed to be on the Mac side and I just installed printer driver, etc. through XP. It isn't recognizing it when I send a print job to the printer, however.

I am running the internet via Airport ... the Ethernet port has the correct IP address for the laser, and the laser interface has that same number. They're 'communicating', in some fashion, but I can't seem to set up the printer on the Windows side.

Very frustrated ... any suggestions much appreciated.

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rcardona2k
Immortal
Immortal

It sounds like you are trying to use two separate network connections (Airport and Ethernet) simultaneously in the virtual machine. I have a home network where I print wirelessly to two different printers, but I have those printers connected to my Airport Extreme. Have you tried to plug your engraver into an empty connector port at your wireless access device? This might improve your chances of everything working through Airport (and it frees your MacBook from cables).

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Pat_Lee
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

I highly recommend you check out the Printing video tutorial at:

http://www.vmware.com/go/fusiontutorials

It will show you the various ways to attach a printer to a virtual machine.

Hope that helps.

Pat

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Jenny_P
Contributor
Contributor

Pat

I have viewed the Tutorial for printer hookup on the VMWare site ... I've tried to 'install' the printer on the Mac side, as it was my understanding that in order to hook up on the XP side the printer needs to be on the Mac. Apparently I have not installed it properly on the Mac. However, it is not a printer that will run on Mac ... yet there are people using the engraving machine that do use a Mac ... it's so confusing.

Thank you for your post,

Jenny

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Pat_Lee
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

Jenny,

You said you could ping them laser engraver from the Mac with a cross over cable. Do you have a hub you can connect it to? If so, I think if you change your network settings from NAT (which is shared) to Bridged where the Windows virtual machine gets it own IP address on your network that Windows should then hopefully see the printer on the network and the drivers should work.

Hope that helps.

Pat

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Jenny_P
Contributor
Contributor

Right now my Airport Express is how I connect to the Internet, via wireless connection. The router is at my desktop PC. Internet works fine on the Mac and also on the XP side.

The Built-In Ethernet port on the Mac has been Manually Configured with the IP address and Subnet Mask for the Laser.

I can ping that IP address on the Mac via utilities and it is successful.

When I go into Fusion and try to change the connection from NAT to Bridged, I get the following message:

The network bridge device on /dev/vmnet is not running. The virtual machine will not be able to communicate with the host

or other machines on your network. Failed to connecxt virtual device to Ethernet0.

Any idea what that's telling me?

Jenny

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rcardona2k
Immortal
Immortal

When I go into Fusion and try to change the connection from NAT to Bridged, I get the following message:

The network bridge device on /dev/vmnet is not running. The virtual machine will not be able to communicate with the host

or other machines on your network. Failed to connecxt virtual device to Ethernet0.

Any idea what that's telling me?

That means the underlying plumbing for bridge network isn't working. I would try to fix that by rebooting (the alternative to this is typing cryptic commands in Terminal).

Since you're mixing host-based static IPs with addressing from the Airport, I would suggest before starting Fusion, turn off Airport temporarily. Test that you can still ping your OS X ethernet-based IP address and the separate IP address of the printer. Then start Fusion, switch to bridged networking. Without a DHCP server you'll need to assign your XP machine a different static IP than your OS X system and the printer (but on the same subnet). Ping the OS X ethernet IP and the printer, that should work, then try to communicate with the printer with the print driver.

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Jenny_P
Contributor
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A simple question -- that might help me figure a lot of this out.

Can Fusion run a printer in XP that does NOT run on Mac? My printer is not Mac-Compatible ... that's why I need the XP in the first place!

Yet Fusion seems to need to 'share' the printer with Mac, which does not have it. I can install it on the Mac side as an IP Printer, with address, but not installing drivers, etc.

Jenny

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rcardona2k
Immortal
Immortal

Can Fusion run a printer in XP that does NOT run on Mac? My printer is not Mac-Compatible ... that's why I need the XP in the first place! Yet Fusion seems to need to 'share' the printer with Mac, which does not have it.

Yes, Fusion can work with USB and network PC-only printers. Most users would want to share a printer between OS X and XP and not be limited to one environment. This is why the Fusion video talks about Bonjour printing and shared Internet printing. If you are OK with the engraver working only in XP that should be possible with that engraver's native Windows drivers.

