Home Network question.

B

boy

Hi,

I have 2 desktop PCs.
XP - connection to router is cable.
W7 - connection is wireless.
Both work well.
I bought a new network printer.
1. created home network on XP named "HOME".
2. created home network on W7 named "HOME".
3. connected printer to XP via USB cable.
4. installed drivers, made it shared, named "Brother" - printer works
well.
5. installed printer drivers on W7, made it shared, named "Brother".


Problem - printer does not print from W7.


I wonder if the home network is actually working.
Am I suppose to see XP and the printer when I go to W7 network
settings...? Because when I go to see what is on the network in W7, I
do not see anything and the troubleshooting does not reveal any
issues.


Any advice...?


Thank you, Boy.
 
Y

Yousuf Khan

Hi,

I have 2 desktop PCs.
XP - connection to router is cable.
W7 - connection is wireless.
Both work well.
I bought a new network printer.
1. created home network on XP named "HOME".
2. created home network on W7 named "HOME".
3. connected printer to XP via USB cable.
4. installed drivers, made it shared, named "Brother" - printer works
well.
5. installed printer drivers on W7, made it shared, named "Brother".


Problem - printer does not print from W7.


I wonder if the home network is actually working.
Am I suppose to see XP and the printer when I go to W7 network
settings...? Because when I go to see what is on the network in W7, I
do not see anything and the troubleshooting does not reveal any
issues.


Any advice...?

If it's a network printer (i.e. meaning that it's not directly attached
to any one machine except through a network), then you don't have to
make it "shared" as it is already shared by default.

Chances are that the network printer is not designed for the new Windows
7-style networking, so you're going to have to make Windows 7 use it
through a kludge.

What you have to do actually is a little weird. You don't set up a
network printer in W7, you setup a "local" printer connected through a
network port. So basically when you're going through the add a printer
wizard, you will choose "add local printer". You will then choose to
"create a new port". Here you will then choose "standard tcp/ip port",
and then type in the full printer share name, like "\\xpcomputer\xpprinter".

Networking from Printer attached to Win XP PC to Win 7 - Windows 7 Forums
http://www.sevenforums.com/network-sharing/7527-networking-printer-attached-win-xp-pc-win-7-a.html


Yousuf Khan
 
B

BR549

Yousuf Khan said:
If it's a network printer (i.e. meaning that it's not directly attached to
any one machine except through a network), then you don't have to make it
"shared" as it is already shared by default.

Chances are that the network printer is not designed for the new Windows
7-style networking, so you're going to have to make Windows 7 use it
through a kludge.

What you have to do actually is a little weird. You don't set up a network
printer in W7, you setup a "local" printer connected through a network
port. So basically when you're going through the add a printer wizard, you
will choose "add local printer". You will then choose to "create a new
port". Here you will then choose "standard tcp/ip port", and then type in
the full printer share name, like "\\xpcomputer\xpprinter".

Networking from Printer attached to Win XP PC to Win 7 - Windows 7 Forums
http://www.sevenforums.com/network-sharing/7527-networking-printer-attached-win-xp-pc-win-7-a.html

Yousuf Khan

I'm afraid I have to disagree with you on that. I have a Brother HL-2170W
laser wireless printer running on my home network of 2 Desktops running XP
and a Win 7 Netbook. I just installed the Brother printer on the Win 7
Netbook by clicking "add printer" in the Control Panel and then choosing to
add a network printer. The Netbook searched wirelessly and found the
HL-2170W laser printer, I selected it and clicked "next", the printer got
installed and works just fine.
 
S

SC Tom

BR549 said:
I'm afraid I have to disagree with you on that. I have a Brother HL-2170W
laser wireless printer running on my home network of 2 Desktops running XP
and a Win 7 Netbook. I just installed the Brother printer on the Win 7
Netbook by clicking "add printer" in the Control Panel and then choosing
to add a network printer. The Netbook searched wirelessly and found the
HL-2170W laser printer, I selected it and clicked "next", the printer got
installed and works just fine.
Yours worked simply because you have a wireless printer, and that's what
your netbook discovered. What the sevenforums article refers to is a printer
attached to an XP box, and accessing/printing to it from a Win7 PC. After
messing around with mine for the better part of two days (my setup is very
similar to the OP's setup), I came across Yousuf Khan's reply, tried it, and
in 10 minutes or less was printing from all my computers to the same
printer.
If the OP and I had a wireless printer, we probably would have had the same
experience as you, and wouldn't have posted here at all :)
 
Y

Yousuf Khan

Yours worked simply because you have a wireless printer, and that's what
your netbook discovered. What the sevenforums article refers to is a
printer attached to an XP box, and accessing/printing to it from a Win7
PC. After messing around with mine for the better part of two days (my
setup is very similar to the OP's setup), I came across Yousuf Khan's
reply, tried it, and in 10 minutes or less was printing from all my
computers to the same printer.
If the OP and I had a wireless printer, we probably would have had the
same experience as you, and wouldn't have posted here at all :)

Also, I don't think it's only related to printers connected through
Windows XP computers. When Microsoft brought out Windows 7, it upgraded
the network sharing protocol known as SMB (aka Samba). They added all
kinds of encryption and other stuff that wasn't there before. If a true
network printer or a network print server box was designed before
Windows 7 came out, then likely it only understands the earlier XP
version of Samba. So you'd likely have to use the same method to connect
those network printers as you would for an XP-connected printer.

Yousuf Khan
 

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