Try changing the VM network settings if all networked printer features don't work

I use a HP all-in-one Networked printer, C5180.

Since I run a PD4 VM based on a Boot Camp install and all the Windows HP apps are installed there, my VM setting is shown in file 16. I've been sending print jobs directly to the HP printer which is set as the default in XP Pro Sp3. Sharing that printer through Mac OSX 10.5.5 and Parallels never worked.

Problems that came up:
While printing features worked fine, I could not get advanced features such as scanning to work without errors.

I also got various HP program errors on closing the VM (Windows shutdown) that required a manual close. Those notorious unresponsive programs...

A reinstall of the HP software did not solve the issue. I tried it for both OSX and the XP Pro VM (in Parallels).

What did allow scanning and Windows to close without complaining was to simply change the network configuration to "Bridged" as shown in file 13.

I kept the MAC Address to the default for my router seemed to set up a different IP for each, even though the MAC was identical according to a list in the router admin screen.

All features now work.

 

Actually , HP software uses some ports for back communication,
you need to find out what ports, and perform remapping ports
on Parallels Desktop - Preferences - Network

 

Is there a disadvantage to having the Network preference set up in the way I have done?

It's so much easier from a user set up perspective to just Bridge the connection. I have no idea what ports the HP software is utilizing.

Everything else works at this time, printing, internet browsers, scanner, etc. Am I opening up other problems for myself or others by selecting Bridged instead of mapping out ports while sharing?

 

Sorry, may be I was not clear, port mapping is necessary in Share Networking mode, in Bridged it is just another PC in the network, visible like others

 

Thanks, I was not aware of that need when sharing.

What is preferable for Parallels users in cases where multifunction devices are used over the network and accessed from within the VM?

A simple change to bridged allowed all functions to be accessed without mapping. Everything else seems to work correctly even to the point of the router assigning a unique IP.

The only draw back I see so far is getting "out of paper" notifications in both the host and the VM. Other than that, it seems to work fine without going through the hassle of determining and assigning ports.

Like everything else, there are always many ways to accomplish something. I'm still not sure if the method I described has drawbacks that I am not aware of and wouldn't want to be part of suggesting something that could cause issues because of my ignorance.

I'm really not trying to give you a hard time, John, for I truly appreciate the time and resource you give here. I'm just questioning myself now.