printing through a network

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kelseymorr1

Can someone help me on how to connect a printer to my laptop through a
wireless connection? I was told to share the printer on the computer
that the printer is connected to then find it on my laptop but that
doesn't seem to be working. Could someone help?
 
Can someone help me on how to connect a printer to my laptop through a
wireless connection? I was told to share the printer on the computer
that the printer is connected to then find it on my laptop but that
doesn't seem to be working. Could someone help?
Click to expand...

We can try. First of all:

1.) Which version of which OS is running on each computer? (The exact
steps of the required procedures will depend on this.)

2.) Are both on the network, and can you "see" the desktop from the
laptop? (If not there's no point going any further until you can.)

3.) Does the printer work as it should on the desktop? (Once again,
this is a show stopper.)

If you've dealt with the above, where are things falling apart after
that, and what are the symptoms? If not, which of the above questions
are you stuck at?
 
(e-mail address removed),
1. Make sure that the Desktop and the printer that is connected is on and
operational.
2. Start button (or Control Panel)> Printers and Faxes>
3. Right click the Printer that you want to share> Sharing> Share this
printer.
4. Control Panel> Security Center> Windows Firewall> Exceptions tab> File
and Printer Sharing should be checked.
If you are using third party security programs like Norton or McAffee, you
will have set them to allow file and printing sharing.
5. Start the laptop, make sure that steps 2 through 4 are done the same way,
on that machine.
6. At this point you may want to install any software or drivers for the
printer that you are trying to share. In the majority of cases, the host PC
will install will install the printer driver files, from it folder
directory. But will not install any software for extra features of the
printer. This maybe necessary if the OS are different on each PC/Laptop.
7. On the laptop> Control Panel> Printers and Faxes> Add New Printer>
8. Choose to add a Network Printer> Then Select the Printer that is listed
with the name of the Desktop PC> You should be asked to installed the
drivers, if you haven't already> You can now select to set the printer as
the default printer for the laptop> OK/Finish.
9. Run a Test page.

If the printer is connected by USB to the Desktop PC, then before you can
print from the laptop, you will have to make sure that the Desktop and
Printer are Powered up.

--
Have a Good Day,
Rich/rerat


Can someone help me on how to connect a printer to my laptop through a
wireless connection? I was told to share the printer on the computer
that the printer is connected to then find it on my laptop but that
doesn't seem to be working. Could someone help?
 
Can someone help me on how to connect a printer to my laptop through a
wireless connection? I was told to share the printer on the computer
that the printer is connected to then find it on my laptop but that
doesn't seem to be working. Could someone help?
Click to expand...

It's hard to troubleshoot with minimal information. The first thing
that comes to mind is a firewall issue.

You can try the following

<start><run>cmd
ipconfig

Do this on your printer PC to find out the system's IP address.
From you laptop

<start><run>\\x.x.x.x
Where x.x.x.x = the ip address of your printer PC

You should get an explorer window with the printer listed. If you
don't then there is clearly a problem.

1) Printer sharing not enabled
2) Printer not shared
3) Firewall prohibiting printer sharing

The above instruction block will at least put you at a point where you
can actually site the error message. You may disable the firewall
software and see if that resolves the issue.
 
We can try.  First of all:

1.) Which version of which OS is running on each computer?  (The exact
steps of the required procedures will depend on this.)

2.) Are both on the network, and can you "see" the desktop from the
laptop?  (If not there's no point going any further until you can.)

3.) Does the printer work as it should on the desktop?  (Once again,
this is a show stopper.)

If you've dealt with the above, where are things falling apart after
that, and what are the symptoms?  If not, which of the above questions
are you stuck at?
Click to expand...

thanks for the reply, both computers are windows xp,and printer
sharing in my firewall is unchecked.the printer is completely
operational. but how would i "see" the desktop from my laptop?
 
thanks for the reply, both computers are windows xp,and printer
sharing in my firewall is unchecked.the printer is completely
operational. but how would i "see" the desktop from my laptop?
Click to expand...

<start><run>\\127.0.0.1 from your desktop
This should open up an explorer window where all your "desktop" shares
should be displayed
You may also use
<start><run>file://127.0.0.1
 
<start><run>\\127.0.0.1 from your desktop
This should open up an explorer window where all your "desktop" shares
should be displayed
You may also use
<start><run>file://127.0.0.1
Click to expand...

hi, this address just opens a "scheduled tasks" window. What do I do
NOW??
 
