I have a Brother MFC-J430W it’s a colour printer/scanner with a WiFi connection.
It’s been configured and working under Windows for a few years already. The installation CD only covers Windows & Mac (not that my CD drive works any more anyway).

Trying this is via the Mint menu, I’m asked to “enter device URI” whatever that is? The example looks similar to a URL, but I have no idea
Clicking on Network Printer brings up the correct model as the first option. Under Location of the LPD network printer, it says Host: dhcppc0 Queue: BINARY_P1

Clicking Forward starts it searching for drivers, then it asks me to choose one:
Select from database, Provide PPD file, or Search for a printer driver to download.

Choosing “Select from database” (wherever the database might be?) it doesn’t have my specific model listed.
As I don’t know what “Provide PPD file” means, I opted for “Search for a printer driver to download”. However that comes up with “No matches found”

Googling for my printer model + linux, comes up with the first hit under Brother, but looking at the Brother Linux page, it’s as complicated as I remember it was to install under Windows: For Linux it asks me to first to choose Linux (rpm) or Linux (deb). No mention of Mint that I can see.
Even ignoring that and looking at the Linux Information page, there I’m asked to select from CUPS, LPR, Scanner, ADS, Scan-key-tool as just the first items few listed. I have no idea what this stuff means.

Found another website listing my printer model under Linux
http://tutorialforlinux.com/2016/06/...ts-easy-guide/
“#1 Download printer driver for Linux: Here Brother Printer .gz Installer”, but there’s no link.
I was desperately trying to avoid using Terminal as it scares the hell out of me, not having any understanding of it at all. Everything is goobledy-gook to me.
I know there are adverts all over the page, but I can’t make sense of the text anyway?
Is there somewhere I can download and install the driver easily?

paxolin,

We meet again!

Ubuntu, Mint, Debian and many other Linux distros use .deb packages:
http://askubuntu.com/questions/43960...-in-deb-format

You may also find some useful info in Linux Made Simple which is FREE and available as a pdf here:
https://ia801501.us.archive.org/12/i...le_2015_UK.pdf

To get the Linux driver for your printer, go here:
http://support.brother.com/g/b/downl...30w_all&os=128

Click on Driver Install Tool.

Click on Agree to the EULA and Download.

Select Save file and click on OK.

See post #5 here:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...5c-4175598200/

Good luck.

1 members found this post helpful.

Hi again beachboy2.
I think I've d/l the file. However as I said in my post I was desperately trying to avoid terminal. This is what's happened so far:

Absolutely no idea what I've done wrong.
I open a window in Downloads and can see: linux-brprinter-installer-2.1.1-1 in there.

paxolin,

You may need to install gzip first:

ALSO, you must personalise the details in the example.

Use your username (paxolin?) NOT nico, which was used in the example.

Use MFC-J430W, not DCP-195C from the example.

1 members found this post helpful.

I'm really sorry beachboy2, but I really have absolutely no understanding of what I'm supposed to be doing here.
This is the latest I've tried, if any of it is correct at all, I wouldn't know:

paxolin,

Where did you get MFC-J880DW from? Your printer is a MFC-J430W.

To get the Linux driver for your printer, go here:
http://support.brother.com/g/b/downl...30w_all&os=128

Click on Driver Install Tool.

Click on Agree to the EULA and Download.

Select Save file and click on OK.

The linux-brprinter-installer-2.1.1-1.gz appears to be in your Downloads folder.

Open a Terminal window (Menu > Terminal).

In order to access the correct file location (Downloads), type the appropriate command in Terminal and press Enter.

Next type this command to extract the downloaded file:


and press Enter.

You now need to get superuser authorization with the "su" command or "sudo su" command.

Type in Terminal:

Press Enter, type your password. Note that nothing will be displayed for security reasons.
Then press Enter again.

Now run the tool by typing:

Press Enter.

The driver installation will start. Follow the installation screen directions.

When you see the message "Will you specify the DeviceURI ?",

For USB Users: Choose N(No) and press Enter.

For Network Users: Choose Y(Yes) and DeviceURI number.

The install process may take some time. Please wait until it is complete.

1 members found this post helpful.

Beachboy2,
I'm sorry again. I keep saying how it all means nothing to me.

I got the "linux-brprinter-installer-2.1.1-1 MFC-J880DW" from the page after downloading the printer package on the brother website.
It's only because you queried it, I looked closer and saw it says "e.g." in front of it. I just assumed that was what I had to paste.
I downloaded it again. This time I saved it, as the default says "open with..."something or other.

I have (maybe) now got it correct. You mentioned about "For Network Users: Choose Y(Yes) and DeviceURI number" as I need to do this, I have no free USB ports - it needs to be Wi-Fi the same as Windows. But I have no idea about the "DeviceURI number", as this is where the prompt is now waiting.
It's not "dhcppc0" is it? Does that look like a URI?
I'm sorry for being so thick with this.

paxolin,

I had problems setting up the wifi on my Hp 8620 printer but I solved it eventually.

