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   Updated April 21, 2026

   © Dr. Ray Franco, PhD, PE  :  2021-2026

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Window 11 - Adding Driverless Printers

Before installing any printers Create a Restore Point !!!

Private, Public and Domain

Windows 11 uses Private and Public Profiles for both Ethernet and Wireless network interfaces. You can set the profile for either. To discover other devices and their services on the LAN, the profile needs to be "private".

Screenshot 1. Select Add New Device Manually.
Screenshot 2. Select by Name and Paste the Printer's URL.
Screenshot 3. Select Microsoft as the Manufacturer and the printer driver as PWG Raster.

Microsoft Slop or MicroSlop

Always Create a Restore Point before attempting to install a Printer !!!

  1. If you select "Add device" for one of the found printerw (Screenshot 1) and if fails, the "Add Printer" button will never find it again.
  2. If you ever select the Windows Protective Print (WPP) Mode once, and afterwards unselect it, you will not be able to "Select a shared printer by name". See Screenshot 4 below.
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Screenshot 4. Connection Error caused by Selecting Microsoft WPP Once.

Microsoft's Network Discovery Protocols

  1. mDNS - Multicast Domain Name Server - 224.0.0.251 port 5353 UDP
  2. UPnP - Universal Plug & Play; it is based on SSDP
  3. SSDP - Simple Service Discovery Protocol - 239.255.255.250 port 1900 UDP
  4. WS-Discover or WSD Web Services Discovery - 239.255.255.250 port 3702 UDP & TCP
  5. NetBIOS - Network Basic Input/Output System
  6. LLMNR - Local Link Multicast Name Resolution - 224.0.0.252 portt 5353 UPP

Microsoft is phasing out NetBIOS and LLMR [7].

The best that I can determine both Linux and Microsoft Windows use mDNS for name resolution (converting names to IP addresses), but for network services Linux uses DNS Service Discovery (dns-sd) whereas Windows use the Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP) and/or the Web Service Dynamic Discovery protocol (WS-Disvover or WSD).

References

  1. Wikipedia - Multicast DNS (mDNS)
  2. Wikipedia - Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP)
  3. Turn On or Off Network Discovery in Windows 11
  4. Wikipedia : WS-Discovery
  5. Wikipedia - NetBIOS
  6. Wikipedia - Link-Local Multicast Name Resolution
  7. Aligning on mDNS: ramping down NetBIOS name resolution and LLMNR

Microsoft Power Shell

Public / Private host

To make your host discoverable:

User

This only applies to "Local Accounts". This does not change the name of the user directory or the name at the login prompt.

To change the user_name:

Rename-LocalUser -Name "old_user_name" -NewName "new_user_name"

Hostname

To change the host_name:

Rename-Computer -NewName "new_hostname"

Install OpenSSH Server

On Windows 11 OpenSSH Client is installed by default, but OpenSSH Server is not. To install OpenSSH Sever:

Enable OpenSSH Server

OpenSSH Server is also not enabled by default. To enable it:

OpenSSH Firewall

  1. Open Windows Defender Firewall:
    • Run the command wf.msc to open the Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security.
  2. Navigate to Inbound Rules:
    • In the left pane, click on "Inbound Rules".
  3. Right Click on the "OpenSSH SSH Server (sshd)" rule; :
    • Select Properties
    • Click on the Advance Top
    • Under Specify Profile check the boxes Domain and Public

Ping

Windows 11 does not respond to pings by default. To enable Windows 11 to respond to pings:

  1. Open Windows Defender Firewall:
    • Run the command wf.msc to open the Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security.
  2. Navigate to Inbound Rules:
    • In the left pane, click on "Inbound Rules".
  3. Enable ICMP Rules:
    • Look for the rule named "File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request - ICMPv4-In)".
    • Right-click on it and select Enable.

IP Addresses

ipconfig

Shutdown

shutdown /s /t 0

Restart / Reboot

shutdown /r /t 0

Wake on LAN (WoL)

For HP UEFI

Ensure that:

  1. Advanced -> Built-In Device Options:
    • Wake On Lan -> Boot to Hard Drive.
  2. Advanced -> Power Management Options:
    • S5 Maximum Power Savings -> Disabled.

These are the factory default values.

References

  1. Wikipedia - List of printing protocols
  2. Wikipedia - Multicast address
  3. Wikipedia - WS-Discovery
  4. Cisco - Multicast Configuration Guide
  5. Microsoft - mDNS in the Enterprise
  6. What is Multicast DNS (mDNS) and how does it work - WireShark?
  7. Standard mDNS Service on Windows: Does It Run by Default? How to Advertise Services Dynamically & Resolve Conflicts
  8. Microsoft Windows replaces netbios with mDNS
  9. A Penetration Tester’s Best Friend: Multicast DNS (mDNS), Link-local Multicast Name Resolution (LLMNR), and NetBIOS-Name Services (NetBIOS-NS)
  10. How can I perform an mDNS lookup on Windows?
  11. How to Find the Printer on Your Network in Windows 11
  12. Using Microsoft IPP Class Driver with the Universal Print connector

© Copyright Dr. Ray Franco, PhD, PE | 2006-2026. All rights reserved.


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