(Newbe) Help! Connecting Wireless Laptop to Desktop Printer

Hoping for a simple solution. Printer (Canon) is connected to desktop computer. Laptop is wireless and uses router to connect to internet.

Want to be able to print from laptop. Have received directions on sharing printer but they haven't worked. Can someone please assist me. Tired of putting material on disc, running upstairs to desktop in order to print.

Thank you.

 

Have you enabled printer sharing on the desktop?

Can you see the printer from your laptop in My Network?

 

Questions:

1. Is the PC upstairs also using the wireless connection in any way?

2. Is your laptop on the same workgroup as your PC? (Right click on my computer and go to properties>computer name (assuming you are using xp), in the middle of the screen, check the workgroup name for both the PC and the laptop. If they are not the same, you will not be able to share resources like a printer.)

3. What OS are you running on your PC and your Desktop? They may not be compatible versions.

Get back to us on these for starters and we will see if we can help you.

~Paul

 

They both need to have their firewalls and network settings to allow sharing.

 

As flip was saying....you first need to share the printer on the desktop computer and from there it should be easy to connect to it from the laptop.

 

Thanks, folks. I'm terrific on the software side but miserable on the tech side, which is why I am asking this simplistic (to you) question in the first place.

I will go set up printer share on the desktop and see where I go from there. Stay tuned!! I'm certain I'll be back...

 

Questions: From Doobi

1. Is the PC upstairs also using the wireless connection in any way?

2. Is your laptop on the same workgroup as your PC? (Right click on my computer and go to properties>computer name (assuming you are using xp), in the middle of the screen, check the workgroup name for both the PC and the laptop. If they are not the same, you will not be able to share resources like a printer.)

3. What OS are you running on your PC and your Desktop? They may not be compatible versions.

Get back to us on these for starters and we will see if we can help you.

Doobi -

Here's your answers:

1. No
2. Will check out
3. XP - SP2 on desktop; XP - SP3 on laptop
Desktop is older Dell, Laptop is Lenovo R61i

Thank you!

 

I believe you should be able to share. One way to check if you have access to the other computer is to simply hit Win+R to open the Run dialog, then type the computer's name in the box like so: \\computername. If you can access it, you should be able to see shared folders and printers on the computer, provided sharing is enabled. If not, there is some permission denied somewhere...

 

RealOne, on the desktop machine on which the printer is directly connected to go to Control Panel--> Printers and Faxes; right click the said printer and select Properties, click the Sharing tab, select Share this printer and give it a Shared name.

Now on the laptop you'll go to the Printers and Faxes section, click Add Printer under the Printer task section on the left, or right click anywhere in the open area and select Add Printer; next and select a Network printer or a printer directly attached to another computer and click next, you can now use the default option and browse for the printer or click the second option and then enter \\desktopcomputername\sharenameofprinter and then click next.

You may or may not need to install the printer drivers on the laptop so therefore you may need to have the printer's driver CD at hand. If you need the drivers for the laptop and you don't have the CD you may have to go to the printer's manufacturer's Web Site and download the proper driver for the laptop.

 

Sharing the printer will do nothing if the laptop is only on wireless connection; the pc is not; and neither the pc nor laptop are in the same workgroup. They must share a network connection of SOME kind in order for you to share resources; ie a printer. My suggestion would be to get a wireless network adapter for the PC (runs around $20 bucks) and then setup the PC and Laptop to run on the same workgroup. Then when you share the printer on the PC, the laptop will be able to see it THROUGH the network. Hope this helps...

Paul

 

If the desktop computer is connected to the same Router that the laptop is connected to via an ethernet cable then it should work. Whether one is wireless and the other is directly connected it doesn't matter once they're on the same network.

It's like you're saying you can't call a Land Line phone using a Cell Phone because they're using different technologies.

 

I think I have the same problem as the OP. I have a desktop hardwired to a DSL modem and D-Link router. I have a printer connected to the desktop by usb. I have a laptop that connects wirelessly to the router. Is it possible to use the destop printer from the laptop? The printer is not WIFI capable. The desktop is running XP Home and the laptop is running Vista HP. I have the desktop set to share the printer. And I am lost from there.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

If the desktop is connected directly to the D-Link Router follow my steps in post #9.

 

I disagree, aslong as they are connected to the same network it doesnt matter what type of connection it is.

My whole household prints out of a desktop printer which is wired to the router.

I agree.

 

For some reason it is not working. Both computers are running Norton Internet Security 2008. Do I need to change the firewall settings? I don't see the laptop showing anywhere on the desktop. And when I diagnose on the laptop it won't access the desktop. The printer is connected to the desktop by usb. It is not connected directly to the router. I'm an old guy and this wireless stuff is all new to me. Thanks for your patience.

 

Seeing that you have two different OSs; being .Vista and XP you'll need to download and install THIS on the XP machine.

Also ensure File and Printer Sharing is enabled on both machines...on XP go to Start--> Run and type ncpa.cpl and hit enter. Right click the Network Adapter choose Properties and ensure File and Printer Sharing is checked. For .Vista ensure the Network Discovery and File and Printer Sharing is enabled in Network and Discovery.

And as for Norton, you will most likely have to look for the setting that speaks about File and Printer Sharing OR Trusted Network(s) etc. and enable it also. Antivirus and Firewall programs are known for causing issues when sharing resources between computers.

 

I followed the link to the download and it said that my service pack was newer than the download so I didn't need it. On the XP computer file and printer sharing is enabled. On the Vista computer, file sharing is enabled but printer sharing is off and I cannot turn it on. Is this because of the firewall? Thanks for the help.

 

Yes disable the firewalls temporarily just to check.

Firewalls are known to block sharing.

