Help with adding a printer?

[jlinder]

Re: Help with adding a printer?

BTW -

While we are on the \\compute\printer thing --

If you want to share files a simple way is to go to the computer you want to hold the files, right click on the directory, and enable sharing. Let everyone on your network have full access if your network is secure.

Then from any other computer do the same Run, \\computername\ and you will see the name of the share. You can them move files very easily.

for example, I have a computer called office which has a lot of my files. c:\dropbox is a shared directory.

If from another computer I type \\office\dropbox\ and it opens the folder on the other machine. I can drop files in there, grab them, etc.

Handy way to do peer-to-peer sharing

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Help with adding a printer?

Start here;

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows-vista/Install-a-printer-on-a-home-network

Have you tried the add printer wizard?

I'll check that out Chuck. EDIT: that link just seems to apply to computers that operate directly thru the router. Not ones that are connect to another PC.

In the mean time, VISTA SUCKS!!! I just read this off of a Microsoft website.

"Check your router. Because of the new networking features in Windows Vista, some older network routers are not fully compatible with Windows Vista and can cause problems."

 

[4JawChuck]

Re: Help with adding a printer?

The add printer wizard cuts through all that, have you tried it?

Honestly most issues I have had are a result of XP being the problem not Vista with networking printers etc.

BTW how is your network constructed? Are all the computers (with attached USB printers) wired to the same router which is connected to the internet cable or do you have a printer with its own print server seperately connected to the router?

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Help with adding a printer?

The add printer wizard cuts through all that, have you tried it?

Honestly most issues I have had are a result of XP being the problem not Vista with networking printers etc.

BTW how is your network constructed? Are all the computers (with attached USB printers) wired to the same router which is connected to the internet cable or do you have a printer with its own print server seperately connected to the router?

I have not found an 'add printer wizard' in Vista. There is an 'add printer' function but it does not find the printers. The home network is wired and it runs thru a router. The printers are connected to an XP machine on the 'network'. One is a USB printer but the one that I have really been trying to connect with is a paralell port printer.

Both the XP and Vista machines are declared 'WORKGROUP'. The Vista machine can now see the XP machine but a search for the printers does not find anything. One time I do the search from the Vista machine it says I do not have 'permission' to do this function. The next time it goes thru the search and finds nothing.

Print sharing is turned on, on both the XP and Vista machines. I have two other XP machines, on the same network, that are able to see the printers and do print jobs.

It's no wonder that Apple has overtaken MS in market capitalization!

 

[i386]

Re: Help with adding a printer?

Another tip about Start -> Run \\computername

When you do that and see a shared printer listed, just right-click the printer and click connect. When it works, you get no confirmation, but it installs the printer automagically.

In order for that to work:

1. The networking discussed earlier needs to be configured correctly.
2. The computer trying to install the printer needs to be able to use the same driver the one sharing it has. Usually if this is not the case, you will be prompted to point to the driver. Just be aware you will need to use the same type of driver at this point. For example, you have a Windows 7 computer sharing a LaserJet 4000 using a PCL6 driver. When you try to install that network printer from an XP box it's going to ask you for the driver since XP can't use the Win7 driver. You will need to point it to an XP PCL6 driver. If you tried an XP PCL5e or PostScript driver it will tell you you can't use it.


The add network printer wizard is fine, but this can be a really fast way to install a printer when everything is configured properly.

 

[4JawChuck]

Re: Help with adding a printer?

Installing a Network Printer in Vista:

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1) Connect the printer to the Vista "client" PC, as though it were to be used with that computer, and install it. This ensures that it has all the necessary software/drivers on board.

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2) Reconnect it to the "host" PC and, in its Properties, set it as "shared". Make a note of both the host PC's "Computer Name" and the printer's "Share Name".

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3) In the Vista "client" PC, launch the "Add a Printer" wizard and select the "Add a local printer" option. This automatically opens a new dialog box in which to select the Port.

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4) Click the "Create a new port" radio button and leave the drop-down menu options on the default of "Local Port". Click Next.

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5) A small box opens in which to enter the Port Name. Type in the path to the "shared" printer in the host PC using the format \\computername\sharename where computername and sharename are the details you noted in (2) above.

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6) Select the Printer driver from the list provided, which should include the driver you originally installed, otherwise use the "Have Disk" button to install the correct Vista driver if it is not in the list. It is essential that a Vista-compatible driver for your printer is used. Click Next.

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7) Give the printer a name and choose whether to set it as the default. Click Next.

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8) Print a test page to verify functionality and then click Finish.

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Help with adding a printer?

Thought you all might like to hear a hoot! I haven't attempted to get the shared printer onto the Vista machine since this post kind of ended. I also haven't tried 4JawChuck's suggestion yet either. I will get back to it soon though.

The hoot is this. I just connected an old Dell machine to the network that hasn't been run in 5 years. It was my Father in Laws and had never been hooked to my network before. It had a red X'd icon in the start up tray for his old printer and I wanted to get rid of it.

I checked for all listed printers in "Printers" and it showed just the one HP office jet and the fax part of it. I then went to add/remove programs to delete the HP software. When done, the red X'd icon went away.

I then went back to 'printers' to confirm nothing was listed there. Lo and behold XP added my 'family computer' HP Laser printer. I didn't have to lift a finger to do it. Somewhere I had checked to 'share' things (I don't remember where I ran across it) and XP just saw it on the family computer and added it.

Boy, they sure blew it with Vista!!!