Problem Sharing Printer - Windows 98 and Windows XP Professional SP2

[klytu]

Upgraded a computer from WindowsME to Windows XP Professional SP2.
A Lexmark X73 all-in-one printer/scanner is connected to the computer
just upgraded to XP.
Windows 98 computer that is networked cannot print on the Lexmark X73
that is shared; when I attempt to print a test page from the Windows 98
box, an error box appears (after a long wait) indicating there is a
problem communicating with the printer. There are just those two
computers networked. File sharing and networking has been set up
between the two machines and appears to work fine except for the
printing issue. Before the upgrade from WindowsME to Windows XP, there
was no problem printing to the shared printer from the Windows 98
machine. The XP machine prints directly to the Lexmark X73 without
difficulty.

I noticed something else that seems strange. Before the upgrade to XP,
I had used "LEXMARK" as the share name for the printer; now I use
"LEXMARKX73". The old share name from WindowsME still appears in
WindowsXP when I view the workgroup computers. I cannot seem to remove
the "LEXMARK" share name and it cannot be accessed. (If I click on it
an error box pops up that states "Operation could not be completed.
Either the printer name was typed incorrectly, or the specified printer
has lost its connection to the server.) The "LEXMARK" share appears on
the Windows98 box when the two computers are networked and cannot be
accessed there either. If shut down one or the other computer, it only
appears on the WindowsXP machine (when I view the workgroup computers).
The "LEXMARK" share does not appear in the WindowsXP "printers and
faxes" folder. I wonder if this oddity has any effect on the ability to
print from the Windows98 machine to printer connected to the XP
machine? This is side issue for me, if not. My main concern is being
able to print to the shared printer.

Can anyone help? Thanks in advance to anyone who responds.

 

[Micky]

Upgraded a computer from WindowsME to Windows XP Professional SP2.
A Lexmark X73 all-in-one printer/scanner is connected to the computer
just upgraded to XP.
Windows 98 computer that is networked cannot print on the Lexmark X73
that is shared; when I attempt to print a test page from the Windows 98
box, an error box appears (after a long wait) indicating there is a
problem communicating with the printer. There are just those two
computers networked. File sharing and networking has been set up
between the two machines and appears to work fine except for the
printing issue. Before the upgrade from WindowsME to Windows XP, there
was no problem printing to the shared printer from the Windows 98
machine. The XP machine prints directly to the Lexmark X73 without
difficulty.

I noticed something else that seems strange. Before the upgrade to XP,
I had used "LEXMARK" as the share name for the printer; now I use
"LEXMARKX73". The old share name from WindowsME still appears in
WindowsXP when I view the workgroup computers. I cannot seem to remove
the "LEXMARK" share name and it cannot be accessed. (If I click on it
an error box pops up that states "Operation could not be completed.
Either the printer name was typed incorrectly, or the specified printer
has lost its connection to the server.) The "LEXMARK" share appears on
the Windows98 box when the two computers are networked and cannot be
accessed there either. If shut down one or the other computer, it only
appears on the WindowsXP machine (when I view the workgroup computers).
The "LEXMARK" share does not appear in the WindowsXP "printers and
faxes" folder. I wonder if this oddity has any effect on the ability to
print from the Windows98 machine to printer connected to the XP
machine? This is side issue for me, if not. My main concern is being
able to print to the shared printer.

Can anyone help? Thanks in advance to anyone who responds.

Recommend deleting the existing printer from Windows 98 and
re-installing it anew.

 

[Guest]

I have the same problem. It seems there's a communication problem between
W98 and XP. I have a Lexmark printer connected to a XP and a W98SE connected
via a router to the XP and no matter how I arrange file sharing, reinstall
printer setup, I cannot print from the W98SE. Previously if it was a W98
connected via a router to another W98, printer sharing was no problem but
once the main computer was upgraded to XP, printer sharing stops working for
the W98. I would also appreciate any detail instructions from an expert on
how to make the printer sharing work on a W98 and XP environment.

 

[klytu]

Thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately that didn't work. I had
already tried this idea before sending the original post. I also
uninstalled, deleted, and reinstalled the printer on XP. No effect -
still can't print from Win98 to the shared printer.

 

[klytu]

Thanks for the reply. I feel your pain! Before I sent my original post
I googled and found many folks had a similar problem. What I could not
seem to find was a definitive answer. Some people did not have
networking set up properly; some needed to update drivers, and many
threads ended without indicating whether or not the problem had been
resolved. One interesting thread, which I will post a link to when I
find it again, indicated that the problem occurs because when the Win98
computer attempts to print through WinXP, behind the scene Win98 logs
in through a guest account that doesn't have permission to use the
shared printer. Unfortunately I think that thread was one that ended
without indicating a resolution.

