Printer sharing

[Lowell]

Maybe you folks can help me with a computer connection too.  I have 2 desktop PCs connected by LAN wire to the back of a wireless router and one laptop with built in wireless capability.  Each of the hard desktops are also connected to their own printer. (USB & serial)  Is there a way for me to print to one of the printers from my laptop by going through the wireless router to the desktop to the printer?
Jake

 

[rhmahoney]

Don't know how it works on your OS, but with my Macs I plug the printer USB into the Airport base station and all my computers find the printer automagically via rendezvous.

 

[Tom]

Russ,

Didn't you know that Windows just isn't that sophisticated or that simple to use  ;D

 

[Lowell]

I probably should have added that I am running Windows XP on three pcs.
Jake

 

[Bob Buchanan]

Maybe you folks can help me with a computer connection too.? I have 2 desktop PCs connected by LAN wire to the back of a wireless router and one laptop with built in wireless capability.? Each of the hard desktops are also connected to their own printer. (USB & serial)? Is there a way for me to print to one of the printers from my laptop by going through the wireless router to the desktop to the printer?
Jake

Hi Jake:

Are all the computer talking to each other otherwise -- in that you can share files and such? If so you can go to each machine individually and install any other printer on your network. You can do this via the Printers and Faxes icon in your Control Panel. You would want to click the Add Printer icon from there and follow the steps displayed in the Wizard that follows.

The second screen in the Wizard will ask if the printer you want to install is local or on the network somewhere -- so select that radio button and continue from there. If your network is working OK -- XP will find and install the printer for you. Part of that will be that it must install the drivers on the local machine for that printer you are after on another station.

 

[Lowell]

Hi Bob,

No, my PCs are not talking to each other.  I don't believe I have any problems other than myself ;D  I don't know how to make them connect to each other. I suspect I need to do something from the control panel but I'm not sure what that is.

Jake

 

[Bob Buchanan]

Hi Bob,

No, my PCs are not talking to each other.? I don't believe I have any problems other than myself ;D? I don't know how to make them connect to each other. I suspect I need to do something from the control panel but I'm not sure what that is.

Jake

You can purchase printer sharing hubs from CompUSA or where ever if you don't want to network similar to what Russ describes for his Apple -- but from what you describe in equipment -- and with XP making networkiing setups fairly easy, you probably would want a full fledged LAN.

If so, yes, there is a Network Connectioins icon in the Control Panel followed by a Set Up a Home or Small Office Icon that would step you through setting up the LAN. From what you say, you have the two desktops cabled to the router. I would forget about the Laptop and consentrate of the two desktops first.

One of the first questions you will be asked is how you are receiving internet -- or if all. If you have a connection directly to one machine vs. such as mine that comes from a Direcway dish into my Router, then you would want to pick the proper setup.

The router right now is just a hub that is acting like a connector of the two LAN cables coming from each desktop -- it isn't routing anything as yet.

 

[blueblood]

Hi Bob,

No, my PCs are not talking to each other.? I don't believe I have any problems other than myself ;D? I don't know how to make them connect to each other. I suspect I need to do something from the control panel but I'm not sure what that is.

Jake

Yes, you can use any of the printers for the LAN. You will have LAN working first obviously. Once you do you'll go to Printers and Faxes on Start and click then go to add a printer. You then have to fill in the name of the host which has printer and its location and click OK. A box will come up telling you it must add a dll to your computer and ask if its okay. You say yes and the connection is made. As to making LAN,  I recommend you first disconnect the Interent and then shutoff all security until the LAN is working. The biggest problem I used to have in installing LAn's was firewalls so I adopted this procedure which eliminated it as a factor. 

 

[Lowell]

I'm not very sharp at this  :-[  When I go to add printers, I think I should click on the choice: " a network printer or a printer attached to another computer" When I did that, the next window offered me 3 choices: 1 Browse for printer, 2 connect to a printer, 3 connect to printer on internet or on home office network.

