Can't get Bonjour printing to work

S

scotty321

Member
Hi gang,

As many of you have realized in other threads, Parallels Desktop currently doesn't support printing directly to USB printers. So many of you are using Bonjour for Windows to try to print to their USB printers. However, it's not working for us, and i was wondering if anybody can shed any insight on this problem?

Here's what has happened so far:

1. I turned on printer sharing in Mac OS X, then I used the bonjour printer wizard in Windows XP (SP2) to add the shared usb printer. Our USB printer is an HP PhotoSmart 4100 series printer.

2. The printer shows up okay in the list of printers, and Microsoft Word 97 can print successfully to that printer!

3. HOWEVER -- when I right-click on the printer to get properties for it, it doesn't bring up any windows at all. And then, when I try to print from Adobe Reader, it doesn't print! It says that no printers are installed! Other programs act just like Adobe Reader! In fact, MS Word 97 is the only program that actually DOES print to the printer! Strange, considering that MS Word 97 is many years old!

4. We went through every single step in the tech info article listed here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301514
Yet still, nothing.

Any ideas? Once again -- we are running Windows XP (SP2) within Parallels Desktop. And this is on a 20" Intel iMac Core Duo.

Thanks!
Scott
 
p.s. Just wanted to point out that we used the generic postscript print driver when using the bonjour wizard to add the printer.
 
Shoot, I wish I could help. I must admit, the only thing I have (
successfully​
) printed out of the
XP​
is the test sheet, after I got it to work.

Now, here is a odd question: Why not just pony up the dough for Word for Mac? You can move all your Word files there, and print fine.

Unless I am missing something here. I am not trying to sound like a mean person.
 
We already own Microsoft Word for Mac. But we were just installing MS Word 97 on the Windows machine to see if we could get SOMETHING to print. We have 3 proprietary Windows-only programs that won't print from within Parallels (they can't see the Bonjour printer)... so we tried installing some common apps to see if ANYTHING could print, such as MS Word & Adobe Reader. No apps will see our Bonjour printer, except for Word 97. I wonder if newer versions of Word would also have the same problem.
 
Ah. I see said the blind man...

You know, I use this program for the most basic of programs. I wonder why Apple has not just come out with a program tha works like this one, but with out the bugs? And not Boot Camp. I mean a program like this, where you can easily just move in and out of the XP environment.
 
same here...

Scott,

I have the same situation as you (HP OfficeJet 1022 hooked up via USB). Could get FireFox to print its main page, but other program actually hang when they print, and they seemingly corrupt the print driver as well, because after they hang, I have to re-add the printer to get it to work again. I think there is something funky w/the Bonjour printer picker - if I actually try to pick the HP driver for my printer, find the disk/etc, it won't show me the real driver, just a bunch of things named HP ...... If I use the Windows printer picker and choose the disk and printer file, I get the printer driver, but of course, can't install it because it can't find the USB printer....

I am going to try and share my printer on the Mac side via the Windows Print Sharing, so I can actually use the correct driver and see what happens...

Kirk
 
Printing via a shared Windows printer

So far the only way I can print from the VM with full native printer driver functionality, is to print via a shared network printer on another Windows PC. While the printer driver (HP1220c) successfully installed under VM XP, trying to print to the printer locally just results with the file in the printer spooler queue with a status showing that an error had occured while attempting to print. However if I now plug the printer into a nearby networked XP notebook which shares the printer and I then print to this shared printer via the printer setup popup box before printing, the file successfully prints out via the shared network printer.

Like several others, not only do I need printing to work but also need the native (XP) printer driver functionality in XP, for this product to be practical. Unfortunately, the printer drivers available under OSX provide only a subset of the functionality for many printers and multi-function devices out there.

A terrific product if they can fully resolve the USB issues otherwise ... who knows? Only time will tell once word get around about the limatations. However, I am hopeful as it is only a beta product and the team has done a wonderful job thus far.

PS: Also no luck with my Windows mobile PDA phone (XDA mini) or my Canon S80 digital camera and also appears to have limited functionality with my DLINK combo USB/Firewire hub (mouse works but does seems to detect when anything else is plugged in)
 
new Parallels user going insane trying to print in XP(SP2)- has one solution for you

G'day

I'm a retired PC software consultant and I can't get anything to print in the Windows VM either. Bought this new Intel Macbook a week ago and downloaded a trial copy of Parallels. All went well over the weekend, so I bought the real thing thinking it would be a piece of cake. ohhh noooo. I don't need to repeat all the trials and tribs do I? Not for you guys. After a bad bad bad 48 hours - even the Generic printer driver with Bonjour won't work (with my new Canon Pixma printer), and when using the USB driver on the Win side it reboots Windows every time (says it's having a USB conflict). I gave up before I had a heart attack.

I am NOT going to buy that MS dog Word for Mac 2004. Talk about slow. I've got the trial copy of that too, so I know it's limitations. I hear the Intel-optimised version should be out in 2007.

So - here's an idea that is working for me: download the OpenOffice version for Macs. You can now print and use all your Word docs over on the Mac side. I am about to trial my Access database for my biz in it and test a mail merge. They even have a batch converter for Word docs if you want to use it, but mine print just fine. Excel should be a snack.
http://www.openoffice.org/

You need to install the X11.app from your OS X CD first off, if you haven't already. Good instructions on the OpenOffice site - repeated here for you

http://wiki.services.openoffice.org..._is_this_X11_thing_and_how_do_I_install_it.3F




Q6: What is this X11 thing and how do I install it?

*A:* To be able to use OpenOffice.org X11 for Mac OS X / Darwin PPC, you have to have Apple X11 installed. It allows graphical UNIX programs to be run in Mac OS X.

The X11.app is located in Application -> Utilities folder.

If you do not have X11 installed, *Tiger* users can install it from the Mac OS X 10.4 install DVD by running the *Optional Installs* package. You may need to scroll down in the Mac OS X Install DVD file listing to see the package. Once the optional installer is running, select *X11* from the Applications list. For more information on how to install X11 see: Apple Support Article 301229 <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301229>. The interesting part begins below the title /More custom reinstallation/ options with Mac OS X 10.4/./

*Panther* users will need to download X11 from Apple's webpages <http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/x11formacosx.html>.

*Intel or 10.4.x* cannot install the X11User.dmg that Apple supplies on its web site. It will tell you newer software is already installed. Instead insert your installation disc 1 and look up

/Volumes/Mac OS X Install Disc 1/System/Installation/Packages/X11User.dmg


Best of luck and I look forward to a Parallels fix for this. I can't believe I paid $A113 for a piece of software where I can't print a thing. Am going to use the Print to PDF function I installed so I can print my accounting docs from Quickbooks and pick them up on the Mac side.

Cheers
 
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Well... I installed the Windows Bonjour printer wizard and instantly it found like 90 bonjour capable printers on the company LAN.

I selected the office laser jet nearest to me and bam printing just flat out worked like a charm from all programs. The printer appears to Windows like a network printer.

I also have a photo smart 7800 USB to my MBP. That was found instantly as well and printing seems to be no problem to it with MOST of the applications.

I did HOWEVER install the photosmart drivers!!! Maybe that is the issue. When I went through the bonjour install process for that printer I selected, "Have Disk" and inserted the photosmart CD. I had to wade through a ton of possible drivers on that CD but finally found one that selected the photosmart 7800, picked it and it installed and worked.
 
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