Post #10 shows how I did it:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...-a-4175527021/

Find the wireless MAC address, not the ethernet one, from the side/rear/base of your printer.

In my case I use a Netgear DG834G router which has a default gateway of http://192.168.0.1

Your router probably has a different one!

I opened my web browser using that gateway address and entered the admin username and password for the router.

I went to LAN IP Setup > Address Reservation.

In my router the DHCP range is 192.168.0.2 to 192.168.0.254, so I set the printer's static IP address towards the top end of that range at 192.168.0.250 to avoid interference with other IPs.

You need to enter the wireless MAC address (just enter the string of numbers/letters, without colons) and give the printer a name of MFC-J430W.

Click on Add > Apply and wait for the router to update.
Reboot the router for good measure.


This will be different for your machine:

I then switched on the printer and touched the on-screen wireless icon, then the “gearwheel” in the lower left corner.
Wireless Settings > Wireless Setup Wizard > Change settings > Yes > Select “My Network Name” > OK.

I switched on my PC and made sure that my printer's USB lead was removed. In Administration > Configure printers, I deleted any existing printers.

Have a look at your printer's Network User's Guide:
http://download.brother.com/welcome/..._eng_net_b.pdf

Also try the Network Glossary for help:
http://download.brother.com/welcome/..._eng_ngy_a.pdf

1 members found this post helpful.

Linux is not Windows. In Linux the errors actually mean something, they're trying to tell you what's wrong, but you do have to read them and listen to what they're telling you.

All you did was type the name of a directory, so the shell is telling you it's a directory. If you want to actually go there, then you need to use "cd" for "change directory".
There you go. Now you've changed into "Downloads", which is a subdirectory of wherever you were before. If you want to see where you are, you can type "pwd" for "present working directory".
Pretty self-explanatory, you've told it to gunzip (similar to unzip) a file that doesn't exist. You can run "ls" (aka list) to see what files are in your current directory, then you can either copy/paste the file you want when running your command, or even better, you can use tab completion. Type the first few letters of a file, and then hit [TAB]. The shell will auto-complete the rest of the filename for you, if there is actually a file in the directory that matches those first few characters. If there isn't a file that matches, it won't do anything. If there are multiple files that match, it will auto-complete what is common between their names, and then wait for you to type another character to identify which one you want and hit [TAB] again.
Looks like there is something called "linux-brprinter-installer-2.1.1-1" in the current directory, but because it doesn't end in ".gz", it's not a gzipped file, so gunzip has nothing to do and just ignored it.
In bash, when you run a program, you can provide arguments to that program on the command line. The arguments are separated by spaces, so any space in your arguments is interpreted as dividing your command into multiple arguments. For gunzip, multiple command line arguments are interpreted as multiple files. So "gunzip a b" would tell gunzip to gunzip files "a" and "b". That's what gunzip has done here, you provided two arguments separated by a space, and gunzip is taking that to mean you want to gunzip two files with those names. The previous line printed out what it thought of the first argument (it existed, but didn't end in .gz, so was skipped), this line is telling you what it thinks of the second argument. The name you gave it did not end in .gz, so it assumed you just left it off and tried it anyway, then it told you that there is no file called "MFC-J880DW.gz" in your current directory.
Now you've switched from gunzip to gzip, why are you trying to compress the file? You've also started putting colons on the end of your commands for some reason. The colon is interpreted by the shell as part of the name of the program you want to run, in this case "gzip:" is not the name of a program on your computer ("gzip" is, but not "gzip:").
See above. Now you're trying to gunzip again, but again you've put a colon on the end of the program name, and the shell is telling you "gunzip:" doesn't exist. Even if you had changed this to "gunzip", you still would have received the same error as before:
"linux-brprinter-installer-2.1.1-1" does exist on your system, but it is not a gzipped file, so gunzipping it will not do anything.

There's no need to be afraid of the Linux command line, but typing out random commands you don't understand and ignoring the resulting error messages will get you nowhere. You need to SLOW DOWN, think about the command you're running, why you're trying to run it, what you expect it to do, and most importantly, when you get an error, what does it mean.

1 members found this post helpful.

I appreciate the time you've taken to explain everything.
I am not particularly technical, so while you say about thinking about the command and why I'm running it, I really do have trouble understanding this. As a newbie, Linux seems to me to need a lot of technical knowledge to add programs or alter settings. I was really pleased with myself that I had managed to get it installed, most of that was because the process asked me questions in plain English that I could follow.
When it comes to terminal, my eyes just glaze over. That's why I try to avoid it at all costs. You said pwd means Present Working Directory. I never knew what it meant, I always thought it was some abbreviation for password, but couldn't work out why.

