Sharing Printer

  • Thread starter Thread starter Big John
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Big John

I'm running a Dell desktop computer with an HP1210v printer using a
cable hook-up. I recently acquired a new Toshiba laptop with built in
Wi-Fi capability. Hooked it up using a Linksys WRT54G router and have
been using it flawlessly (except for printing) for a couple of months.
To print, I have been unplugging the cable from my desktop and plugging
it in to the laptop. No problem, except kind of inconvenient.

A few days ago I read up on how easy it was to print from my laptop via
my network with Windows XP,(both my desktop and laptop are running
Windows XP) so I Googled for instructions (found the same thing in
several places)and followed them to the letter (I think). Now I can tell
my laptop to print and it goes through all me motions and the document
shows up in the printer que and even says it is printing -- but nothing
happens!

I've tried several times and everything looks fine except no printing!!
I've run the "troubleshooting" thingy, tried printing "Wordpad" and
"Notepad" documents with the same results - nothing. It says the
documents are printing but they never come out of my printer.When I
finally give up and try to get out, I get a notice that my laptop can't
go into "Hibernation" because there is a document in my spooler. I must
shut down altogether to get the document out of the spooler.

Have deleted the printer and reinstalled it -- same results!

Have also hooked the laptop to the printer via cable and it works fine.

I'm getting frustrated!! Will appreciate any advice--

Big John
 
Here is the answer. Since you are a Dell customer you are entitled to
lifetime 24/7 support. Call them up and they will figure it out.
 
Big John said:
I've tried several times and everything looks fine except no printing!!
I've run the "troubleshooting" thingy, tried printing "Wordpad" and
"Notepad" documents with the same results - nothing. It says the documents
are printing but they never come out of my printer.When I finally give up
and try to get out, I get a notice that my laptop can't go into
"Hibernation" because there is a document in my spooler. I must shut down
altogether to get the document out of the spooler.

Have deleted the printer and reinstalled it -- same results!

Have also hooked the laptop to the printer via cable and it works fine.

I'm getting frustrated!! Will appreciate any advice--

Big John
Click to expand...

Does the rest of your network run properly i.e can you share files? Did you
install the driver on both machines. Did you install it as a shared
device. simply installing the print driver as normal won't work.
 
Hey, knock it off Big John, they are coming out of my printer I've been
wondering what all that nonsense was.
 
ian said:
Does the rest of your network run properly i.e can you share files? Did you
install the driver on both machines. Did you install it as a shared
device. simply installing the print driver as normal won't work.
Click to expand...
Yep, everything else works fine. It is a "plug and play" HP printer, so
there is no software to install - I assume (bad move) it picked it up
automatically,because it now shows up on my laptop as if I had installed
it and it is identified as a shared printer. When both computers are
"on", the printer icon on the laptop shows up as "Ready".

This is a real puzzler. I guess I should have posted this to Windows XP,
since I think that's where the problem lies. If I can't get anywhere in
a day or two I may cross-post to there.

Another thought -- I am running Firefox and Thunderbird. I just wonder
if that may contribute to the problem. Hmmmmm

Thanks for the comeback.
 
I've tried several times and everything looks fine except no printing!!
I've run the "troubleshooting" thingy, tried printing "Wordpad" and
"Notepad" documents with the same results - nothing. It says the
documents are printing but they never come out of my printer.When I
finally give up and try to get out, I get a notice that my laptop can't
go into "Hibernation" because there is a document in my spooler. I must
shut down altogether to get the document out of the spooler.

Have deleted the printer and reinstalled it -- same results!

Have also hooked the laptop to the printer via cable and it works fine.

I'm getting frustrated!! Will appreciate any advice--

Big John
Click to expand...

Sounds to me like the laptop is still trying to print to a printer
that it thinks is still connected to the computer rather than a
network printer. Post a link to a website that has instructions that
you followed, so I know what you already did, then I'll be able to
troubleshoot it better.

--

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.
 