I guessing I should then go to #3 but I'm not sure what to enter.  Also is there a way I can find what I named my PCs?  I think I just used their brand names but I don't recall for sure.

Thanks for the guidance.
Jake

 

[Karl]

Jake,
Click on the "My Computer" icon on your desktop, Click on "View System Information", then click on the tab labelled "Computer Name".

 

[blueblood]

I'm not very sharp at this? :-[? When I go to add printers, I think I should click on the choice: " a network printer or a printer attached to another computer" When I did that, the next window offered me 3 choices: 1 Browse for printer, 2 connect to a printer, 3 connect to printer on internet or on home office network.

I guessing I should then go to #3 but I'm not sure what to enter.? Also is there a way I can find what I named my PCs?? I think I just used their brand names but I don't recall for sure.

Thanks for the guidance.
Jake

Number of ways to get name - I use this one because I'm usually going there anyway.  Contol Panel-Admin Tools-Computer Management-Device Manager= Name is at top next to computer icon

Usually can input \\computer name\printer name
To find printer name  -Start- go to Printers and Faxes right click printer icon -name should be one showing there - to check you could go one more step and highlight printer icon to get drop down menu and look at properties

 

[Lowell]

Thanks everyone.  I am now 1/3 of the way there.  My Medion PC can access the HP printer hard wired to my E-machine.  But my E-machine cannot see or access the Epson printer hard wired to the Medion.  I haven't tried to do anything yet with my laptop via the wireless router.  I did the same set-up on both computers but I don't know why it works one way and not the other ???  For the most part, I just let the Microsoft network wizard do it's thing. The good thing is that I have access to the HP printer now which uses less expensive print cartridges and that's one of the reason I wanted to do this.  I guess I can always use the little SBU storage drive if I get desperate enough.
Jake

 

[blueblood]

Thanks everyone.? I am now 1/3 of the way there.? My Medion PC can access the HP printer hard wired to my E-machine.? But my E-machine cannot see or access the Epson printer hard wired to the Medion.? I haven't tried to do anything yet with my laptop via the wireless router.? I did the same set-up on both computers but I don't know why it works one way and not the other ???? For the most part, I just let the Microsoft network wizard do it's thing. The good thing is that I have access to the HP printer now which uses less expensive print cartridges and that's one of the reason I wanted to do this.? ?I guess I can always use the little SBU storage drive if I get desperate enough.
Jake

Did you change computer name and printer name when going other way?

 

[Ned]

You have to explicitly share a printer for it to be visible on the network.  Check the Epson printer and see if it's shared.

 

[Lowell]

Leo & Ned. 
I didn't change any of the printers names. The box is checked for shae this printer on the Epson.
Thanks,
Jake

 

[Karl]

Jake,

Also, go into Control Panel, Network Connections, and make sure that "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks" is enabled. A quick test to make sure that's installed and working correctly would be to share a hard drive or partition, and see if you can access it from the other computer. 

 

[Ned]

But only enable File and Printer Sharing on the local network connection, not your internet connection.

 

[blueblood]

Leo & Ned.?
I didn't change any of the printers names. The box is checked for shae this printer on the Epson.
Thanks,
Jake

I think the easiest way would be to read through this article.

http://www.tomsnetworking.com/Sections-article64-page1.php

 

[Lowell]

Hi Leo,
Thanks for the web link.  I haven't went too far with it yet, other than to check what the screens on my two PC showed.  On the link you identified, the second window in the first "basic" advice indicates that I should enable "Netbios over TCP/IP".  I didn't do that yet.  Both PC show"Net Bios Setting default" as the selection.  Yet with that setting on both computers, one lets me use the printer on the other computer and one doesn't. 

Could it be as simple as needing to download the printer driver on the second PC before it can find the printer on the first?
Thanks,
Jake

 

[Karl]

Jake,

Sometime you will get a message asking if it can load printer dll's, etc. If not, you usually must install the drivers manually. BTW, what O.S. are you running on the e-machine?