Airport Express printing - Windows 7 - Dell 725 printer

Hi, I've been searching around for info/help but I'm still stuck. I'm trying to print wirelessly through a printer connected to the USB port in an Airport Express.

I have a wireless network already set up with a new netgear router, broadband, etc. Working fine.

I bought the Airport Express (AE) to extend/boost the wireless network around the house. I tried to set it up to join my existing wireless network, but I think my netgear router doesn't allow it to be extended wirelessly, so I've just connected the AE into the netgear router by an ethernet cable which runs to the opposite side of my house from the router. This transmits its own wireless network (using the same broadband connection[?]) and you can roam around the house and automatically connect to the strongest signal, which is fine.

I managed to get airTunes working fine through it too, so iTunes plays through speakers connected to the AE.

So now I'm trying to get my printer to work through it too. It's a Dell 725 printer. It works fine connected via USB to my laptop. I've connected it to the AE base unit and it detects it okay. It was a bit tricky trying to get it to recognize drivers and stuff, but now I've got it installed and present in all the right places. I used the Bonjour Printer Wizard too. So now I can select it as a printer from programs and print, and the Dell dialogue box pops up as usual, goes through the motions, 0%-100% complete, only nothing happens. The printer doesn't do anything. Any thoughts? I can tell it to print a test page, ect. but the printer doesn't do anything. Still works fine just straight through USB, just not through the AE.

I've got a Envy 14 with Windows 7 (64). Because the printer is not necessarily designed to be 64 compatible, some of the setup stages/preferences open up compatibility mode. Maybe it's something to do with that(?)

 

From Apple:

I don't believe this one will work with Airport, even though it's recognized by the software.

You can set the Airport up in client mode so it can connect to the Netgear network as a client, thereby extending your network. But doing that takes away remote print capabilities.

 

I thought that might be the case. So near, and yet so far! Ha.

I did try all the other options before ending up with the ethernet solution: join a wireless network; extend a wireless network. Couldn't get it to play ball. Is that what you mean by client mode, H.A.L. ?

I don't NEED wireless printing, so it's no big deal. I was just seeing how lazy I could be (ironically by putting in lots of effort trying to get an old printer to work with an Airport. Oops). Thanks

 

How close are the Airport and Netgear, proximity wise?

EDIT: If they're close you can connect them together from LAN port to LAN port and just stick them on different subnets. Then just disable wireless on the Airport to only have on SSID broadcasted.

 

They're a few rooms apart, but with a wire between them, so it sounds like I could do that, yeah. What do I need to do to put them on different subnets from here? ...or is that what I've got at the moment?

Disabling wireless on the airport wouldn't stop it working? ...or do you mean after putting them on different subnets, switch off the SSID broadcasting of the Airport, but allow it to still be connected to?

EDIT: Also, anything like Rogue Amoeba but free? The 10 minute noise fade on the trial version makes everything sound like a James Blake mix. Ha ...only not in a good way after a while.