Wireless, broadband, all in one printer, help please!

[Barmaid]

I have a wireless laptop, an HP all in one printer (fax, copier etc) which is not wireless, and a router together with various cables and splitters. I have set broadband up as per the instructions so that the computer can talk to the router and broadband is fine. But how (or where!) do I plug the printer in so that I can use it as a printer and a fax? And where do I plug the telephone in? The instructions say that the telephone has to be plugged into the printer which is plugged into the wall socket. Before I had broadband, I was not connected to the internet and didn't use the fax and just had the printer connected to the router and the computer would talk to it fine. What doesn't help is the fact that the different sets of instructions seem incompatible with each other! Thanks in advance to anyone who can help this technophobe sort it all out!

[fo3nix]

I'd stick to getting each one set up first: the network, then the printer/fax.

You connect an ADSL filter to your phone line, and then connect your phone line into the router. You then connect the router to the PC: ideally with an ethernet cable (looks like a fatter phone line cable, with a similar ending), or wirelessly. You'll need to type in your broadband username and password, and then you'll be away! If using wireless, you need to enter a WPA security key so that no-one else can access your internet (usually goto 192.168.2.1, or similar, but your router instructions will give you this).

Once router is set up so you have a network, sort out your printer.

First, is the printer network compatible? Some are, but most home ones aren't. If it's not, then you'll connect the printer to the phone line (the other connection on the ADSL filter, perhaps), as well as with a USB cable to the PC.

If the printer is network ready, then you can connect the printer with an ethernet cable to the router, so that any computer on the network can access the printer.

[camioneur]

Might I just add that I have a similar set-up and if you're printer isn't network compatible don't worry, simply share the printer and make the PC it's connected to part of the network. If the HP printer is at allsimilar to mine (HP 4250)simply connect it to the other socket in the microfilter that your router is plugged into. You can then fax from PC or directly from the printer.

[camioneur]

Sorry, just read the question again and realized that you're on a laptop so you're presumably looking for a cable-less connection with the printer. In that case you'll need to spend a little more money and get a seperate print server which will communicate wirelessly with your lappy but will be cabled to your printer. Best I can ,.hope it's of some help

[harrywellskin]

Hi,
Uninstall first your printer, the reinstall it again and check components of faxes, then it will automatically detected by your computer when you plug it, same as you did it as a printer.