XP to 7 Printer sharing

First off, thanks Jimbo45! It worked perfectly...until...

I have a main desktop (W7) and 2 laptops (XP) and used this method to hook up my printers. It worked beautifully back when I did it, but I just this weekend replaced my router and now it won't work from either laptop. I've even deleted the printer and reinstalled on one of them, and it still won't work. It claims to see the printer, but refuses to print to it.

Ideas?

Thanks!

Jimbo...thank dude...I've had a HUGE headache not being able to sync my GF's XP x86 laptop to my printer...this worked like a charm. I even registered to say thanks! However, do you (or anyone else who reads this) consider this to be a security hole??? after all, this isn't the "official" way to do this. I couldn't do it the "official way b/c windows wouldn't let me install x86 drivers (Weird). Anywat let me know what you think AND THANXXX!

Thanks Jimbo45, you're the man! This solution worked for me as well. I can finally print to my HP Laserjet 3015 pcl 5e, from an XP machine on my home network again. Now, how about printing from Ubuntu...? I just put Ubuntu 10 on a Dell Latitude 6500E that used to have Vista on it. The idea is for my wife to be able to test the free educational software in her classroom. It prints fine through USB, but Windows 7 isn't cooperating with Ubuntu over the network. I'm still adding all sorts of "package" thingamajigs, and trying to make sense out of instructions on other forums.

jimbo45 said:

Hi Mods
Maybe you can make this a sticky -- often comes up and I posted a solution yesterday which works.
..............extract from previous post .....
Hi there
I've posted on this before but to share Printers attached to XP computers with either X-64 or X-32 versions of W7 is SIMPLE. These instructions are for the Printer attached to the XP machine (but works in reverse as well).

("Stand alone" Network printers can be done slightly similarly BTW).

assume the computers are call XPMACHINE and W7MACHINE.

1) Ensure Printer on XP machine is shared - assume it's called SHAREDPRINTER.

2) On the Network Browsing on your W7 machine ensure you can "See" the Printer share.

Now on the W7 machine do the following (doesn't matter if it's X-86 or x-64).

3) Control Panel==> add LOCAL (Yes LOCAL) printer. I know it's on a Network but hold your horses -- what we are actually doing is "Poodlefaking" the W7 machine into thinking it's running the printer.

4) Create NEW port==>Local port

5) Portname is \\XPMACHINE\SHAREDPRINTER

6) Now W7 will load a driver and you'll be able to print on the XP machine.

Simple

(For a "Network stand alone printer") at 4) chose TCPIP port
and at 5) enter the IP address.


If the printer is on the W7 machine and you want to print on the XP machine then do the same instructions on the XP machine --
port name in this case will be \\W7MACHINE\SHAREDPRINTER

Cheers
jimbo

I think I may have found the eventual solution to my problem here:

HP Linux imaging and printing
HP Linux Imaging and Printing

They have a complete walk through for it there besides the software download. I have gotten it installed but no luck yet with finding the printer yet....

ReverendG said:

First off, thanks Jimbo45! It worked perfectly...until...

I have a main desktop (W7) and 2 laptops (XP) and used this method to hook up my printers. It worked beautifully back when I did it, but I just this weekend replaced my router and now it won't work from either laptop. I've even deleted the printer and reinstalled on one of them, and it still won't work. It claims to see the printer, but refuses to print to it.

Ideas?

Thanks!

Hi there

can you PING the other machines.

Also check whether DHCP is switched on or off and also what your LAN addresses are.

Some routers use 192.168.2.X, others use 192.168.0.X etc --the Network addresses might not be the same on your new router.


Otherwise it should work perfectly.

Try simply accessing a folder on a different computer on your network -- for example if machine A is at 192.168.2.5 try accessing \\192.168.2.5\D

If you can access the other machines the printing will HAVE to work.

Cheers

jimbo

branch155 said:

branch155 said:

I tried using Jimbo's solution -- no success. I get an Access Denied error message, same as Ramogida.

The printer is connected to the Windows 7 machine, and I'm trying to share it with an XP machine.

Any help would be appreciated. This has been a very disappointing chapter in an otherwise pleasant experience switching to Windows 7.

UPDATE: I get all the way to adding a printer, specifying the printer name, and everything is going well until it starts looking for a print driver. I've downloaded the XP driver to the XP machine, but the XP driver won't install on the Win 7 machine.

Help.

Hi there YOU DON'T HAVE TO INSTALL THE XP DRIVER ON THRE W7 machine --that's the whole point of this method - you use the NATIVE print driver on the machines -- install the XP driver on the XP machine and the W7 one on the W7 machine.

Windows spooling renders the correct format before passing the stream to the actual physical printer.


Cheers
jimbo

I've scanned through several messages and tried some suggestions but it boils down to not having the XP drivers for my Epson R320 printer on my W7 system. How does one install these? They don't appear to be resident with the W7 installation and I can't seem to find the right ".inf" files when I got to epson and download the relevant XP drivers to a directory on my W7 system. The XP system is a laptop on my home network.

Help would be appreciated....

I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but this just doesn't work for me.

New local port looks like this:
\\Home-PC\HP LaserJet 1020

Printer installs fine, but no test page prints. It does print when I restart the host machine which runs vista home premium.

Jim will this work if there is a router involved between the XP and 7 machine?

jimbo45 said:

Hi Mods
Maybe you can make this a sticky -- often comes up and I posted a solution yesterday which works.
..............extract from previous post .....
Hi there
I've posted on this before but to share Printers attached to XP computers with either X-64 or X-32 versions of W7 is SIMPLE. These instructions are for the Printer attached to the XP machine (but works in reverse as well).

("Stand alone" Network printers can be done slightly similarly BTW).

assume the computers are call XPMACHINE and W7MACHINE.

1) Ensure Printer on XP machine is shared - assume it's called SHAREDPRINTER.

2) On the Network Browsing on your W7 machine ensure you can "See" the Printer share.

Now on the W7 machine do the following (doesn't matter if it's X-86 or x-64).

3) Control Panel==> add LOCAL (Yes LOCAL) printer. I know it's on a Network but hold your horses -- what we are actually doing is "Poodlefaking" the W7 machine into thinking it's running the printer.

4) Create NEW port==>Local port

5) Portname is \\XPMACHINE\SHAREDPRINTER

6) Now W7 will load a driver and you'll be able to print on the XP machine.

Simple

(For a "Network stand alone printer") at 4) chose TCPIP port
and at 5) enter the IP address.


If the printer is on the W7 machine and you want to print on the XP machine then do the same instructions on the XP machine --
port name in this case will be \\W7MACHINE\SHAREDPRINTER

Cheers
jimbo

Have an OKI 3200N installed on XP machine by USB port. In 7 I can see it. Went to add printer on 7 computer (Asus), local printer, picked the USB port where it is installed on the XP machine. If I try to add local port it says it can't find it but using existing port it installs. Print test page - it sits in que and goes nowhere. XP machine shows the test page spooling as does the 7 machine and that's as far as it goes.
I have stopped the print spooler, found the system32\printer file and deleted files, restarted the computers and I can't get any further.
I am obviously missing something but don't know what.
(and yes, I updated the drivers)