Vista - IP addres of printer changed

Hey:

I had a memory card on my printer mapped as a network location. All was well
for weeks then suddenly I could no longer access the drive. Took a few days
to figure out the address to the printer changed. Is This normal? Anything I
need to know? Having refigured the location, all is well.
(Was \\some ##s\memory_card but the last two #s are now different.)

Thank you,
Ed
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Windows Vista Home Premium 64-BIT SP1
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83GHz
4.00 GB RAM
300 GB HDD

It depends - is your printer set up to obtain an IP address automatically from DHCP server, or is it set for a static IP?

Normally, networked printers are set up with Static IPs so this type of thing doesn't make them go into hiding all of a sudden....

I'd go onto your printer settings (on the printer) and make it so it has a static IP address. You'll probably be looking for somewhere to set the IP address manually (keyword there: manual). Give it an IP address that fits in with your network (for example, 192.168.0.x).

If it's set to automatic, then your router gives it an IP address automatically, depending on what's available. This is usually the same address, but it does change from time to time.

You could *also*, depending upon your router, have it assign a static IP address all the time - for example, I have a D-Link DGL-4300 Gamer Lounge Gigabit Ethernet + Wireless G router, and in the control panel for the router, I have set certain MAC addresses (those of my computer and my printer) to always get assigned a particular address.

Then, I just save the settings, and download them to disk for backup - it is a lot faster than manually configuring devices that might need to be reconfigured if a firmware update wipes out settings.

Of course, this is dependent upon your router having this ability -but, AFAICT, most modern routers *do*.

It is set up as DHCP, I want to set it to a static ip and I've found where in the printer but how do I know what number to use? This is all a foreighn language to me.

Ed

Are you in a home environment? If so, I assume you're using a router to connect these devices?

If so, let's do it on the router side - it'll be easier.

Yes, home. Printer an desktop are connected ethernet cable, laptop is wireless.

Ed

What model is your router?

Linksys WRT160N

OK, from Linksys.com – Products/Wireless/Basic Networking/Broadband Routers/Wireless-N (draft 802.11n)/WRT160N click the link for User Guide (that is a PDF document, so you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader, now called simply Adobe Reader, or some similar PDF viewing software) and open the Users' Guide. In Chapter 3 (Advanced Configuration) on Page 8 is the instructions on how to add your clients (in this case your printer) to use a static IP address. On the Right hand side in the middle of the page, look for "Manually adding client"

I *assume* that the manual you have is the same, but just in case, I provided the links of the online manual above so that you can be on the same page as me.

One thing to note - when it asks for the MAC address, you'll need to get that from your printer - but it might be listed in the lower section (Clients Already Reserved) titled in the router setup page as well - If you see it in the lower section