Samba and Windows Print Drivers

maples · 09-03-2014, 06:54 PM

Hi!
I'm in the process of moving our home printer from my mom's XP desktop to my Debian server. I setup samba and cups, and I can get to the printer from the XP desktop. But it asks for a driver and gives a list, but our printer isn't on the driver list. I know that there is a way to use the "print$" share on the samba server to supply the driver. But I can't find anything on where the driver goes, or even where you get the driver from. Does anyone know how to do this?

BTW, the printer is a HP Photosmart c4200 series. And we've never had driver issues when connected via USB.

Thanks!

mostlyharmless · 09-03-2014, 07:00 PM

A few questions, which may help start the ball rolling.

You have hplip on your Debian machine I assume, and the printer works perfectly from the desktop?

You can see the printer in cups from the cups interface from the Windows machine?

maples · 09-03-2014, 07:12 PM

The Debian machine has hplip, and I can print stuff from the Debian machine just fine. The Windows desktop can't print because it needs a driver. (Which I find unusual, because it worked fine when the printer was connected directly to the WinXP desktop via USB)

The cups web interface (192.168.0.101:631) is not accessible from the WinXP computer. When I open the cups web interface (localhost:631) from the Debian machine, the printer is listed normally.

Thanks!

allend · 09-03-2014, 07:18 PM

For a home situation, my advice would be to install the Windows printer driver locally on the XP desktop and create a raw printer queue on the Samba server so that the formatted print data from the XP desktop is passed as is to the printer.
Setting up Point'n'Print printing in Samba can be a challenge.
https://wiki.samba.org/index.php/Sam...a_print_server
http://www.samba.org/samba/docs/man/...html#id2626650

maples · 09-03-2014, 07:42 PM

OK, it turns out the driver was on the Windows machine, but hidden. (It was under "Hewlett-Packard," not "HP" with all the other ones)

But now the WinXP machine says "Access denied, unable to connect." I can't find what's wrong with my samba config...here it is:

Code:

[global]
        server string = %h server
        map to guest = Bad User
        obey pam restrictions = Yes
        pam password change = Yes
        passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u
        passwd chat = *Enter\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *Retype\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *password\supdated\ssuccessfully* .
        unix password sync = Yes
        syslog = 0
        log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
        max log size = 1000
        printcap name = cups
        dns proxy = No
        usershare allow guests = Yes
        panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d
        idmap config * : backend = tdb

[printers]
        comment = All Printers
        path = /var/spool/samba
        create mask = 0755
        guest ok = Yes
        printable = Yes
        print ok = Yes
        browseable = No

[print$]
        comment = Printer Drivers
        path = /var/lib/samba/printers
        guest ok = Yes

[srv]
        comment = Server Files
        path = /srv
        read only = No
        create mask = 0755

Any ideas?

Thanks!

EDIT: And it seems that I can't access the /srv share either, even when I give it the root password...

allend · 09-03-2014, 08:53 PM

Has the user of the XP desktop been added to the Samba user database? Check with pdbedit.http://www.samba.org/samba/docs/man/...pdbedit.8.html
Did you supply the username and password when creating the Samba print queue as shown in the "Adding a new printer section" of the wiki.samba.org link?

maples · 09-04-2014, 06:37 AM

No...I've never even heard of pbedit

... When I get home today I'll look into that.

Windows never prompted for a username or password when I installed the printer...

I had messed with samba a while ago, but I removed it since I never used it...apparently I forgot a lot!

maples · 09-11-2014, 07:20 PM

Sorry about the delayed reply...

I made a Samba user using pbedit. When I went to the Windows computer, it asked for a password for the /srv share just like it should. However, it still gives the "Access denied, unable to print" message when I look at the printer.

EDIT:

I tried to just print something regardless of the Windows message. Apparently the warning doesn't mean a thing. I can print just fine with no problems at all.

Stupid Windows...

So it seems that there was never a problem at all...

Thanks for your help!