Connect Samsung ML-1630W to wireless router

(Note – technical entry.  Skip unless you are trying to configure your Samsung ML-1630W to a wireless router)

I. Hate. Printers.

I bought brand new ink cartridges (of every color) for my Epson Stylus Photo RX-510 last week. I needed to print out a document that only needed black ink, but the stupid printer refused to work unless all the color ink cartridges had ink in them.  What a scam.  So I hauled myself to Sim Lim and bought 90 SGD worth of ink cartridges.

Today I fired up the printer because I needed to print 2 pages of a document.  In black.  IT DIDN’T WORK.  I spent hours troubleshooting it and finally gave up.  It was dead.  Time to get a new printer.

Have you ever gone to Sim Lim while suffering from a cold?  It’s not enjoyable at all. Trudging from store to store, asking about prices, trying to bargain, batting away all the flyers people are shoving at you… bah!

I bought the Samsung ML-1630W on the recommendation of a friend.  It’s a monochrome laser printer.

Reviews of it on Amazon indicate that people have trouble setting it up on the network.  I did as well. I resorted to calling Samsung technical support who, while extremely friendly, were horribly wrong in their assessment.  They told me the printer was broken and that I should return it to the store.

So I rolled up my sleeves and figured out how to do it myself.

My network configuration – wireless router with WPA-Personal security, some laptops connected wirelessly and a desktop connected via wire.

To get the Samsung ML-1630W to connect wirelessly and configure the network key, you have to do the following:

1. Connect the crossover (looks like an ethernet / RJ-45 cable) cable from the printer to a computer
2. Disable your Firewall (Yes, it’s insecure, but you have to do it).  Disable the firewall for all network configs (i.e. home, work, public)
3. From the CD that comes with the printer, go to the Application folder, SetIP folder, and run Setup
4. Run SetIP – you should see something like “SEC0015xxxxx” listed under printer name
5. Select it and click “Manual Setting” (3rd button from the left)
6. Enter the Mac address that is already displayed for the printer when SetIP first launched
7. Enter an IP Address that is in the valid range of your wireless network (i.e. if your network assigns IPs from 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.50, enter something like 192.168.1.25)
8. Enter Subnet Mask and Default Gateway (you can get these by going to the Windows command prompt and typing in IPCONFIG – then look for the associated IP addresses)
9. Hit Apply – this will force the printer to always have these IP settings – you need to do this cause the printer is too stupid to work with the Dynamic IPs assigned by the router’s DHCP server… even though it’s supposed to!!!
10. Disconnect the crossover cable from the printer
11. Connect the printer to your router using an ethernet cable
12. Launch the web browser from your computer
13. Go to http://IPAddressOfPrinter (if you assigned it 192.168.1.25 you would go to http://192.168.1.25)
14. Web page for the printer should load
15. Click on “Network Settings” on the top tab
16. Click on “Wireless” on the left menu
17. Select “Custom” from Wireless Settings and click next
18. By “Search List” click the dropdown and find your wireless network
19. Go to the bottom and insert your network key
20. Click Apply
21. Unplug the ethernet cable from your printer – it should then connect wirelessly to the router
22. Pump your fist in the air and yell, “Take that Samsung!  Screw your technical support! I am a computer god!”  And then realize you spent hours fussing over this and feel hateful towards all big companies and their inability to provide adequate technical support.
23. Leave a comment on this entry if it worked for you. :)

 

Technorati Tags: Samsung ML-1630W,printer,wireless router,network key,configure,troubleshoot,wireless network

Gates on Gates

People should envy Bill Gates not for his wealth but for the relationship he has built with his parents.

lolcats

Visiting lolcats.com always brightens my day.

And this is what we’ve come to…

“We have watched half of the first season and the picture and sound are great. We live in the Philippines and there is no other way for us to see these. I want my Filipina wife to see these because this series shows a lot of family values and ways of dealing with people that we use in the US. I want my wife to learn about the culture I come from and our TV shows like this are a very good way to do this.”

- in reference to Star Trek Voyager

Project Natal on Jimmy Fallon

The internet has been rife with speculation about whether the Project Natal demonstration at E3 was rigged.

Kudo Tsunoda, creative director for Project Natal, made an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and dispelled those rumors.

Natal is going to be awesome!

Success & Motivation by Mark Cuban

Normally I’m not one to share inspirational / how-to-be-successful articles (I find most of them cheesy), but I like Mark Cuban’s plain-talking straightforward views.

