HOWTO: Install Brother MFC210C

[BobSongs]

Thanks, Mr.Mechano! I examined this file on my PC: /etc/cups/ppd/MFC210C.ppd and it says the same thing: reverse order. But it seems to print normally; however, I'll be more attentive next time I print two or more pages.

Users: take note on how to change it. (I may just pop that in the tutorial!)

[vincedesalpages]

Hi there,

One question concerning installation of MFC-5440CN as a scanner (fax and printer are ok).

On step 3: "Modify the /etc/fstab file"
I am in that case:
"-For Kernel 2.6.* version of distribution Users:
$ echo 'none /proc/bus/usb usbfs auto,devmode=0666 0 0' >> /etc/fstab "

Here is what is written and get back in the terminal:

vincent-bertin@ubuntuvb:/$ sudo -i
Password:
root@ubuntuvb:~# echo 'none /proc/bus/usb usbfs auto,devmode=0666 0 0' >> /etc/fstab
root@ubuntuvb:~#
root@ubuntuvb:~# echo 'none /proc/bus/usb usbfs auto,devmode=0666 0 0' >> /etc/fstab
root@ubuntuvb:~# umount /proc/bus/usb
umount: /proc/bus/usb: not mounted
root@ubuntuvb:~# mount /proc/bus/usb
root@ubuntuvb:~# mknod -m 666 /dev/usbscanner c 180 48
mknod: `/dev/usbscanner': File exists
root@ubuntuvb:~#

Then, when I use Xsane Image Scanner, this message is displayed: "Failed to open device "brother2:bus2;dev1": Error during device I/O"

What did I do wrong and how can I correct it?

Thank for your support.
Vincent

A "how to" for the Brother MFC210C printer.
Now includes instructions for both Dapper Drake (6.06) and Breezy Badger (5.10).


Introduction

Follow this step-by-step guide to get this low-cost Multi Function Centre working.

Do you have another Brother product? Don't give up hope. Some have reported success having followed this tutorial.

Note: This tutorial assumes:

• Device: Brother MFC210C
• Connection: USB direct from PC to MFC
• System: 32-bit Intel/AMD
• Operating System: GNU/Linux Ubuntu

Whoa! Can’t I skip this tutorial? It looks kinda… long.

Would you rather use a script to setup your MFC-210C? Do you feel you don't learn anything from tutorials except that it takes too long to get anything done? Well this script's for you! CLICK HERE to get downloading.

Preliminary procedures

:: Please ensure the MFC is OFF ::

Create a folder on the desktop and name it mfc210c:

• Right-click the desktop and click Create Folder in the context menu
• Name it mfc210c (in lower case, this is important)

Step 1: Download from Brother

For the MFC210C, click each of the following links. Click I Accept when the browser loads the page:

[The CUPS wrapper]
[The LPR Driver]

Note: The browser may ask to open or download the file. Don't open it. Download and save/move it in the mfc210c folder on the desktop. If the browser doesn't ask then it has likely been dropped on your desktop. Drag it to the mfc210c folder.

For other Brother machines: Please make sure the appropriate drivers are downloaded. Check the Brother website for the LPR Drivers and for the CUPS Wrapper.

Step 2: Install the C Shell

For the setup to work in Ubuntu the C shell is required. To install it we will need the help of the Terminal. From the menu bar above:

Applications → Accessories → Terminal

Enter the following (or copy [Ctrl+C] the following command, paste it [Ctrl+Shift+V]) into the Terminal:

sudo apt-get install csh

and hit Enter.

This command will require the system password. Do not close the Terminal at this point.

Important: if the csh (C shell) did not install extra repositories, sources for new programs, must be added.

Dapper Drake users [click here].
Breezy Badger users [click here].

Step 3: LPR Driver Install

Note: the LPR driver setup fails to create the appropriate folders in Ubuntu's file structure. The first two commands below correct this. To set up a Brother printer other than the MFC210C using these drivers -- change the second command below with the appropriate printer name. The capital letters used in the 2nd command are deliberate (remember: GNU/Linux's file structure is case sensitive).

sudo mkdir /var/spool/lpd
sudo mkdir /var/spool/lpd/MFC210C  (replace with your printer name)
sudo dpkg -i ~/Desktop/mfc210c/mfc210clpr-1.0.2-1.i386.deb

Note: Please ensure both downloaded files are in the mfc210c folder on the desktop. The last command above will fail otherwise if copied and pasted as is. More experienced users know how to use dpkg.

Step 4: Install the CUPS Wrapper

Note: this is another departure from the Brother setup instructions. Ubuntu has 'cupsys' instead of 'cups'. The first line corrects this difference by creating a necessary symbolic link.

Enter the following commands into the Terminal:

sudo ln -s /etc/init.d/cupsys /etc/init.d/cups
sudo dpkg -i ~/Desktop/mfc210c/cupswrappermfc210c_1.0.0-1_i386.deb

Finalization

:: Turn the MFC ON ::

Open the printer panel to ensure the MFC210C is installed.

System → Administration → Printing

Right-click the MFC120C and click “Properties”.

• Print a test page from the General tab.
• Click the Paper tab and adjust the paper size accordingly, possibly replacing A4 with Letter.
• Review the choices under the Advanced tab and make adjustments.

Fax Printing

To print using the fax aspect of the MFC the special drivers must be downloaded and installed. This tutorial assumes the mfc210c folder is still on the desktop.

Step 1: Download from Brother

For the MFC210C, click each of the following links. Click I Accept when the browser loads the page:

[The Fax CUPS wrapper]
[The Fax LPR Driver]

Simply install each one through the Terminal:

sudo dpkg -i ~/Desktop/mfc210c/brmfcfaxcups-1.0.0-1.i386.deb
sudo dpkg -i ~/Desktop/mfc210c/brmfcfaxlpd-1.0.0-1.i386.deb

Open the printer panel to ensure the MFC210C fax driver is installed.

System → Administration → Printing

Right-click the BRFAX and click “Properties”.

NOTE: The above is based on the Brother website's instructions. If you have had success in fax printing after following the steps outlined above, please notify me. Once I get confirmation I'll remove this paragraph. Until then kindly consider this section "experimental".

Scanner Setup

Courtesy of Lunixfanboy the second part of the tutorial is now added: the scanner setup.

Preliminary procedures

:: Please ensure the MFC is OFF ::


Step 1: Download from Brother

For the MFC210C, click the following link. Click I Accept when the browser loads the page:

For Dapper Drake (6.06): [Sane Scanner Backend]
For Breezy Badger (5.10): [Sane Scanner Backend]

For other Brother machines: Please make sure the appropriate drivers are downloaded. Check the Brother website for the Scanner Backend.

Save the file, for the sake of consistency, to the mfc210c folder on the desktop. If the terminal is closed, please open it again:

Applications → Accessories → Terminal

For Dapper Drake (6.06):

sudo dpkg -i ~/Desktop/mfc210c/brscan2-0.2.1-0.i386.deb

Dapper Drake users: proceed to Step 3 below. The scanner should be installed. No need to do anything further.

For Breezy Badger (5.10):

sudo dpkg -i ~/Desktop/mfc210c/brscan2-0.0.2-1.i386.deb

Step 2: Modifying the ‘libsane.usermap’ file

For Breezy Badger (5.10):

Copy and paste the following code into the terminal:

sudo gedit /etc/hotplug/usb/libsane.usermap

When gedit appears activate the search feature:

Search → Find...

Enter this text in the Search box:


This will be followed by a line which reads


followed by more hexadecimal values. We are only interested in the third one (the one right after the 0x04f9). Change 0x010f to read 0x0161.

Save and exit gedit.


Step 3: Installing XSane

To use the scanner requires that Ubuntu's scanner software be installed. Copy the following code into the Terminal:

sudo apt-get install sane xsane

Finalizing The Setup

:: Turn the MFC ON ::

For Breezy Badger (5.10)

Copy the following code into the Terminal

sane-find-scanner | grep usb

It should report


(the values after libusb might be different, depending upon where the scanner is connected in the USB chain.)

For both Dapper Drake (6.06) and Breezy Badger (5.10)


Verify the install with XSane

Applications → Graphics → XSane Image Scanning Program

Setup Complete

Move the setup folder from your desktop to the trash if you so desire, or to some other location in the file system.


Network Installation

Please note: Contributions to help with network setups are detailed below. I do not have the MFC as an independant part of the network so I cannot test the following instructions. However these links are offered in hope of problem-free configuration.

ubu69 has had success with a network setup. He's using a Debian system and believes this should prove helpful [click here].

shawndoggie notes success with the MFC attached to an XP box [click here].

stalefries has put together a nicely detailed howto in this thread. Network scanning! I just love the layout. [click here]


Other Brother Products

Please note: If you have a different Brother product don't go away dejected. There may be hope. Here's a list of some related success stories. With a bit of tweaking it seems this tutorial has proven helpful.

Gray. notes success with the MFC-620CN [click here]

ubu69 notes success with the MFC-420CN in Debian [click here]

crhooker notes success with the MFC-3220C [click here]

shawndoggy notes success with the MFC-5440CN [click here]

thedavis notes success with the DCP-115C [click here]

Mack1 notes success with the MFC-425CN [click here]

bigken notes success with the MFC-3820CN [click here]

Bucanero notes success with the MFC-5440N [click here]

Jasman and Boelcke both note success with the Brother HL-2040
[click here] and [click here]


Other distros:

bigken notes success on Dapper Drake (testing) and SuSE 10.0 [click here]

woot notes success on Dapper Drake (final) with the MFC9180 using a slight modification of the setup process
[click here]



Linux Gurus

This tutorial was designed for new GNU/Linux users, who've recently switched from Windows. I make no apologies for that. There's nothing like a patient tutorial to help a reluctant new user to factor in the helpfulness of the Ubuntu forums as a reason to stick with this distro. If the tutorial seems too long please download the script listed at the top of the tutorial. Comments on its effectiveness are welcome. Thanks.


_________________________

If you encounter an error in these instructions or added several steps to make it more complete, please post your findings/additions and appropriate modifications will be made. The above tutorial was designed for Ubuntu/Edubuntu and may not work with other Ubuntu-based releases. Feel free to request an explanation of the above procedures. The steps outlined above are modified from those offered at the Brother website in order to accomodate the differences between Ubuntu and a pure Debian system.

Brother® is a registered trademark.

(This HOWTO comes with absolutely no warranty, to the extent permitted by applicable law. However, the author will return on a regular basis to ensure the Brother files are still available and up-to-date and that the tutorial looks prettier and prettier.)

[BobSongs]

Greetings, vincedesalpages.

Could I ask you for a favour? Would you kindly edit your post and remove the quoted text? It's a very long tutorial and it makes reading through the various posts much better without it, okay? Cool.

Now, did you turn off your printer and turn it back on? It seems to be fairly imporant that you go through the procedure as described. And this is a step often skipped by new users.

Oh, and are you using Dapper Drake? Or Breezy Badger. If you're using Drake you should be skipping about half the scanner section.

[holycow32432]

guys, for the 420cn, don't forget that udev has no rules for setting up a device node for the scanner.

udev sees it but doesn't know what to do with it.

make sure to follow these instructions to create the proper udev rule for ubuntu for the 420cn and you will have scanning capability.

http://solutions.brother.com/linux/s...linux_faq.html

[dgoran]

Ok MFC420CN networked (router) sucessfully installed following mixture of post #1 and comon sense . If anyone needs how to let me know.

-G

[vincedesalpages]

Hi there,

Concerning Scanning installation step with a MFC 5440CN, the error message is displayed when lauching XScan: "Failed to open device "brother2:bus;dev1': Error during device I/O".
FYI, Fax and Printer have been succesfully installed.
Thanks for the tutorial. Any help would he appreciated.

Cheers,
Vincent

[BobSongs]

When it comes to the Scanning section it's important that you include the version of Ubuntu you're using (Dapper Drake - 6.06 or Breezy Badger - 5.10).

Thanks.

[d351GuJu]

I would like to thank you for making the script available for quick installation.
Although, the installation was fairly easy using the script, I did ran into a problem printing a test page. Here are the specs:

Printer: MFC-210C
Distro: Kubuntu Dapper 6.06
Interface: USB
Exp. Using the printer: 1 day (just received it!)

For those who have problems printing after the installation of the script and ran into a printer pausing/stopping itself after a few seconds, make sure that in System Settings > Printers, the MFC210C listed printer is using proper USB interface.

Here's what I did to correct that issue:

After selecting the printer, click on Properties Tab and go to Interface then select Change..., make sure Local printer is selected (for USB interface), and click Next. After that make sure to select "Brother MFC-210C" under USB category, and then start the printer.
Now your printer should work!

[BobSongs]

Greetings, d351GuJu, and welcome.

I've just uploaded the installer script for Dapper Drake. Hope you find it more effective than using the Breezy version.

Enjoy. Comments welcome.

[umuro]

MFC7820N works with a few additional steps:
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthre...34#post1206934