WmCook Posted October 2, 2005 Report Share Posted October 2, 2005 I am a newbie trying to install the drivers for a Brother MFC 4800. I am using Mandrake 10.1. The drivers are from the Brother site under "LPR printer drivers" for my specific printer and it claims to work with Mandrake 9.1, The files were "control.tar.gz","data.tar.gz" and "debian binary". I copied the drivers to my home directory and unziped them with ark. I am not sure what to do next. The Mandrake Printer Management Tool asks for the manufacturer supplied PPD file which I do not have. I have the printer connected via USB and the Printer Management Tool Recognizes that there is a Printer Present (Raw Printer - No Driver). Do I need to do something with the installed drivers other than unzipping them in my home directory? I would be happy just to have the printing function (without fax or scan). Thanks, Will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trio3b Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 Almost all drivers come with installation instructions in a readme file. Check the downloaded unzipped package for more info or go back to the Brother site and look for help. Also....Google can be your friend and search this forum for more info. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WmCook Posted October 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 (edited) Thanks but I can't find a readme file the package or on Brother's website, that's why I posted here. B) Edited October 3, 2005 by WmCook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trio3b Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 Am not familiar with Brother in linux environment, but can tell you they are not high on the compatibility list. Linux does support Brother and dozens of other brands, but it may be spotty. If you check linuxprinting site you will see that HP and Epson rank high, and almost every Samsung product comes with linux drivers included on the CD. Some Canon and Lexmarks are also supported. Try the drivers for the MFC 8300 Either go to start>System>config your comp>hardware>printers and let it autodetect. Whatever it detects, uncheck auto and install manually from the list that will populate. (Select vendor on the left and model on the right) OR Go to start>system>config>KDE>peripherals>printing and go thru wizard. Select MFC 8300 Wish I could be of more help, but I cheat and check the specific compatibilty of printers with my distro (Mandrake 10.0) and never have had to load drivers for my printers. Another reason for using SPECIFICALLY supported printers, is not only the problem of finding drivers, but doing the CONFIGURATION (manually) for the driver once it's installed. I have installed drivers for modems, tho, and the actual install is fairly easy, but finding correct drivers and configuration afterward can be very time consuming. Check out --> www.linuxprinting.org good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WmCook Posted October 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 Thanks, but that printer doesn't work. I have the drivers for this printer from Brother and need to know how to intall them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 Most files should have a readme. It is possible that you need to "make" the file after unpacking it. Please provide a link to the file, and I'll have a look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarecrow Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 This is an "AIO machine", not a genuine printer, the free CUPS and GimpPrint modules don't support it, and to be honest I could not find any specific drivers at the Brother site. Even commercial Linux applications (Turboprint and ESP Print pro) don't seem to support it. Where exactly did you get these ppd's from Brother site? Are you sure they work with your quasi-printer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 That's why I asked for a link. The CUPS drivers on the Brother site are Mac, not linux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WmCook Posted October 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 (edited) Thanks, Here's the Link: http://solutions.brother.com/linux/sol/pri...pr_drivers.html There are directions at the top of the page. When I type cd /tmp/lpr I am told "file not found". I have installed it from the home directory but that hasn't worked. Do I need to "enable" LPD printing somehow? Edited October 5, 2005 by WmCook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 The file you are trying to use is an "rpm" file, which means you simply install it and then configure your printer. It specifically names Mandrkae 9.1. rpm files might be usable in later releases of a distro, but there are no assurances. You should use the Mandrake installer or on the command line as root, type "urpmi blah.blah.rpm", where "blah" is the specific name of the file. This type of file should not be unpacked prior to installing. I did not see the tarballs on the site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarecrow Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 (edited) Aren't LPR/LPD drivers for usage on remote Windows printers only? (or dummy network printers) ?. In any case, they aren't usable under CUPS, or for a local printer. The ppd's for MACOS X may well work under Linux as well, but to use them you must extract the .dmg container, which is surely not trivial (.dmg as well as everything MACOS related being closed source). Edited October 5, 2005 by scarecrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Actually, I used lpr/lpd configurations all of the time prior to the recent improvements in CUPS. The drivers were the same as in the CUPS profiles. Not sure what that means, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WmCook Posted October 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 So, should I "uninstall" the file and reinstall it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 Just install them via the command line. urpmi the.name.of.the.rpm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WmCook Posted October 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2005 When I use urpmi I am told "Everything Already Installed" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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