Customer Reviews Of NETGEAR PS101 Mini Print Server RJ45 LPT, Centronics

Item#: N82E16833122028 >

Customer Reviews

Netgear Inc.
PS101NA
Network Print Servers

Customer Reviews for NETGEAR PS101 Mini Print Server RJ45 LPT, Centronics - Retail
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Review Summary (42 Reviews):
Excellent	14ReviewsExcellent	34%
Good	8ReviewsGood	19%
Average	6ReviewsAverage	14%
Poor	5ReviewsPoor	12%
Very Poor	9ReviewsVery Poor	21%
Excellent	0Reviews	0%
Good	0Reviews	0%
Average	0Reviews	0%
Poor	0Reviews	0%
Very Poor	0Reviews	0%
Excellent	1ReviewsExcellent	14%
Good	0Reviews	0%
Average	2ReviewsAverage	29%
Poor	1ReviewsPoor	14%
Very Poor	3ReviewsVery Poor	43%

Reviewer	Product Review
SeibelWerks Tech Level: high Ownership: more than 1 year This user purchased this item from Newegg	12/16/2009 5:15:43 AM Lasted Just over 2 years Pros: Reasonable set up and function Allows printer access by either computer TCP/IP protocol Cons: Occasionally would require reset by unplugging Complete failure after 2 years Expensive for what it does. Other Thoughts: Use it for my HP 1000c large format printer which still runs well and would be expensive to replace with a newer printer. I am disappointed with the life cycle cost of the unit. I will replace it with another brand. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
ADom Tech Level: high Ownership: more than 1 year	12/15/2009 6:16:18 AM Works Great When Done Right Pros: Works great for UNIX/Linux LPR printing. Company has deployed hundreds of these little print servers and is our standard print server to use to bring older printers onto the network. Saves us some headaches on figuring out LPR names of oddball printers but we've always use the same line of printers so this rarely never an issue. Cons: You need to use the CD to get the print server to retain settings. Otherwise you will have to reprogram every time it's powered off. Like most print servers, you may need to occasionally power-cycle to get printing going again. When moving to another network, you can have difficulty reprogramming even with the Netgear software. Must use software especially if you don't know what IP address it was programmed at and can't reset to defaults. Other Thoughts: I've never added one to a Windows Computer before and prefer not to use printers on print servers unless it's a basic laser, thermal, or dot matrix printer. 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
N/A Tech Level: high Ownership: 1 week to 1 month This user purchased this item from Newegg	12/2/2009 6:23:39 PM Good with XP, not so with Vista Pros: Very easy setup for Vista and works well. Cons: Could not get it to work consistently with Vista machines. Other Thoughts: I bought this in order to network enable a HP laser Jet 4 Plus that I have been using for more than 10 years (don't make them like that anymore), but the burden of troubleshooting it outweighed the cost of getting another printer. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
Phil Tech Level: high Ownership: more than 1 year	11/5/2009 3:41:34 PM Pretty purple color...and that's about it. Pros: Small...fits nicely inside the wiring compartment of my Laserjet 2100 Cons: Doesn't retain settings if ever powered off...doesn't even retain settings sometimes without being powered off. Will print at the most two or three jobs before its print buffer overloads and it hangs to the point where it requires a hard restart. Says it supports DHCP...but I haven't seen any evidence of that. Web interface is minimalistic and gives almost no useful information...and only works about half the time, not to mention some of the notices on it are poorly translated engrish. Other Thoughts: The form factor is nice, but it simply is not big enough to contain enough settings to make it an even moderately functional print server. Unless you like having to reset all settings every time you overload its minimal print buffer, this product isn't worth anyone's time. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
electrogas Tech Level: somewhat high Ownership: 1 day to 1 week This user purchased this item from Newegg	10/6/2009 5:23:06 PM netgear mini print server PS101 Pros: small Cons: 1)Cannot install under Linux without a long search on the internet for proper lpd address. Even then, prints once and then hangs forever. 2)Couldn't get it to install and work in win2k. 3)Web interface is very minimal, shows almost no useful information Other Thoughts: This is not worth the aggravation. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
Ken S Tech Level: high Ownership: more than 1 year	10/1/2009 2:44:41 PM Stay Away Pros: Works after you reset it quite nicely Cons: You have to reset (pull the power) everytime you don't use it for more than a couple of hours. It just falls right off the network. Netgear acknowledged the problem but had no answers. Other Thoughts: Maybe there are some of these that work well...but the two we purchased didn't and after wasting time with Netgear support just trashed them. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
