1-Port USB 2.0 Print Server, GPSU21

The user's manual that came with this product provides incorrect installation instructions. There is no CD that comes with this product. You do NOT need to change your computer's IP address so that it can be on the same default subnet as the print server! If you have a DHCP server on your network, the print server will accept an IP from your DHCP server. I downloaded the setup software from IOGear's website and it was written for WinXP! I assumed that it should be compatible with Win11, which is what I am running, but the software failed to do anything useful. I uninstalled the software. You do need to make sure that your computer has the printer drivers already installed, and I would also strongly recommend that you assign the print server a static IP address. The steps you would need to take to connect to the print server / printer are not obvious and not documented in the user's manual. I reached out to the IOGear support line and they were able to walk me through the configuration steps needed. After the call, I was able to successfully print a test page.

I read others say it's tricky to install but the instructions are straightforward and easy. I used this method for both a Vista and Windows 7 64 bit machine: 1) Make sure your printer is compatible. See www.iogear(dot)com/files/pdf/GPSU21_PrinterCompatibilityList.pdf 2) Make sure you have installed the printer drivers on your computer. This is only a server, you must still have the drivers installed. 3) Insert the CD and run the Wizard. If prompted by Windows, grant permissions and Unblock firewall. 4) If you need to configure a static IP you can, otherwise just click through the steps. 5) When you get to where you select a printer, if the printer you want is not on the list (mine wasn't) then click Add New Printer and (as the instructions say, but this is important to not miss)"If asked which port to use, choose LPT1 but DO NOT print a test page yet." 6) Just click through to Finish. You can now go to Control Panel and print a test page if you want. Works fine. I have two notebooks that both now have access to the printer without difficulty. UPDATE 7/16/13: Some folks had mentioned the print server stopped working. I had that too and here's what the problem was - I had reset my wifi router. So the IP my computers had for the print server port(which is set during the print server CD setup) no longer matched the new IP the router assigned. This can easily be remedied by setting up the print server with a static IP during the wizard install. Just follow the instructions in the manual. Then I went to my wifi router admin page and set aside that IP for the print server. The process to do this varies per router, but you should be able to find it without too much trouble. On my Linksys E2000 this is done on the Admin's Setup page, under DHCP Server Settings and selecting DHCP Reservation. Afterwards the IP address port assigned to the print server on your computer will always match the one assigned by your router even if you have a power outage or need to reset your router. This whole process literally takes a minute or two. The print server still works great!

I would love to give this device a FIVE, since it works perfectly once it is set up. The difficulty is all about the setup. I am a retired IT Manager so I am not one to give up easily on a product install. It would simply NOT install as described in the manual. In Windows 10 it would get to the first level but would not identify any print servers as described in the installation manual, which means that you cannot proceed any further. I then went into Safe Mode several times and actually was able to proceed beyond the first screen and actually search for an actual print server (this product). In Safe Mode even with Networking, the App could not identify the needed print server. There were suggestions that the Firewalls be disabled and I tried that after pulling the plug on our Internet connection. Finally, after switching back and forth between Safe Mode and Windows 10, there appeared a desktop icon labeled "PSWizard". which was clearly part of the installation but was not mentioned in any of the documentation. Long story short, when you click on this program it allows you to bypass whatever Firewall settings that exist at the time (I had unplugged us from the Comcast modem so was not concerned) the net result being that the wizard was able to connect me and my wife's computer to the printer with little hassle. Does it work? You bet! Will you have to work to get it to work? You Bet!

I ordered this product in the hopes that it would end the constant harassment from the Mrs about having my PC turned off when she wanted to print. The product looked pretty good and seemed like a perfect solution. To my dismay, reality was much more painful. We have 2 PCs, one laptop and an iMac on our network and when I opened the directions to "Istall on a Mac" I found the following listed as a first step. (After physically plugging the print server into the printer and hub. Open your printer dialong and input the IP address of the print server.....well, just what IS the IP address this thing sets up for it self? Good thing I had a windows PC that could take their installation CD. I figured I would install on the Windows PC first and then move back to the Mac. All was going well with the install until I selected which printer was going to be used on the server. After selecting the printer I was treated to another extremely helpful message...and this is actually how it was written. "The printer segent that was you selected is not the same as the print server". Nice error message, got it on the other two windows machines as well. Went the the manufacturer's web site and decided to check out the support/faq for this device. Guess what? There were zero articles about this device. None! I quick search of the web netted me the cause of this error. The printer I have (an HP Photosmart 8250) is not supported by this product. Would have been nice to find that out before I ordered. Amazon's return was as easy as ever, so I can't fault Amazon in any way. If you own any newer printer, aviod this thing at all costs. Firmware is dated in Feb 2006 and there are no updates for it at this time.

