About a year ago, I talked about how my Linux Mint printer can't print from the one connected to the Windows box. It's one year now, and it still does not print.

I guess I should be more polite and talk more succinctly.

When the problem started, I must be using the late 19s or the early 20s of Linux Mint, now it's 20.3 and the problem has still not gone away. The computer that shares the printer was replaced and that computer uses Windows 10 Pro.

See, when I try to connect to the printer that is attached and sharing by the print server, which is now Windows 10 Pro by the way, I am asked for a password. I keep asking, which login/password? The Add Printer applet is not being useful.

Now I have the knowledge that I am subjecting my 64-bit Linux Mint box to drivers that use 32-bit technologies. It even said so by the support staff.

I used the install tool from here and it works, up until the last part, and that asks me for the Device URI. I entered the [u]number[.[ and it says "bad URI" and it doesn't print. This was done through command line by the way.

I did find my model in OpenPrinting, but that solution failed; just incompatible drivers.

As per suggestions, I also downloaded ia32-iibs and libstd++, no go.

I did find an answer: install the Windows driver to a Windows VM. That worked but I don't want to do it that way.

Heaven help me.

Put that printer on a print server on the network, give it an IP address, then the whole network can access it easily enough by IP. Or access it wirelessly.

If you are going to access a printer hooked to a windows machine, windows, windows firewall will have to be configures to allow that. Either that or turn windows firewall off for a minute. Windows firewall won't allow anything unless you configure it to.

I never do that, so you are going to have to read. Some of these may be dated.

https://www.howtogeek.com/191323/how...-on-a-network/
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...f-f39e5bf664c3
https://www.top-password.com/blog/sh...in-windows-10/
https://tldp.org/HOWTO/SMB-HOWTO-10.html
https://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-...rinter-ubuntu/
https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~reinho...nt_client.html
https://serverfault.com/questions/10...worked-printer
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...5-0c0d5568c922
https://serverfault.com/questions/10...or-cups-client
https://www.printfil.com/article/lin...ws-printer.htm

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Oh shoot, I even forgot to tell you that it's a HL-2140 printer!

These printers come from Brother.

oops wrong thread

If I remember correctly by that point in the installer the driver is already loaded and its trying to automatically add a printer queue.
The exact URL depends on if you are using authentication i.e. name/password.

If not you can try using the URL smb://windows_IP or name/printer otherwise let it fail. You can manually add the printer using Mint's printer wizard. Select add printer, Windows printer using samba and use the URL as posted above. See if you can select the make/model number when prompted.

Otherwise I am out of ideas at the moment. The printer uses a host based GDI print driver which may be expecting a local attached printer versus something on the LAN.

I agree with post #2, and what teckk said...why can't you attach the printer directly to the network?? ANY computer can print directly to it, without the need for Samba, Windows firewall configuration, etc. Plugging it into your network should give you an IP address, and you configure it from there. Should easily be able to use CUPS...there's a driver on the Brother website: https://support.brother.com/g/b/down...rod=hl2140_all

Can't imagine why it's taken an entire year.

The printer only has a USB port but there are linux compatible usb ethernet print servers like below if the OP was willing to spend some money. If not it probably would be easier to put the printer on the linux side.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...iABEgKFaPD_BwE

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Wow..just noticed that, good catch. And you're thinking of the same sort of solution I am:
https://www.amazon.com/AllAboutAdapt.../dp/B096N51QJ3

And agreed that setting it up on Linux would be FAR easier than doing it through Windows...simple Samba setup to share out a printer.

michaelk is smart!

I'll try going that route.

Does this work for most/all USB printers?

I have you fooled... to which idea are you referring when you posted does this work for USB printers?

Like, can I use a print server device to plug old USB printers like my HL-2140 unto all computers, GNU/Linux and Windows, in my network?

That's the part I'm interested about.

With the network print server i posted the link should work with most older USB printers. Although I have some reservations since the 2140 is a gdi device which means essentially the printers brains is the connected computer.

If you had doubts, then why did you say this?

No disrespect intended.

Sorry, I was probably distracted by other stuff.

Because you have an old USB printer, and that's one of the cheapest options to get it on a network; their device is similar to the one I posted too.

As stated, you can plug the device into your Linux system, and share it to the network, much easier than you can with Windows:
https://wiki.samba.org/index.php/Set...a_Print_Server

Linux can print directly to the printer; Windows systems can go through SMB.