Re: script for USB printers

["Robert Holmgren" holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to message from "Philip Friedman"  on Thu, 8 Jun
2006 08:37:27 -0400


> At the end of his May 12 post, Robert writes:

>> you want to make this arrangement permanent by
>> running a startup script each time you fire up
>> your computer. There are several ways to do that...
>> Later...

> I'd love to know more about writing the startup
> script. Could "Later..." be soon?

Ms. van Ness never communicated again (extremely rude!), so
Later didn't happen.

OK, first make a file called C:\LOGIN.CMD (use XyWrite).
Put it in root dir of BootDrive e.g. C:. Note that this may
become an all-purpose file for initializing various things
on a LAN, e.g. sharing with other machines. Put the
following one line in it (adjusted for your machine -- I'll
pursue the "LIZ" example of 12 May):

 net.exe use LPT1: \\LIZ\HPLJ5 /PERSISTENT:no

The "persistent" parameter is tricky. It can be a godsend
or a royal pain. If you log on and off of different
usernames, without rebooting your box, then
"/PERSISTENT:yes" will auto-restore shared network
connections. *And* it will auto-restore when you reboot.
To get rid of a persistent share, you need to "net use
\\sharename /DELETE" it. If you fiddle with your
connections frequently, or with your LAN, then you
definitely want "/PERSISTENT:no".

OK, so now you've got that one line in your LOGIN.CMD file.
STore it. On the Desktop, go to Start ==> Settings, and
(depends on whether you have "Classic" Start menu or the
asinine new one) find Taskbar & Start Menu ==> Advanced.
There should be a box called Customize Start Menu or
something like that (I'm writing from memory, don't have an
XP box nearby). Click the Advanced button. You'll see a
standard Windows Explorer dialog. Usually in subdir
"C:\Documents and Settings", find the "AllUsers" folder (or a
folder named after your current logged-in username). Drill
down to Start Menu ==> Programs. See if there's a "Startup"
folder in Programs -- if there isn't, right click and add a
New one. Open (click on) this Startup folder. Right-click,
New ==> Shortcut. Fill in the blanks for C:\LOGIN.CMD. Done.

Every time you reboot your computer, the LOGIN script will
run. Your printer will always be ready to use.

-----------------------------
Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
-----------------------------