N/A Tech Level: high Ownership: 1 month to 1 year This user purchased this item from Newegg	8/18/2009 4:35:56 PM Simply & Effective Pros: The instructions were extremely easy to read and follow. I did not need to use the installation software. I was able to install the device and configure it using a web browser then define the networked printer port as LPR with queue name L1 on the clients. The device fit inside the cable compartment of an HP Laserjet 6P. I used network cable with plain soft bare wire running into the connector to get the flexibility needed to route the wire through the compartment opening and into the device. Cons: None Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
slash facepalm Tech Level: high Ownership: 1 day to 1 week This user purchased this item from Newegg	8/5/2009 5:26:03 PM Oops, CHECK COMPATIBILITY Pros: sort of N/A since it doesn't work with an HP LaserJet 1320, does work with a 1300. Go figure Cons: see above Other Thoughts: CHECK COMPATIBILITY Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
Topher Tech Level: high Ownership: less than 1 day This user purchased this item from Newegg	5/5/2009 12:17:36 PM SIMPLE = SATISFIED Pros: Really quick and easy to setup. Be sure to turn your printer ON before plugging in the adapter or you will need to reset the adapter from the admin tools utility. Otherwise, no complaints. I can't rate the longevity or reliability at this point, but the setup was super-simple. Cons: The CD that came with the unit disappeared. I am pretty sure it's not a design fault. I took it out of its sleeve, answered a phone call and never saw it again. Weird... Other Thoughts: Newegg, you are my backup wife. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
N/A Tech Level: somewhat high Ownership: 1 day to 1 week This user purchased this item from Newegg	3/31/2009 2:03:46 PM works good but Pros: Very easy to use with Win XP. XP will locate and find the network print server with no problems once you've configured the server (Web Browser Based Utility). You won't really need to install the software if you're computer knowledge is high. Nice and simple product but not very "novice" friendly. Cons: Support for Vista is almost nil. Can be frustrating for those who have little or no knowledge with installing printers and configure printer ports. 4 Stars for this reason (Lack of basic Vista troubleshooting). It's not that it won't work with Vista but rather you need to dig around support forums for a basic work-a-around as mentioned below. Other Thoughts: For this to work without problems on Vista, you will need to manually configure a TCP/IP printer port and then add the printer as a "LOCAL" printer. If you attempt to add some printers as a network device, Vista will not recognize it. Not sure why this is. When first installed, it will look for a DHCP IP address on your LAN (obtaining the next available IP) Its best to manually/static set your print server IP. This helps when manually creating a printer port on Vista. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
wheels Tech Level: somewhat high Ownership: 1 month to 1 year This user purchased this item from Newegg	3/22/2009 1:33:04 PM Tough to set up Pros: Works like a champ once you get it set up correctly. Can't beat it for the price. Cons: Pain to set up. Thank's to Noah's hint I finally got it working, hasn't had an issue in about three months now. Other Thoughts: Our printer isn't listed on the compatibility list, but still works fine. Used to print checks from quickbooks every week, so not a really heavy workload. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
wwwhank Tech Level: high Ownership: 1 week to 1 month This user purchased this item from Newegg	3/10/2009 5:55:41 AM save time - don't buy this one Pros: none Cons: many Other Thoughts: Did not work - had to return - big hassle. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
fseminario Tech Level: average Ownership: 1 day to 1 week This user purchased this item from Newegg	12/4/2008 9:55:00 AM trouble at startup but great afterwarsds Pros: Ultimately worked. sturdy design. Clean interface. Cons: Setup guide needs to explain in more detail the adding ports and drivers section. The netgear applications adds two printer ports for some reason and it took me a while to figure out that the secondary port is the one that works. Currently setup with a hp laserjet 1320 Other Thoughts: Descent. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
Raland Tech Level: high Ownership: more than 1 year This user purchased this item from Newegg	9/30/2008 8:38:51 AM Great simple print server Pros: Simple design and admin software. Set-it-and-forget-it reliability. Cons: No sure how well it plays with vista/server 2008 Other Thoughts: I've used dozens of these on wasp and datamax label printer and they do a great job. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
Centurion Tech Level: somewhat high Ownership: more than 1 year	11/25/2007 10:26:54 PM Worked well for me at home Pros: Small, connects directly to port on printer. Metal case seems durable. Responds very quickly to print jobs. Has been totally reliable in my simple home Windows network. With a small mod to the plastic cover on my Laserjet 5, I was able to completely hide the adapter with the cover closed. Cons: Requires their software to set up. Other Thoughts: I have had no problems at all with this product in the two and a half years I have used it. I just set it and forget it. 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