Fenrir said:
Sounds to me like the laptop is still trying to print to a printer
that it thinks is still connected to the computer rather than a
network printer. Post a link to a website that has instructions that
you followed, so I know what you already did, then I'll be able to
troubleshoot it better.

--

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.
Click to expand...

OK --Thanks for the offer! It is:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/expert/honeycutt_july2.mspx

I think that perhaps your initial impression is correct, as that is the
same printer that I have been using as a direct hook-up and it was still
showing up in my "Printers and Faxes" page. However I deleted all of
the suspect printers from the lap-top and tried to start over and now it
doesn't appear at all when I browse for it! Now I'm really confused - or
I guess I should say I have really confused my computers!!

jrw
 
Big John said:
I'm running a Dell desktop computer with an HP1210v printer using a cable
hook-up. I recently acquired a new Toshiba laptop with built in Wi-Fi
capability. Hooked it up using a Linksys WRT54G router and have been using
it flawlessly (except for printing) for a couple of months. To print, I
have been unplugging the cable from my desktop and plugging it in to the
laptop. No problem, except kind of inconvenient.

A few days ago I read up on how easy it was to print from my laptop via my
network with Windows XP,(both my desktop and laptop are running Windows
XP) so I Googled for instructions (found the same thing in several
places)and followed them to the letter (I think). Now I can tell my laptop
to print and it goes through all me motions and the document shows up in
the printer que and even says it is printing -- but nothing happens!

I've tried several times and everything looks fine except no printing!!
I've run the "troubleshooting" thingy, tried printing "Wordpad" and
"Notepad" documents with the same results - nothing. It says the documents
are printing but they never come out of my printer.When I finally give up
and try to get out, I get a notice that my laptop can't go into
"Hibernation" because there is a document in my spooler. I must shut down
altogether to get the document out of the spooler.

Have deleted the printer and reinstalled it -- same results!

Have also hooked the laptop to the printer via cable and it works fine.

I'm getting frustrated!! Will appreciate any advice--

Big John
Click to expand...

Enabled Protocols:
Client for Microsoft Network
File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks
TCP/IP

Same CASE SENSITIVE Workgroup name for all computers.

Can you share files? Try a directory.

If that works, now check the printer share permissions...

XP Home or Pro?
 
Eric said:
Enabled Protocols:
Client for Microsoft Network
File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks
TCP/IP

Same CASE SENSITIVE Workgroup name for all computers.

Can you share files? Try a directory.
Click to expand...

---I think you just went over my head!I've not yet learned to do that!
Eric, I appreciate your efforts, but if you think I'm not well enough
computer oriented to mess with, just let me know and I will understand.
Meanwhile I'll try to figure out the file sharing bit.

I was under the impression that in XP, I could set up to share the
printer using the instructions noted previously and not have to get into
file sharing exercise. Maybe I misunderstood.
If that works, now check the printer share permissions...
Click to expand...
---How do I do that?? If I open the printer "properties" it says I'm
sharing. Is there something else to check?
XP Home or Pro?
Click to expand...
---XP Home with Firefox and Thunderbird

---and thanks for your time and effort!

Big John
 
OK --Thanks for the offer! It is:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/expert/honeycutt_july2.mspx

I think that perhaps your initial impression is correct, as that is the
same printer that I have been using as a direct hook-up and it was still
showing up in my "Printers and Faxes" page. However I deleted all of
the suspect printers from the lap-top and tried to start over and now it
doesn't appear at all when I browse for it! Now I'm really confused - or
I guess I should say I have really confused my computers!!

jrw
Click to expand...

Before you start, you should probably make sure the print spooler is
cleaned out. Run a command window (Start -> Run -> cmd) and net stop
spooler. Then go into \Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS and delete the
files there (SHD and SPL files). There's more details here
http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/CleanPrinterDrivers.htm (Steps 8 -
11), just ignore the parts that talk about cleaning out the drivers .

