setting up a WiFi sharing printer network

[Robert J. Lafayette]

No response from MS help and support or configure_manage forums:



both computers in this actual attempt/ exercise have XP Home, SP2,

mine is computer A
hers is computer B
printer is X, USB connected to A
computer c- wireless router.

computers A and B share a wireless Internet connection where Internet comes
from a main wireless router connected to computer C.

I wish to share printer that is hard connected to computer A with computer B
using wireless or Internet system if possible. Computer C may or may not
wish to use printer X, ever. Irrelevant to this I hope.

Made printer X, which is connected to computer A available for sharing. Via
printer/ fax in control panel.

Can't seem to get computer B connected to printer x in computer A and
something may be missing.

do I first need to do something with computer C to set up printer X so
computers A and B can share it?

if this is at all possible, the more details in the instructions, the
better.

No Kidding the more details the better.

Please.

Cordially,
Robert

 

[Paul Randall]

No response from MS help and support or configure_manage forums:



both computers in this actual attempt/ exercise have XP Home, SP2,

mine is computer A
hers is computer B
printer is X, USB connected to A
computer c- wireless router.

computers A and B share a wireless Internet connection where Internet
comes from a main wireless router connected to computer C.

I wish to share printer that is hard connected to computer A with computer
B using wireless or Internet system if possible. Computer C may or may
not wish to use printer X, ever. Irrelevant to this I hope.

Made printer X, which is connected to computer A available for sharing.
Via printer/ fax in control panel.

Can't seem to get computer B connected to printer x in computer A and
something may be missing.

do I first need to do something with computer C to set up printer X so
computers A and B can share it?

if this is at all possible, the more details in the instructions, the
better.

No Kidding the more details the better.

Please.

Cordially,
Robert

Question 1: Tell me if I've got this right:
- Wireless router's WAN port is connected to your internet modem.
- Computer C is connected to one of the wired ports on the router.
- Computers A & B connect wirelessly to the router.
- Computer A has a USB printer connected to it, which you want to share with
Computers B and maybe C.

Question 2: Do all three computers access the internet properly?

Question 3: Have you tried instructions like these:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/instanttrack/xp-printing/index.html

Question 4: Have you set up file sharing between Computers A & B (and maybe
C), using the wizard, and verified that it works properly (each of the
computers can copy files to and from the other computers' shared folder)?

 

[Lem]

No response from MS help and support or configure_manage forums:



both computers in this actual attempt/ exercise have XP Home, SP2,

mine is computer A
hers is computer B
printer is X, USB connected to A
computer c- wireless router.

computers A and B share a wireless Internet connection where Internet comes
from a main wireless router connected to computer C.

I wish to share printer that is hard connected to computer A with computer B
using wireless or Internet system if possible. Computer C may or may not
wish to use printer X, ever. Irrelevant to this I hope.

Made printer X, which is connected to computer A available for sharing. Via
printer/ fax in control panel.

Can't seem to get computer B connected to printer x in computer A and
something may be missing.

do I first need to do something with computer C to set up printer X so
computers A and B can share it?

if this is at all possible, the more details in the instructions, the
better.

No Kidding the more details the better.

Please.

Cordially,
Robert

Standard advice from MS-MVP Malke:

If both your computers are already accessing the Internet wirelessly,
all you need to do is set up your local area network (lan) for
file/printer sharing. When you get that set up, to do the printer you
may need to install the printer on the second computer (the one that
doesn't have the printer connected locally). It depends on the printer.
HP all-in-ones usually need you to run the install from the cd on each
client machine instead of using the Add Printer wizard in Control Panel.
Refer to your printer manual for details.

Run the Network Setup Wizard on both computers, making sure to enable
File & Printer Sharing, and reboot. The only "gotcha" is that this will
turn on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you aren't running a third-party
firewall or have an antivirus with "Internet Worm Protection" (like
Norton 2005/06) which acts as a firewall, then you're fine. If you have
third-party firewall software, configure it to allow the Local Area
Network traffic as trusted. I usually do this with my firewalls with an
IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would
substitute your correct subnet.

If one or more of the computers is XP Pro:

a. If you need Pro's ability to set fine-grained permissions, turn off
Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab) and create identical user
accounts/passwords on all computers.

b. If you don't care about using Pro's advanced features, leave the
Simple File Sharing enabled.

Simple File Sharing means that Guest (network) is enabled. This means
that anyone without a user account on the target system can use its
resources. This is a security hole but only you can decide if it
matters in your situation.

Then create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users'
home directories (My Documents) or Program Files, but you can share
folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the
Shared Documents folder.

Because you specifically want to share a printer, on the computer to
which the printer is attached, go to Printers & Faxes, right click on
the printer, select sharing, and give it a name.

If that doesn't work for you, here is an excellent network
troubleshooter by MVP Hans-Georg Michna. Take the time to go through it
and it will usually pinpoint the problem area(s) -
http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm