Re: connecting second computer to printer using wireless connection?

Mike950 wrote:
> I know next to nothing about wireless connections and need some
> information on how it works. I have a desktop PC that is connected to a
> Canon Pixma MP620 printer via the USB printer cable. I have a second desktop
> PC in the same room that I occasionally use for gaming, music, testing, etc.
> I would like to be able to wirelessly print from the second PC to the Canon
> printer (without having to turn on the first computer). The Canon printer
> says it is WiFi certified with the comment "print wirelessly from a WiFi
> enabled computer".
> My questions are: What do I need to make my second computer WiFi
> enabled and when it is WiFi enabled, do I need anything else to be able print
> to the Canon printer (does it communicate straight from computer to printer
> or does it have to go through a wireless router)? Do they make a WiFi
> transmitter/reciever in the form of a USB "dongle" or something like that
> which I put on the computer?
> Any information on this subject will be greatly appreciated. Thank
> you. Mike
>
>
>

In addition to Lanwench's good advice -

This printer, like most home wifi-capable printers, can be connected in
3 different ways: by USB, by Ethernet, or by wireless. I don't know
about this specific printer, but the wifi-capable printers that I'm
familiar with will *only* "listen" to one of these. That is, if you
keep the USB connection between the printer and the first computer, you
probably will not be able to use the printer's Ethernet or wifi
capability. Check the printer User Guide for details.

As Lanwench indicated, the proper way to arrange for either computer to
be able to use the printer without requiring that the other computer be
active is to configure your local network using a router. Each
computer, and the printer, individually connects to the router. The
connection to the router for any of these three devices can be either
Ethernet cable or wifi (but *not* USB); it doesn't matter which
connection technology you use, and they don't have to be the same. Once
all 3 are "networked," either computer can print to the printer
regardless of the status of the other.

Scanning may or may not work over the network connection. You'll need to
look in the printer's User Guide for information on whether and how that
can be accomplished.

--
Lem -- MS-MVP

To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm

Lem