# printer sharing problem



## dcire (Apr 18, 2006)

Similar problem as other ones I have read....

I have a desktop computer connected to a printer and a laptop computer. They both access the internet through a wireless router.
I am trying to get my printer shared with the laptop. I have already done these steps...

enabled sharing for my printer on the host computer
given the printer a name
given my desktop a name
given my laptop a name
both computers have the same work group name

Now, when I open up my laptop control panel and try to add the printer, it cannot be found in the printer list. I have tried using the manual step of adding the printer "\\hostname\printername" but I still get an error saying " Windows cannot connect to the printer. Either the printer name was typed incorrectly, or the specified printer has lost it's connection to the server."

HELP!!!


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## dcire (Apr 18, 2006)

Oh and both computers are running XP Home edition


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## kidnewbie (Mar 8, 2006)

go to "my network places" and click on "view workgroup computers" which should be on the left panel. both your pc and laptop should show up if your network is configured right.

double click your pc(printer host). your printer should be there if it is installed right and shared. 

by doing the above steps, you can find out if its your network or if its you printer that has the problem.


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## Jerseyboy (Feb 2, 2004)

dcire said:


> I have tried using the manual step of adding the printer "\\hostname\printername" but I still get an error saying " Windows cannot connect to the printer. Either the printer name was typed incorrectly, or the specified printer has lost it's connection to the server."
> 
> HELP!!![/QUOTE
> 
> i think I would try renaming everything and see what happens. I had a similar situation recently and after checking and double checking, with everything being correct, I went back and renamed everything including the workgroup. After doing all that I was able to print from both PC's. Anyway, just a thought.


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## Jerseyboy (Feb 2, 2004)

Or try reinstalling the printer drivers. Sometimes the simple things work.:up:


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## dcire (Apr 18, 2006)

kidnewbie said:


> go to "my network places" and click on "view workgroup computers" which should be on the left panel. both your pc and laptop should show up if your network is configured right.
> 
> double click your pc(printer host). your printer should be there if it is installed right and shared.
> 
> by doing the above steps, you can find out if its your network or if its you printer that has the problem.


I have done the above steps on my desktop (host) and everything checks out. The problem is when I try to complete the "add printer" steps on my laptop. The laptop cannot locate the printer.


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## kidnewbie (Mar 8, 2006)

dcire said:


> I have done the above steps on my desktop (host) and everything checks out. The problem is when I try to complete the "add printer" steps on my laptop. The laptop cannot locate the printer.


try doing the above steps on your laptop to determine if the laptop can see the pc and its printers.

what kind of printer is it?


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## dcire (Apr 18, 2006)

kidnewbie said:


> try doing the above steps on your laptop to determine if the laptop can see the pc and its printers.
> 
> what kind of printer is it?


Strange but when I try and open "My Network Places" on my laptop I only get a window without the left pane listing the "view workgroup computers" option, so I don't know if the laptop can see the pc and printer. The printer is an Epson Stylus CX5400.


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## steelie (Apr 18, 2006)

it's all about the "simple file sharing" and "sharing and security model for local accounts." if you don't know what that means... you've got some reading to do:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/setup/default.mspx


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## kidnewbie (Mar 8, 2006)

dcire said:


> Strange but when I try and open "My Network Places" on my laptop I only get a window without the left pane listing the "view workgroup computers" option, so I don't know if the laptop can see the pc and printer. The printer is an Epson Stylus CX5400.


try this instead. open up windows explorer (right click on start and click on explore)

on the left panel (the one with the directory tree) expand the following trees: "my network places" -> "entire network" -> "Microsoft windows network"

after expanding the above trees, click on workgroup.

the expanded trees should look like the picture below:










(my two computers are named dell and compaq)

then check if your laptop can see both your pc and your printer. if it can't see your pc, then your network configuration is wrong. if it can see the pc but not the printer, then your printer is probably not shared.


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## dcire (Apr 18, 2006)

kidnewbie said:


> try this instead. open up windows explorer (right click on start and click on explore)
> 
> on the left panel (the one with the directory tree) expand the following trees: "my network places" -> "entire network" -> "Microsoft windows network"
> 
> ...


I have followed the above steps and when I expand the Microsoft Windows Network my workgroup name pops up. When I try and open this I get a message saying "it is not accessible. The network path was not found."


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## steelie (Apr 18, 2006)

check your "server" service. needs to be running for the IPC$ share to function properly...


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

"Strange but when I try and open "My Network Places" on my laptop I only get a window without the left pane ..."

Actually it's an option; if you want the other way, in any Windows explorer window,
Tools - Folder options ... - General tab - select 'Show common tasks in folders.'

You may have a problem, but it's difficult for me to tell whether you've enabled file and printer sharing and whether you have any 3rd party firewalls blocking access. You may want to just start over as follows.

Run the Network Setup wizard (found in Control Panel of XP and in My Network Places? in Win 2k Pro). Tell it each of your computers connects to the internet via "residential gateway" and that you want to enable file and printer sharing. Create a disk at the end only if you have a Windows PC without the above versions.

Windows XP firewall (if SP2) will be properly configured by the wizard. You must uninstall or properly configure any 3rd party firewalls on each machine. Unique computer names and same workgroup, of course.

The Shared Documents folder is automatically shared. Any other folders or printers you want to share, just right click on them and sharing ... . When sharing a printer, accept the offer to load other drivers if your other PCs have different Operating System(s).

When you first go into My Network Places there will be nothing there. The first time you click on 'View Workgroup computers' will probably result in great disappointment. It takes awhile (20 minutes; even hours) before all the computers in the workgroup get up-to-date and accurate lists of the other computers. Often you can speed up this process via Search for other computers, and a few computer restarts.

When computers show up in My Network Places, double click on one to see its shares. If that includes a printer, you can right click on the printer to connect to it.


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## dcire (Apr 18, 2006)

Okay...I know I'm getting close to getting this thing beat!! When I view workgroup computers in "My Network Places" I can see both computers. However, on my laptop I do not see my printer and I know I have enabled sharing of the printer using my desktop. Thoughts....?


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## kidnewbie (Mar 8, 2006)

dcire said:


> Okay...I know I'm getting close to getting this thing beat!! When I view workgroup computers in "My Network Places" I can see both computers. However, on my laptop I do not see my printer and I know I have enabled sharing of the printer using my desktop. Thoughts....?


when you go to "control panel"->"printers and faxes" on your host pc, does the printer that you want to share have a hand under it (like in the pic below)?

if it doesn't then that means that your printer is not shared










*edit: i'm not sure if win2k also has this hand icon. this pic is taken from an xp


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

What did you do to progress to this point from yesterday?

On the laptop you double click on the desktop's icon and you see shared folders but not the printer? If so, go back to the desktop - Printers and Faxes and make sure there is the "sharing" hand under the printer. If not, right click the printer and share it.


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