=?
<start><run>\\127.0.0.1 from your desktop
This should open up an explorer window where all your "desktop" shares
should be displayed
You may also use
<start><run>file://127.0.0.1
Click to expand...

hi, this address just opens a "scheduled tasks" window. What do I do
NOW??

Well, your printer isn't shared, so let's back up a bit. On the host
computer, go into printers and faxes (reached either on the desktop or thru
the control panel). Rt-click the printer icon, then go into printer
properties. There you'll see the share tab. Share the printer and be sure
to give the printer a name. In your earlier post, you mentioned the
firewall was unchecked. If this is Windows firewall, then go into the
firewall exceptions and CHECK the box. This is in exceptions so it unblocks
printer and file sharing on the host computer's firewall. You should now be
able to run the file://127.0.0.1 from start>run and the printer should show
up on the host computer as shared.
 
hi, this address just opens a "scheduled tasks" window. What do I do
NOW??
Click to expand...

Congratulations. You have now isolated the fault to the system with
the printer.

There is something amiss. It took me a second to see where you're
at. Yes, there is a scheduled tasks icon. If you don't see your
printer, usually named something Like EpsonR200 or whatever, it's not
shared. If you can't see it on your local PC, there is no chance you
can see it on a remote PC.

Totally disable your firewall and try this again. If you can't see
your printer still, double check that you have selected the printer to
be shared.

1) Printer sharing not enabled
2) Printer not shared
3) Firewall issue (perhaps windows firewall is still enabled)

If you do a "<start><run>file://127.0.0.1" it should display a window
titled "127.0.0.1" where you should see a printer attached to a pipe
with a name usually similar to the brand of printer, or whatever you
named it.

Since you're not seeing it, start at the begining.

Go into your printers (printers and faxes window) and look for your
printer. If it's shared there should be a hand holding the bottom of
the printer. Whether it is or not, you should right click and select
"sharing". In the next window make sure the [sharing] tab is
selected, and make note of the name. Mine for example defaults to
CanonMP8. Press OK.

After you verified that the printer is shared, with an obvious share
name, go back and do a <start><run>file://127.0.0.1
 
=?




hi, this address just opens a "scheduled tasks" window. What do I do
NOW??

Well, your printer isn't shared, so let's back up a bit.  On the host
computer, go into printers and faxes (reached either on the desktop or thru
the control panel).  Rt-click the printer icon, then go into printer
properties.  There you'll see the share tab.  Share the printer and be sure
to give the printer a name.  In your earlier post, you mentioned the
firewall was unchecked.  If this is Windows firewall, then go into the
firewall exceptions and CHECK the box.  This is in exceptions so it unblocks
printer and file sharing on the host computer's firewall.  You should now be
able to run the file://127.0.0.1 from start>run and the printer should show
up on the host computer as shared.
Click to expand...

hi, now i can see my printer when i type that address, but how do i
connect to it? It is set as my default printer but it wont print from
my laptop.
 
hi, now i can see my printer when i type that address, but how do i
connect to it? It is set as my default printer but it wont print from
my laptop.
Click to expand...

Congratulations, you were able to troubleshoot that your printer was
not shared. Now it is shared and seen as a share from the local
machine. You've made progress.

You can browse to find the printer as you did before, or follow this
instruction block.

from your desktop machine
<start><run>cmd
followed by
"ipconfig"
at the command prompt

This will display something like this

---------
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 1:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : myisp.com
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.123
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
---------

If you know your system's IP address, from your laptop you can do a
<start><run>file://x.x.x.x
where x.x.x.x = the value displayed on your desktop machine in this
case 192.168.0.123

This will display the same thing you saw on your local machine on your
laptop. From your laptop, you should be able to right click on the
printer, and select connect.

If you can't connect from your laptop, try the same address from your
desktop. If that fails, check the address. If correct, odds are we
have a firewall issue since you can see the printer on the loopback
address (127.0.0.1) but not on the network adapter's ip address
(usually 192.168.x.x).

-note-
Your IP address may change depending on your configuration. However
the name of your system does not change. An easy way to find out the
name of your system is the following sequence
<start<run>file://127.0.0.1 from your local PC
Select up a folder (next to the back and forward buttons, before
search)
In the address bar it should display your workgroup. In the explorer
window it should display your system name next to a PC icon. you can
double click on it to make sure it's your PC. It should contain your
printer share.