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Jenny_P
Contributor
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When you say reboot, do you mean a restart in XP?

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Jenny_P
Contributor
Contributor

Do I need to have VMTools installed?

I installed the Fusion program but not much else.

Is that the missing piece?

Jenny

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Jenny_P
Contributor
Contributor

Hi Again

Quick question about Fusion -- will it run printers NOT supported by

Mac? I have no Mac drivers for this printer. Mac tech support tells

me I need to either use Boot Camp or Parallels, as they do NOT share

resources.

Jenny

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Jenny_P
Contributor
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I have installed the software on my XP without incident.

The printer (engraver, connected to Ethernet port with crossover

cable) is plugged in to my Mac.

When I'm on the XP side, I open up a document in WordPad (as a test)

and then try to "print" it to the Laser (my default printer).

It does not send the job over to the laser's memory/spool.

So I assume it's not getting there.

I do NOT want to use the laser on the Mac side -- the Corel design

software I'll be using is only for PC, as well.

How can I hook up this printer? I installed the thing on XP (virtual

machine) and it's there ... just not talking to the laser. What a

PITA this has been! I wonder if I'm not better off tying it into my

wireless stuff ... eventually we want to do that, or hooking it up

via USB? The ethernet seems to be a sticking point.

Thanks for your assistance!

Jenny P.

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Jenny_P
Contributor
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when you say it works with USB and network only printers -- you don't

mention Ethernet.

Is that where I'm going wrong?

I just want this to work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JP

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Jenny_P
Contributor
Contributor

Hi again

It appears I got it going -- ended up connecting via USB,

reinstalling the drivers for that (vs. Ethernet, which I'd done

before) and then sending print jobs over.

I don't know how to operate the laser machine yet -- rep won't train

me until the computer was talking to the laser -- now I can see why!

Thank you -- your telling me it could print just to an XP printer

prompted me to have another go with it.

Jenny P

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rcardona2k
Immortal
Immortal

I didn't know USB was an option otherwise I would have suggested that first. That's going to work better than trying to support both Ethernet and wireless with bridged networking. I hope your training and engraving endeavors go well!

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Jenny_P
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Hi Again

Still in the throes of trying to hook up the laser machine! What a

pain this has become.

I discovered last Friday that there is a Settings button for the

various ports on Fusion -- so when I "connect" to the laser which is

plugged in, the XP side of my Mac recognizes it. I am able to do

some laser jobs from there, but when I power down the laser and then

go back later and try to get it going again, it won't send the jobs

even though the printer is online, ready, default printer, etc. Very

frustrating, to say the least. I thought I had figured it out once I

was able to "connect" that USB port via the settings button on

Fusion. It made a lot of sense. Why the connection is there one

minute, gone the next, is baffling.

However ... yesterday I turned the Mac on, brought up Fusion, turned

on the Laser and was able to send/run half a dozen jobs. When I

turned the laser off, and tried to bring it back up, no dice.

At some point the VM ware brought up an interesting alert box --

something about the USB Power Being Low ... I've never heard of such

a thing! Does that ring any bells with you, or would you know where

I could find more info? The Help on the program didn't have it; will

try online ...

What a pain this has been ... I have a friend's PC laptop to

experiment with ... don't understand why it won't run on Fusion. It

is NOT a shared printer -- installed on the XP side only, not the

Mac. The Mac does recognize it when it's plugged in/turned on, as I

can see it in the System Profiler info.

I'm so close, but yet so far ... am going to call Apple also on that

USB message. Not sure what they'll be able to tell me, not being

Fusion support.

Any ideas you have are much appreciated ...

Jenny P.

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admin
Immortal
Immortal

When you power off the laser printer, maybe also try physically unplugging it?

I think the USB power being low applies to bus-powered devices that are plugged into hubs that don't provide enough power; the normal solution is to plug them directly into the computer. However, I have no idea why this would pop up for a laser printer since there's no way that's a bus powered device.

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rcardona2k
Immortal
Immortal

woo hoo, congratulations! Onto to the real work... Smiley Happy

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admin
Immortal
Immortal

Onto to the real work... Smiley Happy

Have you ever used a laser cutter? I'm not sure I'd call it work - those things are fun Smiley Happy

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