Printer attached to W7 computer will not share with XP computer


  1. Posts : 76
    Windows 7 Ultimate X64
       #1

    Printer attached to W7 computer will not share with XP computer


    Before going into the details, I have used this setup (W7's printer accessed from XP) for months. I'm now using another XP computer and can't get it to work - although it can "see" the printer via the workgroup and tried to connect to it, it can't find a driver (of which more later). So it may well be a driver issue too. Here's what happens.

    I have an OKI printer attached to the Windows 7 (Ultimate) computer via a USB cable. It works flawlessly.

    I have a laptop with Windows XP Professional that can see the Windows 7 computer and everything attached to it, including the OKI printer.

    When I tried accessing the OKI printer from the XP laptop, it complained that it did not have the correct driver, so I downloaded the driver from the OKI website and extracted it it to reveal the INF file and the others.

    In the XP machine I go to "Add Printer" and choose "attached to another computer", browse for the OKI and choose it. It then tells me to find the INF file to install the driver. When I do that it says that Windows cannot locate a suitable driver.

    My recollection from years ago was that Windows itself offered to find a driver in this situation from Windows Update, but it didn't happen in this case. The downloaded OKI driver is the correct one for the printer and suitable for XP, Vista and Windows 7, so why does Windows not recognise it?

    I set up an almost exaxctly identical (XP sharing W7's printers) on the same network a few months ago and had absolutely no problems, so I either I don't remember what I did (at 73 years old, highly likely) or something has changed. (My wife's identical XP computer is sharing the OKI on the W7 quite happily).

    I must have missed something really stupid - but what?

    Regards

    John
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 76
    Windows 7 Ultimate X64
    Thread Starter
       #2

    Solved - my mistake. I'd picked the wrong driver after all that!

    John
      My Computer


 

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