Windows 7: 7 and vista and a printer

hey


here is my
dilemma

i have 7 on my desktop and with my printer and i have vista on my wife's laptop
i had vista(as you have help me before on the otherside) before now i have 7

now i cannot get the printer to print from the laptop to print anything

any help here

With no sentence structure in your post, I'm confused and not sure what you are saying. What does installing Windows 7 on your desktop have to do with your wife printing from her laptop? Where is this printer? How does everyone connect to your network (everything on your side of the Internet gateway device - typically a modem)?

If this printer physically connected to your Windows 7 machine and is being shared, then you might look at your firewall settings to ensure her laptop has access.

BUT, sharing printers is a security risk so I recommend you get a print server (many routers support this). Then all computers can print to the networked printer without being dependent on a "host" computer.

sorry isent this the brink's tutorial but he moved it and some wording was taken out

1-ran vista from both desktop and laptop with the printer attached to the desktop

directly, and to the laptop via the wireless router

2-intalled 7 on the desktop and now the printer and the laptop(still vista) are not

linked

3- how to i go about setting up the printer network

i have netgear wgt624na super g wirless router

your help would great

thanks in advance

Don't have a clue about that.

First, make sure the Windows 7 desktop PC can print.

Then check out Share Files and Printers between Windows 7 and XP :: the How-To Geek.

But, as I noted above, a print sever would be a better option. Besides better security, using a print server offers other advantages over sharing a printer. Since the printer is not tethered to a computer, it can be centrally located off your desk and anywhere on the network. No "host" computer has up and running for others to print. Multiple users can print at the same time, and the server will sort it out.

Unfortunately, your wireless router does not have a print server built in. We don't the make and model of your printer. Some have network support, some don't. If yours does not, maybe your should look into a new printer, or multi-function device that does.

You first must determine how your printer connects - is it USB or LPT1? Then you must decide if you want wireless, or Ethernet, then you can buy the appropriate server. Newegg.com has several to choose from.

You have another option that I wish you would consider. 802.11G wireless networks are less secure, and slower than the newly adapted 802.11n wireless networks. You might consider a new 11n router that includes a print server. The better ones are dual-band to support your old 11g and 11n devices simultaneously, but, of course, cost more. Single bands would work, but would do better if each computer used 11n.

i am
going to get that new printer a set it up that way thanks for the info


it really did help

This is an issue that you generally always have to sdeal with when sharing printers across OSes that require different drivers.

First of course have to share the printer, then browse the network from the laptop and see if you can see the printer. If you can then ...

If the two machines were the same OS you can install printer drivers by doing add printer and searching for network shared printers, the drivers wil be transferred from the machine with the printer. But...

If the two machines are different OSes, you install the drivers for the proper OS on the OS (in this case vista drivers on the laptop), selecting a "virtual" port during the install (sometimes have to do it afterwards, or select a null USB port and make the real virtual port afterwards). Create a new virtual port with the name \\/<printer machine name>\<printer share name> in the printer properties/ports dialog and select that.

Now you can print from the laptop.

Here are my terse personal notes on how I got a printer attached to a Windows Home Server machine working in Windows 7: (Not the same as your case exactly but the procedure is the same)


* Install Canon i9900 printer connected to Windows home server.
(No printer driver found on windows update)
1) Install latest XP x64 driver. Manually select "FILE:" as the port name and let install finish.
2) Go to the printer properties -> Ports and add a new "Local" port with the shared name of the device. I.e.
\\SEAL-CAVE\Canon i9900
3) Print test page to test.

IF you have properly set up "alternate drivers" on the machine that has the printer installed then the other machine can get them automatically but that is not something people have normally done. I always use the virtual port pointing to the share name on the machine with the printer.

Hi digerati -- sharing a PRINTER is NOT a security risk -- it's what you print on it and who has access to the output.

Plain text isn't sent directly to the printer anyway so even a "sniffer" wouldn't be of much use.

Imagine going into a typical office - even a smallish one. What would people do without shared printers,

Even in a HOME there's a good use for sharing printers.

It's easily done. This method works both for printers attached to remote computers and "Network" printers - wireless or wired.

Note you need first to enable file and print sharing and allow this through any firewalls / AV software of course.

printers can exist on 32 or 64 bit machines and be shared EASILY between the different OS'es but DO IT THIS WAY as the post in front of mine is slightly confusing (at least to me).

1) enable printer sharing on the machine the printer is attached to.
2) call it someting simple like STUPIDPRN
3) ensure it works on the LOCAL machine its attached to

4) on the Remote (client) machine go to control panel ===>add new printer

5) Choose add LOCAL printer.

I know it's on another machine but the trick is to "poodlefake" the remote machine that its also got the printer attached - this gets round the problem of trying to install 32 bit drivers on a 64 bit machine or the other way round.

6) select printer port ==> check the CREATE NEW PORT.

7) Choose LOCAL PORT in the dropdown.

If you are using a Network Printer (one just attached to the network and not to a computer) chose Standard TCPIP port.

8) In the portname enter \\remotecomputer\sharename e.g \\loungelizard\stupidprn

(If its a network printer enter the IP adress instead of the remote computer name)

9) you'll get a screen now to install the printer software - just choose printer model and either let windows find it or insert the disk that came with the printer.

Take defaults for the next couple of screens
now print testpage.

Works for all XP / VISTA / Windows 7 combinations - even mixed x-86 and x-64 installations.

The number of times I've posted this and people still seem to have trouble sharing printers.

Cheers
jimbo

That is incorrect. Please read my whole statements in both replies. I said you get better security using a print server. And that's a fact.

Bottom Line: Any time sharing is opened up on a computer and firewalls are configured to allow access by other computers, compromises in security occur thus REQUIRING tighter discipline by IT/Security support people, if big enough to have them, or by the person stuck with those duties.

Do not confuse "sharing a printer" to "printing to a networked printer". Those are two different configurations. Sharing a printer is using a printer that is physically attached to another computer. This requires "Sharing" to be opened on that host machine, AND it requires that host's firewall to allow access by all the computers who use that printer.

With a networked printer using a simple, inexpensive print server, as is COMMONLY found in those offices you mention, NO Sharing needs to be opened up on any machine. Nor do firewalls need to be configured to allow access by other, potentially infected machines, either.

Just to add a second thought - in a small home office, sharing a printer attached to another computer is fine, assuming all computers are upgraded, patched, scanned, blocked and firewalled properly, and each user is well discilined at avoiding risky behavior - but that's where the problem starts.

More and more homes have computers in multiple rooms, used by kids and adults of all ages, skillsets, and discipline levels. If you can't ensure all users, including (especially!) guests are as well disciplined, and, in particular, avoid illegal filesharing of copyrighted materials (songs, videos, and published documents), then you need every level of protection between them, and your computer, and your data on it.

My intent is not to suggest the computer will get infected if sharing an attached printer. Just that enabling sharing on a host machine exposes its defenses to more threats. The host machine, in effect becomes the print server, and all print jobs from any potentially infected computer on the same network will be sent to and processed by that host computer. If that host computer is being sacrificed as a print server, no problem. But if you do your banking on that computer, for example, and you don't have total confidence in your defense practices, I recommend not sharing any attached printer.

It is getting to the point most users have some form of high-speed access like cable or DSL. This means there's a network, even if a network of just one computer. But even networks of one computer, every cable/DSL user should have at least a simple 4-port Ethernet router for the security advantages alone. That makes using a print server instead of sharing an attached printer, logical, simple, much more practical, and safer too.