 

[Larbowlin]

Thanks for the reply. I feel your pain! Before I sent my original post
I googled and found many folks had a similar problem. What I could not
seem to find was a definitive answer. Some people did not have
networking set up properly; some needed to update drivers, and many
threads ended without indicating whether or not the problem had been
resolved. One interesting thread, which I will post a link to when I
find it again, indicated that the problem occurs because when the Win98
computer attempts to print through WinXP, behind the scene Win98 logs
in through a guest account that doesn't have permission to use the
shared printer. Unfortunately I think that thread was one that ended
without indicating a resolution.

Do you have a user on the XP machine with the credentials of the user
of win9x machine? I could not see anything to this effect in either of
the treads. If you already have the user or this does not help, the
only other option, I can think of would be uninstall and reinstall the
printer on the win98 machine.
Kind regards
Larbowlin

 

[klytu]

Thanks for the reply. This is a home network. Both my Win98 and
WindowsXP machines are set up so that no user login is required. I,
the only user, have administrative privileges on both machines. I have
already tried uninstalling and reinstalling the printer on the Windows
98 machine (as a network printer), but that didn't work.
I read an article stating that installing the printer as a local
printer on the Win98 machine and then redirecting it to a network
printer port may work. I think I'll try that when I get home this
evening. Information about that plan is at the bottom of the article
found here:

http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/NetPrinterNoPP.htm

 

[Larbowlin]

Thanks for the reply. This is a home network. Both my Win98 and
WindowsXP machines are set up so that no user login is required. I,
the only user, have administrative privileges on both machines. I have
already tried uninstalling and reinstalling the printer on the Windows
98 machine (as a network printer), but that didn't work.
I read an article stating that installing the printer as a local
printer on the Win98 machine and then redirecting it to a network
printer port may work. I think I'll try that when I get home this
evening. Information about that plan is at the bottom of the article
found here:

http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/NetPrinterNoPP.htm

The following link to MS KB might have a bearing. The part about
troubleshooting file and printer sharing section.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308007

HTH
Larbowlin

 

[klytu]

"The following link to MS KB might have a bearing. The part about
troubleshooting file and printer sharing section.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308007"

Thanks for the link, it helped me investigate some things more
thoroughly. Unforturnately I still haven't been able to print from the
Win98 computer through the shared Lexmark printer connected to the
WindowsXP computer. Installing the printer locally on the Win98 machine
and redirecting to a network port did not help. When I attempted to
print the behaviour was exactly the same. I worked through the "Home
and Small Office Networking Troubleshooter" and I found no problems
with any network setting on either machine. I reviewed the systems logs
in WindowsXP as discussed in the MS KB link above and found no errors
relating to networking or printing. At this point my intuition is that
this is an incompatibility problem between the way Win98 and WindowsXP
communicates with the Lexmark printer. I am not sure where to go next
to find help, but based on what I have found searching with Google this
appears to be a common problem that many folks have never solved. I
also found many posts where folks could not do the reverse: printing
from a WindowsXP computer to a printer connected to a Windows98
machine. Surprisingly, that situation is not a problem for me. I can
easily print from my WindowsXP box through the HPDesk722C connected to
my Windows98 machine.
Anyway, thanks for trying to help. I will keep looking for a solution
and post back if I find one.

 

[Larbowlin]

"The following link to MS KB might have a bearing. The part about
troubleshooting file and printer sharing section.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308007"

Thanks for the link, it helped me investigate some things more
thoroughly. Unforturnately I still haven't been able to print from the
Win98 computer through the shared Lexmark printer connected to the
WindowsXP computer. Installing the printer locally on the Win98 machine
and redirecting to a network port did not help. When I attempted to
print the behaviour was exactly the same. I worked through the "Home
and Small Office Networking Troubleshooter" and I found no problems
with any network setting on either machine. I reviewed the systems logs
in WindowsXP as discussed in the MS KB link above and found no errors
relating to networking or printing. At this point my intuition is that
this is an incompatibility problem between the way Win98 and WindowsXP
communicates with the Lexmark printer. I am not sure where to go next
to find help, but based on what I have found searching with Google this
appears to be a common problem that many folks have never solved. I
also found many posts where folks could not do the reverse: printing
from a WindowsXP computer to a printer connected to a Windows98
machine. Surprisingly, that situation is not a problem for me. I can
easily print from my WindowsXP box through the HPDesk722C connected to
my Windows98 machine.
Anyway, thanks for trying to help. I will keep looking for a solution
and post back if I find one.

Good Luck
Larbowlin