I have an old NETGEAR PS101 parallel print server that I wanted to move to a different router network. I had configured it with a fixed IP address that will not work on the new network. I wanted to change it to a dynamic IP address. Unfortunately when I tried to reconfigure the device normally via its browser interface, it would revert to the old configuration when I powered the device off and then back on.
Searching the web, I discovered there’s a backdoor FTP interface to the device. I used this method to force and retain the reset.
From a shell command line, type: C:\>ftp <IP address of the PS101>. For the user name, enter the name of the device, which is printed on the label (e.g. PS4AB3C9). There is no password.
Then type: get DEFAULTC. This resets the configuration to factory default.
Then type: get RESET. This seems to force the new configuration to be retained.
Then type: bye.
I was then able to move the device to the new network and use the browser interface to it normally. But first, I reserved an IP address for it in the new router. You will need the MAC address, also printed on the PS101 label, to do this. (The factory default for the PS101 is to use DHCP.) I then deleted the old port for the associated printer and added a new one with the correct IP address I reserved above.
I haven’t figured out yet why I could not do this through the browser interface. There seems to be some problem with the reset function there. Perhaps the wording of their status message says it all, “The setting values would be update after reset device.” Poor grammar usually means lax programming practices too.
I had to deal with one of these dinosaurs at a client today. This post saved me. Thank you!!
I swiched the router from telekom digibox to fritzbox and didn’t take care for the ip-range
(192.168.0. to 192.168.178). As a result of this i couldn’t reach my printserver anymore
(printer HP-1301with parallel port) . This post also saved me, thank you very much.
alas, this just would not work for me…
I change the IP via the web interface, ftp do get DEFAULTC and get RESET , bye but it still does not retain the new IP address.
The only way i can get it to work is to run the windows setup utility on an old windows virtual machine.
Pretty annoying !
Further to my last… I think this is a problem with the V1 hardware running firmware 6026
(i have a v2 unit – but havent tested this yet…)
additionally, I’ve just found the a manual and on page 66 it lists a “get SETIP” ftp command.
So… what i’ve managed to do is…
ftp
ftp> get CONFIG
ftp> ! (drop back to shell, and edit the CONFIG file to change the IP)
exit (exit shell back to ftp)
ftp> put CONFIG
ftp> get RESET
– now, it should boot you out of the ftp connection.
ftp back in on the original ip address (although you should now be able to ping BOTH addresses)
ftp> get SETIP
the above command appears to save the IP address that is in the config file (that we uploaded)…
That seems to have made the new IP address sticky and survive power downs.
The software for this device is pretty awful – although the device itself doesn’t seem too bad ( using unix/cups to print to a zebra printer)
…. final edit:
because i googled… i didn’t look at page 64 which is a section on how to change the CONFIG (like i did above)… but It doesnt tell you to do the “get SETIP” speciifically, which seems to be required.
I found the manual here: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/299000/Netgear-Ps101.html