I have a desktop pc connected to a netgear rangemax DG834N router. I also 
have two wireless laptops The Epson R300 printer and the Epson Perfection 
2400 Photo scanner is connected to the desktop pc and all the pcs are 
connected via a network. The desktop pc, scanner and printer are in the 
bedroom
However I rarely use the desktop pc and could do with the space it takes up. 
Is there any way of adapting the scanner and printer to work direct from the 
laptop (other than physically taking it upstairs and plugging it in) and 
also is it possible to connect just an external hard drive to the router so 
that I have spare storage space not on my laptop?
And if either ARE possible, how difficult is it ? (!!)

In message <zu6dnVmTj9GNJGjVnZ2dnUVZ8jWdnZ2d@posted.plusnet>, mellybelly 
 writes

>However I rarely use the desktop pc and could do with the space it takes up.
>Is there any way of adapting the scanner and printer to work direct from the
>laptop (other than physically taking it upstairs and plugging it in)

Getting a printer to work on the network is pretty easy, what you need 
is a "print server." Some routers have the capability built in. Getting 
the scanner to work like that is practically impossible.

>and
>also is it possible to connect just an external hard drive to the router so
>that I have spare storage space not on my laptop?

What you are aiming to do is to create a NAS system, Network Attached 
Storage. There are standalone NAS boxes available. Some routers have the 
capability built-in - you just need to plug in a USB external disk.

>And if either ARE possible, how difficult is it ? (!!)

There isn't a practical solution for the scanner problem, that I know 
of. There is a way to do it using Linux but that would still need a PC.

If your budget will stand it then you can just replace the router with 
one that has print-server and NAS capability. These have USB ports, plug 
the printer into one and a USB hard-drive into another. It's really 
easy, but not cheap if you have to buy another router.

There is a cheaper way but it's not entirely easy and may not do exactly 
what you want. That is to turn your desktop machine into a "headless" 
server. That means running it without a monitor attached. It gives you 
more flexibility about where to put the PC, which may be all you need. 
Use remote-desktop to connect from a laptop to the desktop box when you 
need to control a printer or scanner attached to it.

For the sake of completeness I'll add that Linux is probably a better OS 
to do this with, but there's a steep learning curve.



-- 
Bernard Peek
London, UK. DBA, Manager, Trainer & Author.

mellybelly wrote:
> 
> However I rarely use the desktop pc and could do with the space it takes up. 
> Is there any way of adapting the scanner and printer to work direct from the 
> laptop (other than physically taking it upstairs and plugging it in) and 
> also is it possible to connect just an external hard drive to the router so 
> that I have spare storage space not on my laptop?
> And if either ARE possible, how difficult is it ? (!!)

I could recommend an edimax printer server http://tinyurl.com/56xwao

If your network is XP or Vista it uses a virtual USB port so wireless 
connected devices are as though the USB is plugged in. My HP printer, 
scanner, memory card reader works fine.

If your network machines are not XP/Vista then the remote printing 
facilities will still work fine but the scanner may be a wee bit more 
difficult.

Geoff Lane

In article ,
	Bernard Peek  writes:
> In message <zu6dnVmTj9GNJGjVnZ2dnUVZ8jWdnZ2d@posted.plusnet>, mellybelly 
>  writes
> 
>>However I rarely use the desktop pc and could do with the space it takes up.
>>Is there any way of adapting the scanner and printer to work direct from the
>>laptop (other than physically taking it upstairs and plugging it in)
> 
> Getting a printer to work on the network is pretty easy, what you need 
> is a "print server." Some routers have the capability built in. Getting 
> the scanner to work like that is practically impossible.

An all-in-one printer/scanner/fax] with network connection would
work nicely in this case. I bought an HP C6180 (now superceeded
but similar newer models available) for someone in the family and 
that's how we use it. The printer is very nice from the hardware
point of view. The basic printer driver is good too, but the
spamvertising it installs at the same time is a right royal pain
in the arse, and the fancy HP scanning tools such as scanning a
whole document into a PDF file would be extremely useful, if it
actually worked, which it doesn't, but basic scanning is OK.
(I eventually worked out how install the printer driver without
the HP spamvertising.)

-- 
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]