Chuck Tech Level: high Ownership: more than 1 year	11/15/2007 9:40:03 AM RE: Netgear Print Server Pros: Simple to setup, small, no clunky printer cable need, device connects directly to Printer port on printer. Cons: Reliablity and stablity of putting, a formally directly attached printer on your network depends mostly on the drivers for the printer. If the drivers can handle sending the printer job over the network. Other Thoughts: I have had few problems with is print server, have it connected to a Cannon BJC-1000 that cost 40% of the cost of the netgear. Cannon drivers pop up errors when I send to the printer, but the Cannon Driver was never written as a networked printer driver!!! But my print jobs still print out. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
jb Tech Level: somewhat high Ownership: more than 1 year	8/23/2007 6:05:44 PM Very Nice Pros: I use two of these on my home network. One for my laser printer and the other for my color inkjet. These things are great. I've had them for over 4 years and hardly notice that they're there. They work fantastic. Cons: none. Other Thoughts: I've recommended these things more times then I can count on my fingers and toes. I've never personally met anyone who's been unhappy with them. I wish there was a USB version. 5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Did you? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
Techserv Tech Level: high Ownership: 1 day to 1 week This user purchased this item from Newegg	8/13/2007 1:01:50 PM Absolute Junk! Pros: None. Cons: After printing a couple of jobs, it would completely fall off the network and need to be reset everytime. Other Thoughts: None. 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
N/A Tech Level: somewhat high Ownership: 1 month to 1 year	8/7/2007 2:39:07 PM Adequate Pros: Small, easy to connect, sort of easy software to use, keeps LPT printers alive. Cons: Power cycle sometimes. $xx can by you a new USB printer. Other Thoughts: I have a nice non-USB color printer that I was not ready to get rid of. This print server kept me from having to by a new printer. I do have to power cycle it once in a while but I'm not sure why. I haven't figured out whether it's my router or the server that's the problem. If you really want to keep your LPT printer, this maybe the cheapest why to go. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
dcb Tech Level: high Ownership: 1 day to 1 week This user purchased this item from Newegg	7/21/2007 1:51:31 AM No Consistency Pros: Nice color? Cons: Based on the rather polarized good reviews, and the bad reviews, combined with our terrible experience with this product I would stay clear. We have set up over 100 print servers from other companys ,mainly Axis, and this thing is just not good. I would tend to belive that Netgear has some real probelms. Further, their documentation is flawed and inconsistent, even the product information on their website is inconsistent and flawed. Other Thoughts: We never used to have trouble with netgear but now we have had reliability problems with other products. Don't know wht has happened but we are DONE buying Netgear. 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
Joeteck Tech Level: high Ownership: 1 day to 1 week This user purchased this item from Newegg	7/16/2007 11:46:26 AM Don't get it Pros: None, C R A P O L A! ! ! Cons: Continued to need to be reset. Had to unplug from wall. It would print for about 100 pages, then just ignore all requests to print. Used in a business environment. I bought a Zonet before this netgear, but the egg does not have that anymore otherwise I would have bought another one of those. Other Thoughts: Was connected to a LPT HP 1200 printer. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
Noah Sachs Tech Level: high Ownership: 1 month to 1 year This user purchased this item from Newegg	5/18/2007 8:26:19 AM Works great Pros: Small, doesn't take up much space, we no longer have to keep a computer on 24/7 to network a printer, works like a charm fairly easy to set up once I figured out what to do after some trial and error. Best to assign a static IP. We used this on an Epson C88 + to our network for 5 users. It took a little trial and error to set it up right, it's not really intuitive but it works like a charm. The way that worked for me to set up the Epson C88+ printer is to: 1. Install everything as usual according to the NETGEAR instructions. 2. Now, on each PC. Delete the newly installed printer. Go to Control Panel, then in "Printer And Faxes" right click on the printer icon and delete. Do not Add/remove the NETGEAR software, just delete the pritner in the control panel. 3. Then, Install the Epson Drivers from the Epson website or CD. During the installation choose LPT 1: PRINTER NAME port instead of the port that the Netgear software created. This worked for both Win XP and for Vi Cons: Needed to install the printer, delete, then install again to make it work. See the pros. Other Thoughts: The install, delete, install trick may work for other brands of printers. 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
N/A Tech Level: high Ownership: 1 week to 1 month This user purchased this item from Newegg	1/2/2007 8:44:50 PM Pros: Worked grea, easy set up and no problems finding on the network Cons: None Other Thoughts: I really like popcorn 5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Did you? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