Read all the reviews and decided to take the chance - now I'm paying for it. The print server installed very easily on my XP machine. No problems with the hardward, software or installation. Up and running in a matter of minutes. Couldn't be any easier. Thus I walked away from my XP machine very happy and with high hopes. That all ended when I started the installation on my Vista laptop. 2 hours into it and still no luck. It prints (HP LaserJet 1012) garbage, gives error messages and just plain won't work. I'm in the process of trying every which way to install the printer hoping that one method will eventually work. The website for IOGear support is ok. Very, very little documentation on the this model of print server. I did find one document regarding installing the server under Vista. Followed the directions line by line with no luck. Very few of the 1000 series laserjets are listed. It starts with the LJ 1500. Nothing below that is listed as being tested and approved. But I figure if it works with the 1500 it should work with the rest of the 1000 series printers. Maybe not... I'll post an update once I get or not get the printer attached under Vista.

Does exactly what it's suppose to do! Don't know why people have trouble getting it to work....ohh wait they're using windows ( ugghh ). But even my 5 year old router identified it and assigned it a permanent IP address. No, this type of device is not often plug and play but still takes very little effort to get working.Took exactly 4 minutes to get it connected. It fixed my mistake of buying a laser printer that was only USB.. So if you hook it up and it doesn't work, go online and you'll find what you need to know to get it working. And once it's recognized, it will just keep working. i've used print severs for years to network printer and they have always worked well. A Windows tip: If it's not recognized, ad the device as a generic network card and Bingo! Your printer will be seen.

This print server works great for me! I wanted to add a laser jet printer to Win 7, and share it on my network easily. Previous to using this, I had a really old but reliable parallel port network print server by Hawking Technologies on my deskjet that I've been using for 5 years, but that never showed up on the Win7 network detection, so I figured I couldn't use it. No mention of current driver support for that printer server on Hawking website. However, once I installed the new version of IOGear's software that comes with this IOGear USB print server, it detected both network print servers! The drivers worked with the old Hawking stuff! Added bonus for me, since now I could install both printers for use on all my various computers. I did that, and now they both work great on several WinXP and Win7 computers of varying ages. It is rare to have a driver work better than you expected! That is the main reason I am writing this review. Also added deskjet driver by using windows update for my Win7 machine while using the network monitor wizard and that process worked fine; though it is easier if you ensure the printer driver is loaded first, it is not necessary. Only oddness in installation that I saw was on some machines the usb printer was reset to "offline", so you need to right click on that printer and set it to "work online" before you can use it. Then all is well.

I'm using it for an Epson R300, which is an older inkjet printer and is *NOT* on the official "supported list". It prints just fine and is solid (I find network printers prefer static IPs, so I assigned a static one for this unit, as well), though the ink level reporting feature does not work. This is okay with me, since the GPSU21 did not claim to support my printer so the fact that it's working at all I count as a plus. As for Windows 8.1, yes, it definitely works with 8.1 (64 bit) - that what I'm using, as well as another machine running Windows 7. I pre-emptively downloaded the very latest drivers from IOGear rather than installing the ones which came on the CD. I don't know if that was strictly necessary, but it seemed like my best chance for getting good results. I have an unusual LAN addressing scheme (not 192.168.1.x) but no problems getting set up. The IOGear widget used DHCP at first. The driver software had no problem finding it and reconfiguring it to use a static address was a snap. Overall, very easy to use and it appears, after a week or so of infrequent use, to be a solid product. My specific configuration has this unit connected via ethernet to a wifi bridge which also serves a laser printer, also with a static IP. Both are getting along fine. The laser printer prefers a static IP, too -- making that change for it some weeks ago solved a lot of problems. It seems the wifi bridge and the printer's DHCP features did not completely get along.