 

Dumb question, but do I need to install the printer software on the laptop too?

 

No you dont....

You just add the printer as a network printer.

 

I turned off the firewall on both computers. The laptop recognized the desktop in Network Discovery. I couldn't add the printer because of wrong driver. I follow prompts to find driver. It said file .INF is needed, type path where file is located. Now I am lost. The firewall definitely needs to be configured to allow the sharing. But how do I add the printer in Vista?

 

What printer is it?

 

The driver would be on the CD that came w/ the printer...if you don't have the CD you can get the correct driver from the Printer Manufacturer's web site.

 

It is a Canon Pixma MP600. I have the installation cd that came with the printer. I just checked the Canon website and unfortunately there are currently no drivers for my printer to use with Vista. Arrrrrrrgh!!! So I guess I need a new printer. I really like the MP 600, it's only 2 years old and has worked fine. It does a nice job on photos. Again, I thank you for your help and I am open to other ideas or suggestions.

 

You're not out of luck yet...I think i've found .Vista drivers for the printer. CLICK; Select the .Vista OS and download the mp600vst110en.exe driver.

 

The sucky thing about printer sharing is its only good for the same OS because its supposed to download the drivers automatically to your notebook.

Though you can pre-load different OS drivers into the Host computer/printer so if another Vista notebook needs to print out then it will install the drivers automatically.

There are a few universal printer drivers. I have a HP printer. I think i have the UPD drivers installed thats why it never asked for it.

 

I installed the Vista drivers on the notebook. I can see the desktop on the notebook network. I can open the destop on the notebook and see the printer. But I cannot add the printer to the notebook. It is probably very simple and I am missing something.

I am getting desparate as I have spent so much time on this with no results. I am considering buying a wireless printer to share, but I am afraid I will have the same problem. Any more suggestions? I really appreciate your help. I just wish I could figure this out.

Now the desktop has disappeared from the laptop network. Why isn't the desktop recognized on the network? Help!!!

 

I don't use .Vista so these instructions may not be on point but it's worth a try...First of all the driver that you downloaded on the .Vista machine, you need to extract it by right clicking it and select extract here. It should extract the driver and create a folder w/ the extracted files....Now, on the .Vista laptop go to the Printers and Faxes section under Control Panel, click Add Printer; next and select a Network printer or a printer directly attached to another computer and click next, you can now use the default option and browse for the printer or click the second option and then enter \\desktopcomputername\sharenameofprinter and then click next.

When you are prompted to install the drivers select 'Have Disk' and browse to the location (Folder) to where you extracted the driver's contents. The driver name should automatically show up in the name section of the window prompt; that is the file (driver) in which you want to open. Look for it, select it and open the file to install the driver on the .Vista machine.

Good Luck!

 

On the Vista machine I have let it search for printers and it has always come up no printers found. I will have to try the second method that you have suggested. I am also thinking that something is wrong with my XP network setup as it isn't coming up on the laptop. How should I configure my network on the XP machine? I really think that this is something easy that I just am not doing right or else it is utterly impossible!

 

On the XP machine do a Start--> Run and type cmd and hit enter. Then type ipconfig /all and hit enter. Take note of the IP Address...while there do a ping ipaddressofvistamachine and hit enter. You should get a Reply!

On the .Vista machine do a Start--> Run and type \\ipaddressofxpmachine and hit enter. What happens?

If you can't see the XP machine from the .Vista machine or pinging the other machine doesn't work then the Antivirus/Firewall is most likely the issue.

 

exactly what must I type to do the ping from the XP to Vista and from the Vista to XP? How do I know if I have a network set up properly on either machine? Both connect to the internet with no problems. The laptop connects wirelessly and the desktop is connected to the router which is connected to the modem so I must have that part right. I know the firewall settings have to be changed because the only time the laptop sees the desktop is when I turn the firewalls off. But the laptop won't locate the printer. I have to have something set wrong or be doing something wrong. Again, I thank you for your patience.

 

1) Check they are in the same workgroup and turn off third party security programs

2) Go to the command prompt on each computer. Type in "ipconfig" . Write down the IP/IPv4, Subnet and Gateway Addresses.

3) Go to one computer and in the command prompt type in "ping (ip address of other computer here)"
eg. ping 192.168.1.15

It will send ping packets to check for connectivity. You will either get a reply back with the latency or a timeout.

If you wanna see what a successful connection looks like, type in ping www.google.com

 

On top of what flip said; I suggest going through Norton's settings and look for the setting which speaks of allowing File and Printer Sharing OR Trusting the Network Zone etc. You may have to enter the IP Address scope of your Network. If you're going to be sharing resources like this you don't want to be turning off the Firewall everytime...there should be some sort of Trust on your own Network.

If the laptop can locate the computer but not the Printer then it sounds like the Printer is not being Shared and doesn't have a Shared Name.

 

1. How do check to see if both computers are in the same workgroup?

 

Success!! It works!! I made a few changes to the firewall settings on both computers, I had to put in the MAC address and allow it to be trusted and to trust the network. It was very simple. On the laptop with Vista, I went into Network Neighborhood and it showed the desktop on the network. I was able to open the desktop and see the printer. Then I clicked add printer, it started the setup and automatically installed the driver that I dowloaded yesterday from the Canon site. So the firewall setting were the biggest part of the problem. Live and learn.

I spent so many hours on this and it should have only been 30 minutes work at most. But it was a good learning process for an old guy! Thank you makaveli72 and flipfire for all of your help. I really appreciate the time and effort you both took to help me work out this problem. You guys are tops!

 

Cheers!!!

 

Yep - you guys are awesome. RealOne here is still fumbling along with this process but also haven't had time to really study and try out suggestions. I'll get there, though... Thanks to all!!