To connect directly to it
file://pcname
or \\pcname

-note-
The instruction block I'm giving you is heavy on the text commands.
Usually one "browses" the network to "find" a given PC, and navigate
to find a given printer. This instruction block cuts out the bullshit
and tells windows to "look there". End users might find this tedious,
but given you're asking for help, it helps to know which command
doesn't work.
 
=?
Click to expand...
hi, now i can see my printer when i type that address, but how do i
connect to it? It is set as my default printer but it wont print from
my laptop.

I assume you already have the home network up and running well, so the next
step would be to add the printer to your laptop. Go into printers and faxes
and click on the add printer. In the printers and faxes you can also
rt-click in a open area to access add printer. Then add the printer, but
this time add a network printer. Then just browse for the printer and
follow the directions in the various windows. Basically, you will be adding
printer drivers on to your laptop computer with a connection through the
host computer. You will need to have the host and the printer turned ON
when printing from the laptop. Good Luck.
 
hi, now i can see my printer when i type that address, but how do i
connect to it? It is set as my default printer but it wont print from
my laptop.

I assume you already have the home network up and running well, so the next
step would be to add the printer to your laptop. Go into printers and faxes
and click on the add printer. In the printers and faxes you can also
rt-click in a open area to access add printer. Then add the printer, but
this time add a network printer. Then just browse for the printer and
follow the directions in the various windows. Basically, you will be adding
printer drivers on to your laptop computer with a connection through the
host computer. You will need to have the host and the printer turned ON
when printing from the laptop. Good Luck.
Click to expand...

The above instruction block is the typical easy add a printer system
from Microsoft, as is the preferred method if you're not
troubleshooting an issue. If that doesn't work then the instruction
block I gave you will permit you to actually address a specific
machine, your desktop, on your network. If you are unable to connect
using my instruction block, it suggests TCP/IP issue such as firewall,
perhaps you're on cable or DSL and you are being assigned two
addresses on different subnets, or things long those lines. Either
way it provides useful information to help troubleshoot the issue.
 
Congratulations, you were able to troubleshoot that your printer was
not shared.  Now it is shared and seen as a share from the local
machine.  You've made progress.

You can browse to find the printer as you did before, or follow this
instruction block.

from your desktop machine
<start><run>cmd
followed by
"ipconfig"
at the command prompt

This will display something like this

---------
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 1:

        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : myisp.com
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.123
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
---------

If you know your system's IP address, from your laptop you can do a
<start><run>file://x.x.x.x
where x.x.x.x = the value displayed on your desktop machine in this
case 192.168.0.123

This will display the same thing you saw on your local machine on your
laptop.  From your laptop, you should be able to right click on the
printer, and select connect.

If you can't connect from your laptop, try the same address from your
desktop.  If that fails, check the address.  If correct, odds are we
have a firewall issue since you can see the printer on the loopback
address (127.0.0.1) but not on the network adapter's ip address
(usually 192.168.x.x).

-note-
Your IP address may change depending on your configuration.  However
the name of your system does not change.  An easy way to find out the
name of your system is the following sequence
<start<run>file://127.0.0.1 from your local PC
Select up a folder (next to the back and forward buttons, before
search)
In the address bar it should display your workgroup.  In the explorer
window it should display your system name next to a PC icon.  you can
double click on it to make sure it's your PC.  It should contain your
printer share.

To connect directly to it
file://pcname
or \\pcname

-note-
The instruction block I'm giving you is heavy on the text commands.
Usually one "browses" the network to "find" a given PC, and navigate
to find a given printer.  This instruction block cuts out the bullshit
and tells windows to "look there".  End users might find this tedious,
but given you're asking for help, it helps to know which command
doesn't work.
Click to expand...

I still cannot connect to the printer. I looked up the printer
computer's IP address and tried to find it from my laptop like u said
but I cant find it. In control panel under the printers and faxes the
printer is showed there but I cannot connect to it. Whenever I go to
print from my laptop it says " COMMUNICATION NOT AVAILABLE ".
 
I still cannot connect to the printer. I looked up the printer
computer's IP address and tried to find it from my laptop like u said
but I cant find it. In control panel under the printers and faxes the
printer is showed there but I cannot connect to it. Whenever I go to
print from my laptop it says " COMMUNICATION NOT AVAILABLE ".
Click to expand...

Congratulations, you have useful information helpful in
troubleshooting.

1) Network issue
2) Firewall issue
3) Printer issue (driver)

(1) isn't likely since you are able to browse the network
(2) Is at least possible.
(3) Issues with the driver could be a cause. Also, there are some
printers that exist which don't work with printer sharing. They are
rare, but it's possible. More likely is a driver issue, where the
printer driver had a problem which was later resolved.

