Alvin said:
I would like to share a printer with the other desktop pc which are using XP.
This desktop is using Vista Home Basic which i can't see the other XP pc in
the workgroup.
Please is there anyone can help me by slowly telling me where to set it
correctly?
First you need to set up your Local Area Network (LAN) for file/printer
sharing. Then you need to get the printer drivers from the printer
mftr.'s website and install them on the Vista machine. Normally you
would just use the printer installation CD for the drivers but it is
likely that there are no Vista drivers on it and you'll need to go to
the printer mftr.'s website instead.
To set up the Vista networking, see this very clear explanation:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/network/evaluate/vista_fp.mspx
To set up the XP networking, run the Network Setup Wizard, making sure
to enable File & Printer Sharing, and reboot. The only "gotcha" is that
this will turn on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you aren't running a
third-party firewall or have an antivirus with "Internet Worm
Protection" (like Norton 2005/06) which acts as a firewall, then you're
fine. If you have third-party firewall software, configure it to allow
the Local Area Network traffic as trusted. I usually do this with my
firewalls with an IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254.
Obviously you would substitute your correct subnet.
Since you didn't say what version of XP you have, for ease of networking
create identical user accounts and passwords on both computers. If you
wish to boot directly to the Desktop you can set both computers to
automatically log into a desired account by following these directions:
Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) -
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm
Once you have the LAN set up correctly, go to the Printers Control Panel
applet in XP and right-click on the printer icon. You'll see where you
can share the printer. Then install the printer drivers on Vista and you
should be able to print to the XP printer.
Malke