Printer Sharing on Mixed XP/Win 2000 Home Workgroup

[lwestatbus]

I am having difficulty getting a Win 2000 desktop integrated into a home
workgroup network with two Win XP Pro computers (one desktop and one laptop).
I particularly need for the W2K computer to print to a shared printer on the
XP Desktop.

Symptoms & Conditions:

All three computers have been joined to the same workgroup name. The two XP
machines can each see the shared printer and shared folders on the other XP
computer. Each XP machine can see the W2K desktop but no shared resources on
the W2K machine. (I shared a local printer and a single folder on the W2K
computer for testing purposes.) When browsing from the W2K computer looking
for shared printers or folders this machine will see the workgroup name but
only sees itself and its own shared resources as part of the workgroup.

All three computers have administrator and non-administrator accounts on
them. I made sure that I was logged in as an administrator when setting up
all shares and when adding all machines to the workgroup name. The XP
machine hosting the target printer has the firewall set to allow file and
printer sharing.

I tried connecting the W2K desktop to the shared printer using the printer
address copied from the XP Pro laptop which connects to the target printer
properly but to no avail.

Help is urgently needed as there are spousal implications to the problem.
She suspects I'm dragging my feet getting her hooked up since my computer is
working properly. But I am truly at a loss.

 

[lwestatbus]

Sorry, but I've got a little more info I forgot from the first post:

1. I attempted to connect from the W2K desktop to the target shared printer
on the XP Pro machine using the printer manufacturer's installation disk by
both browsing for the shared printer and by entering the known good printer
network address from the working XP laptop during the installation process
from the manufacturer's disk.

2. The W2K printer drivers are also enabled on the XP Pro desktop hosting
the printer.

3. The W2K desktop had formerly been able to see the XP Pro-hosted printer
but after completely rebuilding the XP Pro host machine the connectivity
disappeared.

Thanks again.

 

[Chuck [MVP]]

I am having difficulty getting a Win 2000 desktop integrated into a home
workgroup network with two Win XP Pro computers (one desktop and one laptop).
I particularly need for the W2K computer to print to a shared printer on the
XP Desktop.

Symptoms & Conditions:

All three computers have been joined to the same workgroup name. The two XP
machines can each see the shared printer and shared folders on the other XP
computer. Each XP machine can see the W2K desktop but no shared resources on
the W2K machine. (I shared a local printer and a single folder on the W2K
computer for testing purposes.) When browsing from the W2K computer looking
for shared printers or folders this machine will see the workgroup name but
only sees itself and its own shared resources as part of the workgroup.

All three computers have administrator and non-administrator accounts on
them. I made sure that I was logged in as an administrator when setting up
all shares and when adding all machines to the workgroup name. The XP
machine hosting the target printer has the firewall set to allow file and
printer sharing.

I tried connecting the W2K desktop to the shared printer using the printer
address copied from the XP Pro laptop which connects to the target printer
properly but to no avail.

Help is urgently needed as there are spousal implications to the problem.
She suspects I'm dragging my feet getting her hooked up since my computer is
working properly. But I am truly at a loss.

Visibility problems are generally caused by misconfigured or overlooked personal
firewalls, which block browser SMBs.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/07/advanced-windows-networking-using.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/07/advanced-windows-networking-using.html

We can diagnose the problem, using logs from "browstat status", "ipconfig /all",
"net config server", and "net config workstation", from each computer. Read
this article, and linked articles, and follow instructions precisely (Download
browstat!):
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-network-neighborhood.html#AskingForHelp>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-network-neighborhood.html#AskingForHelp

--
Cheers,
Chuck, MS-MVP 2005-2007 [Windows - Networking]
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/
Paranoia is not a problem, when it's a normal response from experience.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck mvps org.