I also admire how he was pretty much just like any of us.  A struggling student, didn’t get the best of grades, and goofed off with his friends most of the time.

Success and Motivation – 2009

I particularly like this:

“1. Recognize that its ok to live like a student.

It doesn’t matter where you live. It doesn’t matter how you live. It doesn’t matter what kind of car you drive. It doesn’t matter what kind of clothes you wear. It doesn’t matter.  Your biggest enemies are your bills.  The more you owe, the more you stress. The more you stress over bills, the more difficult it is to focus on your goals.  More importantly, if you set your monthly income requirements too high, you eliminate a significant number of opportunities. The cheaper you can live, the greater your options. Remember that.”

Windows 7 Themes

I’ve installed the Windows 7 Release Candidate on all my machines.  It’s running on a custom-built Intel Core 2 Duo desktop, a HP Mini 1000 Netbook, and a 15 inch Macbook Pro running Boot Camp.  They are all running very well.  The only “problem” is I can’t get the microphone in the HP Mini 1000 to work but I haven’t spent time trying to fix that yet.  The other machines are running great and the only times I have needed to reboot have been when Windows Update sent some test patches through the system.

Best of all, sleep mode finally WORKS!  On my Macbook Pro it was > 70% chance that if I closed the lid or otherwise put the machine to sleep, it would hang and need to be powered off without the proper shutdown procedure.  Now I snap the lid shut and it goes to sleep like a little baby that has drunk Nyquil.

Anyway, a great personalization feature of Windows 7 is themes.  There are some included by default that are beautiful.  Architecture, Characters, and Scenes are the ones I like the most.

This entry from the “Engineering Windows 7 Blog” explains how to create, save, and share Windows 7 themes.

Pizza Hut Online – I solved you!

Oh happy day.  Happy, happy, happy day!

I have a soft spot for fast food and convenience.  Getting pizza delivered to my apartment brings me joy each time.

The ordering process, however, does not. Time spent on the phone repeating my order, clarifying the address, confirming the credit card… agh!

Last year, I was thrilled to discover they had implemented web ordering for delivery.  I thought to myself, “How great! I can sit here at the computer, browse the menu, and with a couple clicks hot pizza will be sent to me.  No human interaction necessary!”

And then I tried to use the system.

FAILURE.

It would never complete the registration process.  I would enter in my contact details, click submit, and then it would get stuck at the message saying, “Processing your registration.  Please wait.”  My determination to create a Pizza Hut online account drove me to leave that registration page up for 3 hours.  Same result.

I wrote MULTIPLE (yes, I’m that free) e-mails to Pizza Hut to let them know of the registration problem.  I got ZERO responses.  I called up Pizza Hut (for my manual orders) and told them of the issues.  They informed me they were aware of it and had no solution.

I HAVE FOUND THE SOLUTION!  (At least for Internet Explorer 8.0 users).

1. Start Internet Explorer in “InPrivate” mode (CTRL-SHIFT-P or click on the “Page” dropdown)
2. Go to http://www.pizzahutonline.com.sg
3. Enable “Compatibility View” (click on the “Page” dropdown and select “Compatibility View” or click on the icon to the right of the URL / address box)
4. Click “No” on the Security Warning that comes up asking “Do you want to view only the webpage content that was delivered securely?”
5. Register for a new account

Result: Success!

Pizza Hut may have fixed their page so these steps are all unnecessary, but every time I tried before, it failed.  With these steps, registration worked.

Now let’s see if my pizza shows up on time.

Pizza Hut Singapore owes me.

(Written on the HP Mini 1000 while waiting for the pizza to be delivered)

Technorati Tags: Pizza Hut,delivery,Singapore,registration,web ordering,food

A “New Beginning”

Absolutely brilliant speech by Barack Obama.  Delivered in Cairo, Egypt.

Transcript of “A New Beginning”

Summary from CNN

“I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles – principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.

I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point. But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground. As the Holy Koran tells us, "Be conscious of God and speak always the truth." That is what I will try to do – to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart…”

Xbox 360 owns the living room

At the E3 gaming conference, Microsoft made some massive announcements.  I think Microsoft may have just “won the living room.”

Engadget provided a play-by-play of the Microsoft presentation.

Controller-free gaming! (Watch the trailer)

The Beatles: Rock Band (coming in September!!)  They had Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Yoko Ono help unveil the game.

Facebook & Twitter apps running on the Xbox 360

Crackdown 2

All-new Metal Gear Solid

Video Marketplace in multiple countries, Last.fm…

Much more…