N/A Tech Level: high Ownership: 1 month to 1 year This user purchased this item from Newegg	6/7/2006 9:22:31 AM Printer server Pros: Easy to use. Cons: I set IP address but after disconnect power, configuration was cleared. Every time, after I reconnect power cable, I have to reconfigure IP. 1 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
N/A Tech Level: high Ownership: more than 1 year	4/6/2006 6:52:44 PM Works Great. A little buggy. Pros: Great for the price. A little buggy even with flash upgrades. Supports LPR printing. Easy to print over TCP/IP from Windows 2000 and XP and also from MacOS 8.5 through 10.x. I use it on my LaserJet 1300xi until I can afford the JetDirect card then I will move it to my old Dot Matrix printers. Cons: Every so often I have to reset the server (unplug the power and plug it back in) and it picks up where it left off. Other Thoughts: Good for home use or low volume printing. If you want to print in high volume environment, get one of the more expensive print servers like from Linksys. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
N/A Tech Level: high Ownership: more than 1 year	4/6/2006 6:51:02 PM Works Great. A little buggy. Pros: Great for the price. A little buggy even with flash upgrades. Supports LPR printing. Easy to print over TCP/IP from Windows 2000 and XP and also from MacOS 8.5 through 10.x. I use it on my LaserJet 1300xi until I can afford the JetDirect card then I will move it to my old Dot Matrix printers. Cons: Every so often I have to reset the server (unplug the power and plug it back in) and it picks up where it left off. Other Thoughts: Good for home use or low volume printing. If you want to print in high volume environment, get one of the more expensive print servers like from Linksys. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
time Tech Level: high Ownership: 1 month to 1 year This user purchased this item from Newegg	3/22/2006 9:46:29 AM Mini Print Servers Pros: Cost effective quick and dirty solution. Cons: These devices tend to be a bit flaky. Often require a hardware reset. The device will show printer status as printing when the printer is in standby and nothing will print. You have to unplug the device from the printer to reset the status in most cases, then the printer will start printing again. Other Thoughts: Overall a pretty good solution for a low volume print server but bad for a medium to high volume print server solution. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
Robert Tech Level: high Ownership: 1 week to 1 month This user purchased this item from Newegg	2/17/2006 2:19:13 PM Works Pros: It works... as it is suposed to. I am using it on a HP Laserjet 5000. It is fast and I have had no problem printing large postscript files. It is being used in a business environment hooked to 4 PCs used for graphics proofing. Cons: I would have given it a 5 but the CD they sent had old network drivers. I downloaded the drivers from the website. Also, the firmware on the unit I have was old by several versions. It was making every light on my network switch blink every couple of seconds. Firmware is also available on the website that fixed the problem. The instructions on the website were not complete on flashing the firmware. You need to download the firmware updater for the PS121 in order to flash the memory. There is no memory flash software in the setup menu of the the PS101 like they state. Other Thoughts: It worked before the little fixes, but I just have to have everything perfect. I would buy it again. My SMC router with the print server that this replaced was much easier to set up. We replaced the router and had to find a dedicated print server. It is hooked up to my Netgear GS108 Gigabite switch which is hooked to a Xincom 502 dual WAN router. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
csphilly Tech Level: high Ownership: 1 week to 1 month	12/28/2005 12:30:53 PM Functional, but issues Pros: As long as your printer is listed, this should work fine. Setup is easy that even computer dummies can do it. Cons: For whatever reason, the printer prints a status page at random times through the day giving the IP address and such from the device and no options to turn it off. Other Thoughts: Also difficult to install if you don't use NetGear's software package. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
ComputerKarate Tech Level: high Ownership: more than 1 year This user purchased this item from Newegg	12/19/2005 6:49:05 AM Cheap ethernet print server Pros: Cheap. Easy to purchase. Semi-reliable. Cons: Cheap. Difficult to debug. Tools are clunky and unreliable (don't always find print server on network). Does not work across routed network reliably if at all. Tech support either feigns ignorance about problems described or does not understand english. Other Thoughts: These have been in the field for a while but even the new ones look like version 1 products. 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
AFordO Tech Level: Ownership:	11/15/2005 1:29:40 PM EXCELLENT! Great little device. Comments: I work for a company that uses SATO thermal printers and HP Laserjets. Previously, they used AXIS print servers that are old and dying. I've setup 5 of these little gems on SATO's and Laserjets. All have been working great. No problems at all. I don't understand some of the other reviews, because these things are an absolute BREEZE to setup on our TCP/IP network! It's so easy, it's scary. Buy one, you won't be disappointed. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