Hi hydrurga,

If I follow all the instructions about the router, won't it cancel everything I already in there have for printing in Windows, as that is working OK, and I don't want to jeopardise that. I feel really reluctant to do this.
Do I have to do it twice, separately for Windows and Linux?

I remember when the guy came to change the router last year (new ISP), he had to spent a long time getting my printer to work on the WiFi again, and he knew what he was doing (I think!)
When I originally installed my Brother printer a few years ago, I had to ask Brother tech support a lot of questions, and then it still took two different technical people coming to look at it to get it working.

I really was hoping I could use the same settings/info that I have already for Windows, (Host: dhcppc0) that I referred to in my OP?
Or isn't that possible?

paxolin,

I have not seen any input from hydrurga on this problem yet, but I am sure that he will be along shortly.

suicidaleggroll has said it all.

Take some deep breaths and take in the information slowly.

By the way, URI means Uniform Resource Identifier.

I have already given you a set of instructions on downloading and installing the driver.

The most important thing to do now is set a Static IP address for your Brother printer.

Here are 3 guides. Go over them slowly, until you fully understand what you have to do.

1. Assigning Static IP addresses (from Brother)

http://support.brother.com/g/b/faqen...aq00002806_000

Before you assign the IP address manually using Static mode, please read the following.
The IP address which you wish to assign to your Brother Machine:
Must be chosen from outside the range of the IP address that might be assigned as a dynamic address by DHCP server.
Must be different from the one that has been already assigned to another device in your network.
Must be on the same network as your computer and the WLAN access point/router.
If the IP address assigned to your computer is 192.168.1.xx, assign any number which has not assigned to other devices to where xx is (e.g. 192.168.1.10). The first three series of numbers (192.168.1 as shown in the example) must be the same.

2. http://www.northshore-it.com/tips/ho...ter_static_ip/

3. Video of above:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUGZDS95BVU

Here is a general tutorial for setting up a Brother printer in Linux:
https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2322192

The instructions are pretty much the same as the ones I gave you earlier.

The main point is that you need to set a static IP address for the printer.

Then, when you reach this next section, you select the appropriate number (in this case 12) and then press Enter.

Next you type (in this case) the static IP address you created earlier:

192.168.1.99

and press Enter again.

0: beh
1: socket
2: lpd
3: ipps
4: ipp14
5: https
6: ipp
7: http
8: hp
9: hpfax
10: dnssd://Brother%20MFC-7360N._pdl-datastream._tcp.local/
11: lpd://MFC7360N/BINARY_P1
12 (I): Specify IP address.
13 (A): Auto. (dnssd://Brother%20MFC-7360N._pdl-datastream._tcp.local/)

select the number of destination Device URI. ->12


enter IP address ->192.168.1.99

lpadmin -p MFC7360N -v socket://192.168.1.99 -E
Test Print? [y/N] ->y

enter IP address ->192.168.1.99
lpadmin -p MFC7360N -v socket://192.168.1.99 -E
Test Print? [y/N] ->y

wait 5s.
lpr -P MFC7360N /usr/share/cups/data/testprint
Then select y for test print. Press Enter.
# Test page prints out.

Just take things gradually and absorb the above information.

You have done virtually all the command line work in any case. Don’t be frightened of it.

You must set a Static IP address for your printer and then enter that information when requested.

NB Make sure that you use YOUR OWN names, settings etc and NOT those in the tutorials!

Good luck.

Hi beachboy2,

I'm really sorry to harp on about this, as I have all this detailed info about how to setup my printer with an IP address, including in one video about resetting the network settings on the printer.

The question no one has answered Yes or No so far, is: Can I use the settings I already have for Windows, in Mint?
In my OP I said that when I first tried to setup the printer in Mint: "Under Location of the LPD network printer, it says Host: dhcppc0 Queue: BINARY_P1"
I remember seeing the "dhcppc0" (whatever that is?) referred to before in Windows.

There are two reasons why I'm asking this:

1. I can't afford to lose the Windows settings/current access via WiFi to the Brother printer. My wife needs to use it for her work, from her iPad, and I would have no idea how to change any settings as it's all in Thai language (let alone that I've never used anything Apple in my life).

2. The detailed instructions to set a static IP address to use the printer under Linux need me to access the router. I have no access to it. My ISP won't give me the login/password as they say it's not for customers use to access it themselves.

So is it possible to access my Brother printer vis this "dhcppc0", (unless I've missed the obvious) as this seems the only way I can do it in Linux, given my two points above?

paxolin,

What is the output of:

You may be able to use the lpd setting, but I am not sure about that. I have used the Static IP route to solve my printer's wifi connection.

Others can advise you.

Further info below:

http://askubuntu.com/questions/32470...reless-printer

http://support.brother.com/g/b/faqen...qp00100045_001

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Ne...tingWithUbuntu

CUPS:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/CUPS

I will have a look at the links you've just sent, thanks.

This is what you have just asked me about, if this helps?