Networking from Printer attached to Win XP PC to Win 7

I tried this and couldn't create the port. The printer is an HP Deskjet 5550 connected USB to the W7 x64 system named "HP-dv7". The printer is named "HP5550". I cannot, on the XP system, create the port \\HP-dv7\HP5550. Any further hints?

Can you elaborate a bit?
At what step do you encounter problems, and what exactly happens? Do you get an error message?

OK, folks, I solved this SPECIFIC problem, and there may be a general solution here but I don't have the equipment or the inclination to experiment further.
The situation was that I could not share an HP deskjet 5550 connected to my Windows 7 x64 laptop with another computer running XP x32. No matter how I tried neither W7 nor XP could find an appropriate driver even from the original install disk. When I set up sharing on the W7 system I tried to make an x86 driver available, but none was available. I started this effort exactly a week ago.
What I noticed was that on the W7 system the printer was known as "hp deskjet 5550 series (HPA)". I found the appropriate driver INF file, HPF5550K.INF, was on the original install disk at \ENU\DRIVERS\WIN2K_XP. In that INF file were the following three lines:
"hp deskjet 5550 series"=hp_Install,LPTENUM\HEWLETT-PACKARDDESKJ55500000
"hp deskjet 5550 series"=hp_Install_PnP,USBPRINT\HPDESKJET_5550A851
"hp deskjet 5550 series"=hp_Install_PnP,LPTENUM\HPDESKJET_5550A851
I took an educated (50 effing years of experience, not one day of exaggeration) guess that the "(HPA)" part of the name on the W7 system was the reason this INF file wasn't considered appropriate for my hardware, so I copied the entire directory \ENU\DRIVERS\WIN2K_XP from the original install CD to my desktop (on the W7 system), and added the following three lines right above the three lines mentioned:
"hp deskjet 5550 series (HPA)"=hp_Install,LPTENUM\HEWLETT-PACKARDDESKJ55500000
"hp deskjet 5550 series (HPA)"=hp_Install_PnP,USBPRINT\HPDESKJET_5550A851
"hp deskjet 5550 series (HPA)"=hp_Install_PnP,LPTENUM\HPDESKJET_5550A851
I then tried adding an x86 driver through the "printer properties – sharing – Additional Drivers" mechanism. When I pointed at my modified HPF5550K.INF, the next screen asked for "Windows media (x86 processor)" and suggested D:\i386. I put my XP install disk in the CD drive, but it asked for the same thing again, and again, and again. The result with the Windows 7 32-bit install disk was identical, so I backed off and took another tack.
I moved the WIN2k_XP directory with the modified HPF5550K.INF file to my XP desktop. I then added the printer as a NETWORK printer just as I would have if it were on another XP system. In the process, I was asked for the location of an appropriate driver, so I pointed to the WIN2K_XP directory on my desktop. A minute later I was able to print a test page on the printer. Frankly, I was so stunned (as I said, I've been working on this for a week) I had to check the USB cables to make sure the printer really was connected to the W7 system.
I'm not going to speculate on why the name of my printer has changed over the course of time (my original install disk is dated March, 2002), but I'll bet mine is not the only printer for which this mechanism is keeping people from sharing W7 printers with XP systems.
This worked for me. Your mileage may vary.

erictous,

Thanks for asking.

I was following the procedure suggested by jimbo45, but when I tried to create the local port I got the message "Specified port cannot be added. Operation could not be completed." Keep in mind, though, that the required x86 drivers were not available until I massaged an INF file. See my post just before this one.

I haven't tried jimbo's method again; I've solved the problem and have the printer being shared by my XP machine, and that was my goal.

In your first post you say you tried to create the port with the name \\HP-dv7\HP5550, while in your second post you mention the printer was known as "hp deskjet 5550 series (HPA)".
Is it possible that this discrepancy might have been the problem?

Jimbo, thanks for the info. Been trying to figure this out since late Oct. You're the man!

I have a printer on a XP machine and I was able to get it to install on my 7 machine using your method but it only prints in black and white. Ive played around with the settings with no success.

jimbo45 said:

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

Everything appeared to work but when the print job goes to the print, the light on the printer flashes and does not print anything. It's like it's there but once the signal hits the printer, nothing prints out.

Thanx for the Guide, Jimbo.
Setting up the printer as a network-printer didn't work for me, this did.

However: anybody runs into the same error as I have?
For some reason, the printer will appear offline to Windows 7. It will only work (or so it seems) in the session when I make the new printer. In the next session (after turning the computer off en on) I'm not able to print. I can however delete my printer and then set it up again (only takes a couple of seconds). And then it works again....

There may also have been issues with the Win 7 firewall, but printing didn't work even when I let the firewall down. But maybe it would have worked if, for example, it would have been down at startup... Or maybe the firewall should be set up differently for this to work for me....

Any thoughts, anyone, on what I can do?

O, BTW, my other computer is ancient, it uses Windows 98. It does work, though, (only printed to it twice now from this brand new Windows 7 computer, did use it often from a XP Pro laptop that I also have) but as far I can see now after two tries, only in the session in which the printer was created.

HJJ