First step is to make sure the printer drivers are installed on both
computers. You may actually be better off leaving a version of the
printer installed in the Printers and Faxes window, although this is
usually more of an issue when you use a print server's propietary
software to install the printer. Since you are sharing one connected
to a computer (which tends to be easier to set up), don't worry too
much about it. More important is seeing the printer driver show up
under Printers & Faxes -> File -> Server Properties (for this
selection to appear, you cannot have a specific printer highlighted)
-> Drivers , so you know the latest drivers are installed, rather than
Windows trying to use a built-in one.

Right-click on My Computer and select Properties (or Control Panel ->
Classic View -> System). Under Computer Name (I'm using XP Pro so I
don't remember if it's exactly the same as Home), make sure the
workgroup is the same for both computers. Don't leave it at MSHOME or
WORKGROUP, pick something unique, like COOKIES or KEEBLER. Remember
that the Workgroup name has to be /exactly/ the same. Then rename the
computers. While not 100% necessary anymore, it's generally a good
idea to keep the computer names the same except for numerical sequence
such as HOME01 and HOME02 (though I tend to ignore this and pick
DESKTOP01, LAPTOP02, etc). Do not give them the /same/ name or your
network will have a heart attack.

Reset both computers.

Back to Printers & Faxes on the desktop that has the printer hardwired
to it, right click on the printer and select Sharing. If there's a
thing saying 'Run Network Setup Wizard' or 'Setup Without Network
Setup Wizard', don't run the wizard. Keep telling it not to run the
wizard until you get the options 'Don't Share This Printer/Share This
Printer'. If you have multiple printers installed and the name it
gives isn't unique enough (I have 2 different Epsons and it tried to
give them both the name EpsonSty), change it, otherwise just click
okay. Reboot again! (even if it doesn't tell you to).

Back on the laptop, go back to the Printers and Faxes and Add New
Printer. Tell it that you are adding a Network Printer and go through
the prompts, telling it that you will browse for the printer. When you
get to the following screen, you will have to double-click on the
options inside the Shared Printers box (usually the main tree branch
is Microsoft Windows Network) to make them expand, just like you were
using Explorer. Unfortunately, it does not give indicators, such as +
signs, under which branches are expandable, so keep searching for the
other computer's name, and finally the printer. Once you find the
printer, keep going through the dialogues until the computer finally
decides to install it. If you can't find the printer on the network,
or can't find a network at all, I'll have to do some more detailed
troubleshooting with you, but this /should/ work.

Once you have it installed, go back to Printers and Faxes. The printer
icon should look different, having a weird symbol that's supposed to
represent an Ethernet cable, to let you know it's a Network Printer
and not a local printer. Set it default, if you want to.

--

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.
 
Big John said:
---I think you just went over my head!I've not yet learned to do that!
Eric, I appreciate your efforts, but if you think I'm not well enough
computer oriented to mess with, just let me know and I will understand.
Meanwhile I'll try to figure out the file sharing bit.

I was under the impression that in XP, I could set up to share the printer
using the instructions noted previously and not have to get into file
sharing exercise. Maybe I misunderstood.

---How do I do that?? If I open the printer "properties" it says I'm
sharing. Is there something else to check?
---XP Home with Firefox and Thunderbird

---and thanks for your time and effort!

Big John
Click to expand...

Hi, sorry for not replying right away...

I was just getting at if you could share files first. I.e., if you
right-click a folder on one computer, and go to sharing and enable it, is
that folder seen on the other computer? (Not verbatim, as I'm lazy, and
don't remember the exact fields for WinXP. I'm behind Windows 2003 at the
moment.)

If that works, then all the protocols are in place and working.

WinXP Home? Permissions probably aren't the problem then. Also, since you
can see the printer over the network, your workgroup name must be the same
on both computers. (Firefox and Thunderbird wouldn't be causing any
problems either. They are just programs.)

Using Explorer from your laptop: What happens when you go to:

\\DESKTOP (Subsituting "DESKTOP" for the desktop's actual name, of course.)

Then: "Printers and Faxes"

Is your printer, connected to the desktop, there? If so, right-click and
choose "Connect". It should go into a connection sequence, possibly
downloading drivers from the desktop, etc. Set it as default and it should
work...
 
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