John Tech Level: Ownership:	10/31/2005 10:26:34 PM Piece of Junk Comments: configuration is a pain, and it apparently doesn't support my Minolta QMS PagePro Laser Printer. Called Netgear support and they said if my printer is not on the supported printer list, I am out of luck...so check the list before you buy - actually, just buy a different one, you'll be glad you did. 0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
lo Tech Level: Ownership: This user purchased this item from Newegg	10/28/2005 7:47:06 AM Very dissapointed Comments: I've configured print servers before but this one was a major pain in the rear and in the end didn't work with my Xerox Worcentre 385. Support from netgear was nonexistant. I will stick with linksys or other print servers - i went after this one because of price. Bad idea. 0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
N/A Tech Level: Ownership: This user purchased this item from Newegg	10/13/2005 10:18:24 PM Not worth it, but it works Comments: The print server works as advertised, but I would spring for a print server with a USB 2.0 hub instead. The parallel port speed is too slow for my needs. Having to install the NETGEAR driver on each machine is cumbersome as well. Okay for home use I suppose. 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
amador Tech Level: Ownership:	9/16/2005 1:06:41 PM Newegg comes through Comments: While Netgear tech support and service left a lot to be desired, Newegg came through and refunded this item. I lost a little due to the restocking fee, but at least NE followed up on their end. Lesson learned! Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
Mondo1287 Tech Level: Ownership:	9/7/2005 1:12:33 PM Needs some serious work netgear... Comments: This thing prints about 3 jobs, then locks up, not pingable etc. Upgraded the firmware and get same thing. Definitely not a jetdirect replacement. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
amador Tech Level: Ownership:	8/25/2005 6:19:25 PM Wrong Printer - Wrong Server Comments: http://www.netgear.com/products/ps101_ps121_comp.php Unfortunately this print server does not work with the HP Photosmart 1115. Before you buy it, be sure to check out those printers listed at the Netgear site (and expect nothing more). Now I am bouncing back and forth between Newegg and Netgear trying to get a refund ... no fun at all! Installation was a snap until I couldn't find the printer driver and discovered the incompatibility issue. LOL ... can't even register the product because Netgear doesn't accept the SN #! good grief 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
George of the Jungle Tech Level: Ownership:	8/2/2005 4:18:01 PM 8 Months - No Problems Comments: Print Servers can be tricky to set-up and this one is no different. I followed the instructions on the CD and it did not work. Fortunately, Netgear has an 800 toll free tech support line that I called. The tech walked me through some fairly technical trouble shooting and got it to work. I took notes during the call. After the call, I set up 4 laptops and 2 desktops. It gets used every day for the past 8 months with no problems. My Router is made by Netgear and the printer that this is connected to is an old HP LaserJet 4L. I made a mistake and bought a less expensive print server by Hawking that was difficult to configure as well but also had no toll free tech support. I did get it working but it stopped after 1 week. I'm going to replace it with the PS101. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
Lindley Tech Level: Ownership:	2/25/2005 3:27:51 PM Give your old printer new life Comments: This print server is a snap to install. Simply install the configuration software on one computer on your network, then hook everything up, log into the print server and configure to your needs. That's it! Once its configured you don't have to do a thing to maintain it. It seamlessly integrates any of your "older" parallel-only printer and gives you a reason to keep it. This unit is especially useful for home networks where you've got multiple computers an no need to purchase a "wireless" print server (which I've not heard good things about). Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
jeremy Tech Level: Ownership:	11/19/2004 3:50:43 PM Comments: up and running in 5 minutes. no need to install the software (for xp and 2000 anyways, haven't tried yet with others). Fit inside of my HP laserjet 2100 Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
Sasquatch! Tech Level: Ownership:	9/1/2004 6:46:30 AM Comments: I've had this unit in a production environment (connected to an HP LaserJet 5) for about 8 months now, and no problems with it whatsoever. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!
N/A Tech Level: Ownership:	3/22/2004 9:50:42 AM Comments: Newegg was great. Shipping was quick and efficient. The printserver works well. This one fits INSIDE my HP 4L printer. Configuration of the printserver was easy. It took less than an hour to install all the software on 3 machines and configure the printserver. I have 3 machines each with a different OS (98SE, XP, 2000). They all work fine. Did you find this review helpful? Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided!