OS X can't see inkjet connected to ASUS WL-520GU router

Question

A long shot but here goes.
Running current Tomato firmware w/ "teddy_bear" USB mod on an ASUS WL-520GU router. The router seems to have everything necessary for USB printing setup AND can see my printer (it's listed in Tomato) I have a Canon i960. Can't seem to add this printer to OS X however.
When I try to add it, I can't successfully select the proper Canon driver. If I do and press Add, a dropdown dialog appears for a split-second and I'm still left at the Add Printer dialog. I've tried alternatives such as PrintFab's driver but the printer doesn't respond.
I'm using the router's address and port number for the printer, which "is valid," 192.168.1.1:9100 None of the protocols (IP, HP JetDirect etc.) have mattered. The only time I ever got ANYTHING from the printer was by adding it with the default Generic PostScript Printer driver which of course is wrong. But it at least lit up.
Tried to add the printer directly within CUPS (web interface, not command line) but it errored at adding the class, with no explanation why. I chose the "Raw" driver in that scenario, based on suggestions of how to do what I'm trying to do but from Windows.

Answer 1

Hi, bcometa -
When a machine is started (in OS 9) with Shift held down, not only are extensions disabled (selectively - there's a couple or so that are intentionally not disabled), but control panels and things in the Startup Items folder in System Folder are prevented from loading.
The problem causer may be a control panel, or it may be something in the Startup Items folder - or both. It would be something that would attempt to interact with an additional drive, and fails in the attempt. Things in this category can include 3rd-party software, such as: a disk utility like Silverlining or Norton; a security app such as virus software; or most anything else designed to scan or check drives for something.
Sometimes resetting PRAM can help, by forcing the Mac to acknowledge and register a change in hardware configuration during startup.
in fact, un-checking all extensions in extension manager still reproduced the problem; how is that different than booting with shift?
In addition to disabling extensions (selectively, as I mentioned earlier; Text Encoding Converter is one that is not disabled, as I recall), booting with Shift held down in OS 9 also:
• prevents the loading of control panels;
• prevents the loading of certain items which are located outside the Extensions folder, loose in the System Folder;
• prevents the loading of items in the Startup Items folder;
• prevents Disk First Aid's intrusive checking of the drive after an 'improper' shutdown.