Different hardware platforms and operating systems require different printer drivers. For example, to use a printer (or shared printer queue) created on an Advanced Server computer, a client running Windows NT on an Alpha computer requires the appropriate Alpha printer driver for that printer. The driver can be installed locally or on the Advanced Server print server. Similarly, clients can use Advanced Server print servers only if the requisite drivers are installed locally or on the server.
If your network contains a mixture of Windows 95, Alpha, Power PC, MIPS, and x86-based client computers, you can install printer drivers for each one on each print server. This ensures that documents originating from Windows NT or Windows 95 clients running on any of the hardware types can use all print devices.
If you have clients running earlier versions of Windows NT, you will need to install the appropriate older printer drivers for each version/platform combination. Separate printer drivers are required for each hardware platform to support every version of Windows NT: Versions 3.1, 3.5, 3.51, and 4.0.
Note
When you choose to install an alternate driver for Windows 95, you are prompted for the Windows 95 printer driver file(s). Because Windows NT Setup cannot extract these files from the Windows 95 .cab files, you must use the Windows 95 Extract.exe program to extract the printer driver file(s) from the Windows 95 installation media (CD or floppy disks) or from the Windows 95 .cab files on the Windows NT Server CD.
For example, if your network contains Windows 95 clients, x86-based clients running Windows NT 4.0 and 3.51 and Alpha clients running Windows NT 4.0 and 3.51, and you are creating a shared printer queue on an Advanced Server computer, you should install four printer drivers in addition to the x86-based Windows NT printer driver that is installed by default for the printer you have selected:
Windows 95
Windows NT 3.5 or 3.51 x86
Windows NT 4.0 Alpha
Windows NT 3.5 or 3.51 Alpha
Advanced Server print server determines whether incoming print requests are Alpha, Power PC, MIPS, or x86-based and automatically sends the appropriate driver to the client.
To install multiple printer drivers, select each version/hardware platform pairing in the Add Printer Wizard after you choose to share the printer. You also can add support for other platforms later from the printer’s Properties Sharing property sheet.
For more information on changing a printer’s properties after the printer is installed, see Setting Properties for a Printer (Shared Printer Queue).
