The easiest way to access print queues using Windows 2000 or XP is to use the “Add Printer” wizard.

Choose “Network printer” as the type of printer to add. Then type in the printer name as \\PUBLIC\xxx, where “xxx” is the name of the print queue - eg, \\PUBLIC\431. Browsing for the printer may not work, as the Windows browsing feature doesn't work reliably on a large network like ours.

The print queues are all named after the room number of the printer, eg “137”. Color printers have a “c” suffix, eg “260c”.

Toshiba color copiers don't have queues set up on the “public” server, and have to be set up differently (described on separate page).

If you have the Internet Connection Firewall enabled under Windows XP (very likely if you have Service Pack 2 installed), then you won't be able to print without changing some settings. Having the firewall enabled is, however, a good idea, as it can help protect you against many virus or worm infections.

The firewall is enabled by default in this version of Windows (and if you don't have SP2 installed, you should install it!). To allow printing:

• Right-click on My Network Places and select Properties
• Right-click on Local network connection and select Properties.
• Select the Advanced tab and check the Settings button under Windows Firewall.
• Select the Exceptions tab
• Check the box next to File and Printer Sharing and then click the Edit… button.
• File and print sharing uses several network port numners. For each port number, click the Change scope button.
• Select Custom list and enter the subnet of our print servers, as follows: 128.101.220.0/255.255.255.0.

Other firewall packages such as Symantec Client Security can also interfere with Windows printing. We don't really recommend using such programs, feeling the built-in firewall of SP2 is adequate, so we won't give any specific directions for configuring them here.