To assist you further, it would help to know what firewall software
you are using, and what printer. I can google the error message and
see that the Dell AIOs have this problem and the recommended
resolution is as follows

"If the Dell Photo All-in-One (AIO) printer is already installed on a
system and the Dell 3300 wireless printer adapter is added to the
configuration, the network printer object is not created. When
attempting to print, the error message Communication not available is
displayed. To resolve this issue, uninstall your Dell AIO printer
driver, install the Dell 3300 wireless printer driver, and then
reinstall the Dell AIO printer driver."

This is just a guess without knowing what hardware or firewall
software you are using.
 
Congratulations, you have useful information helpful in
troubleshooting.

1)  Network issue
2)  Firewall issue
3)  Printer issue (driver)

(1) isn't likely since you are able to browse the network
(2) Is at least possible.
(3) Issues with the driver could be a cause.  Also, there are some
printers that exist which don't work with printer sharing.  They are
rare, but it's possible.  More likely is a driver issue, where the
printer driver had a problem which was later resolved.

To assist you further, it would help to know what firewall software
you are using, and what printer.  I can google the error message and
see that the Dell AIOs have this problem and the recommended
resolution is as follows

"If the Dell Photo All-in-One (AIO) printer is already installed on a
system and the Dell 3300 wireless printer adapter is added to the
configuration, the network printer object is not created. When
attempting to print, the error message Communication not available is
displayed. To resolve this issue, uninstall your Dell AIO printer
driver, install the Dell 3300 wireless printer driver, and then
reinstall the Dell AIO printer driver."

This is just a guess without knowing what hardware or firewall
software you are using.
Click to expand...

I have a Dell AIO printer and my firewall is the windows security
center that came with my computer. The only software I have for my
printer is the installing software which is installed on both
computers
 
I have a Dell AIO printer and my firewall is the windows security
center that came with my computer. The only software I have for my
printer is the installing software which is installed on both
computers
Click to expand...

It would help to give the model, that way we can at least lookup
issues.

The next step in troubleshooting is as follows

1) Uninstall the present driver on your PC and laptop
2) Download new Dell or Lexmark drivers for your printer
3) Share the printer and try again.

[firewall]

According to
http://support.dell.com/support/top...s=gen&~mode=popup#HowCanITellIfIHaveAFirewall
Some dells were not shipped with a firewall, others were. You might
be correct and you might be using windows firewall. I don't know.

[Driver]
At present, I lean toward driver issue as being a likely explanation.
This is backed up by googling "dell" and "communication not available"
and getting their AIO models 922, 942 and 720.

To quote an old post

"Both the 942 and 922 AIO drivers released today seem to be causing
trouble.
Sit tight and we'll hope for a response from Dell."--Cari \(MS-MVP\)
04-03-2007

This is in a thread where the subject was "communication not
available"

[other cause]
For the purpose of troubleshooting, it might be helpful to not be on
wireless. There is a remote possibly that your laptop might be
connecting to someone else's wifi, resulting in "communication not
available". Using a wire and disabling your wireless would negate
this cause.

[Verification]
The only way I know of to determine whether or not this is a printer
driver problem or a firewall/network problem is to pop on another
printer. I'm sure you don't want to hear this since, well, it's not
very practical to expect an end user to go out and buy another
printer. But really, if you can borrow another printer that isn't a
dell or lexmark, that would provide useful data.

[dude, toss the dell off a bridge]
Depending on your model and how much you print, you may be better off
tossing your dell printer off a bridge. If it was a "free" printer,
odds are pretty good the ink, esp ink from Dell, costs in excess of 7c/
page @ 5% coverage.
I'd need to know your model to crunch the numbers but

7.0c/page 3000 pages = $210
3.2c/page 3000 pages = $96
Savings = $114

These numbers I pulled out of the air and may not represent your
current model.

[Throwing money at your problem]
Canon is presently offering their mx700 printer for $129.99 shipped
http://estore.usa.canon.com/webapp/...0&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=&top_category=

This is not my favorite model. I own the mp830. But the mx700 is a
network ready printer, as in you plug it into your hub and print from
either the desktop, or laptop. Color resolution is lower than current
generation models, in fact it's on par with the older ip4000. I can't
say without knowing which model you have, and it may be there are
other network printers in the same price bracket.
 
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