Review on D-Link DP-301P+ 10/100TX Print Server with 1-Centronic Port - Enhanced SEO by Jeff Bridgewater

I bought this to get my ancient but reliable HP LaserJet 5L working with Windows 7 and a Mac. The good news is that I made it. The bad news is that it wasn't particularly easy or straight forward. I realized I was in trouble when I opened the box and saw that the documentation was from 2003 and only applied to Windows XP. I think it never occurred to D-Link that anyone would want to use this gadget with a modern operating system. Visiting the D-Link website didn't help - there was no documentation at all, and the link to "Windows 7 Installation Instructions" just got me a "Page Not Found" error. D-Link doesn't worry about updating its website. I've tried following Win XP's instructions, including changing my computer's IP address. This allowed me to see the D-Link print server but got disconnected from the internet. Bad idea. In a final act of desperation, I called D-Link Technical Support, not expecting much. Then a miracle happened! In a short time I actually got through to a real person who could speak English and really knew what they were talking about. She guided me through the installation for Win 7. It turned out that there is a secret (which is not clearly documented anywhere): you need to change the IP address on your computer in order to see the D-Link DP-302P+ print server and then log in to the print server and change its IP address to match your router's IP address. Then go back and turn off changing your computer's IP address back to automatic. If the IP addresses of the computer, DP-301P+ and router match, everything works. If not, then it's a mess. There were no instructions anywhere on how to use it with a Mac computer, but I managed to figure it out. The DP-301P+ appears as a Windows device and the Mac was able to see it over the network and install the correct printer driver. So I spent more time than I ever imagined, but at least everything works. D-Link could save tech support time and hassle if it took a few minutes to update their documentation for the 21st century. But I think it's asking too much. I will definitely think twice before buying anything from them again.