I have a HP cp1515n network printer that is connected to my PC using a USB cable. My PCs network port is already in use as its connected to my cat5 network cable in the wall which in turn is connected to my patch panel. This is my fibre optic broadband connection. So, although my cp1515n has a network port, I cant connect a network cable from it to my pc, as the network port (on my pc) is already in use. How do I set my network printer up so that other PC's can print to it? One other thing, when I try to "access" my PC from other PC's in my house I get the message "Windows cannot access\PC-NAME. Thanks in advance. Paul.
1 Answer
Your best solution, for a printer with an ethernet port, is to connect both PCs and printer to an ethernet switch, The switch might be one integrated into a wireless access point (WAP) you already own or one integrated into an Internet router you already own. Most routers sold for home use have a 4-port ethernet switch built in. If necessary you can buy an 8-port gigabit ethernet switch for essentially peanuts.
An alternative is to enable printer sharing in your PC but you would be wasting a perfectly good ethernet port and introducing unnecessary dependencies (your PC must be running for others to be able to use the printer)
Other possibilities
- WiFi enable everything
- Powerline Ethernet
- Mix and match
answered Dec 17, 2020 at 11:02
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My router is two floors down so I can't connect to it from my PC.Are you suggesting that I but a switch so that I can physically plug my PC and printer into it and then plug the switch into my network port in the wall of my office( which terminates downstairs at the router) ? Commented Dec 17, 2020 at 11:14
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Yes I would suggest that. You could update your question with a diagram of your network if you'd like answerers to be more specific and/or more definite. Commented Dec 17, 2020 at 11:17
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You seem to have hit the nail on the head first time. Would an RJ45 1 Male to 3 Female Network Signal Switching Cable work instead of buying a 'switch'? That way I could plug both my PC and my printer into the network. Commented Dec 17, 2020 at 11:20
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@Roddy, No. Buy a gigabit Ethernet switch with twice as many ports as you currently have Ethernet things of any sort and plug everything into it including your wall-port. You may need to buy a few Ethernet Cat6 patch cables of suitable lengths Commented Dec 17, 2020 at 11:22