Need homegroup printer help!!!!

[Ace38]

My company has two machines running on a d-link wired router. One is a desktop running win 7 pro, the other is a wi-fi enabled laptop also running 7 pro. When we connect the laptop to the network, the homegroup kicks in and everything is as its supposed to be, except for printing.

When we try to print, we have to reboot the back office computer to get it to print from the laptop, and we have to do that on each document. I know that network discovery is enabled, and that the laptop is seen on the homegroup.

We also know that a static IP for the laptop may be a fix, however at $60 more a year for a maybe, the higher ups dont want to do that.

Does anyone have another way around this issue?

 

[kegobeer]

Are all machines part of the same workgroup?

 

[Ace38]

Yes

 

[kegobeer]

Are you running any third party security applications on either machine?

 

[Ace38]

Avast AV, and ad-aware anniversary edition.

 

[kegobeer]

First, check your firewall settings. Then, I would try uninstalling Adaware (I don't care for it much lately) on all machines, rebooting, then seeing if the problem persists.

 

[Ace38]

I'll give that a shot this morning and post back with what happens.

 

[Ace38]

Didnt help any.

 

[kegobeer]

How about if you disable homegroups and just use the workgroup? Also, what printer do you have? Do you have updated drivers for it? Are there any known issues with it when used on a Windows 7 machine?

 

[Jacee]

You will need to add the drivers for the printer to both computers. If you have an install disk, use that. Make sure 'share printer' is checked in both machines.

 

[Ace38]

I'll try disabling homegroups and see what happens from there. If the drivers hadnt been added it wouldnt have printed after the reboot, but its possible an update is needed. Its an HP laserjet 1022, and to the best of my knowledge there arent any issues on it at this point.

 

[kegobeer]

Is it the 1022, 1022n, or 1022nw? Also - HP reports there are no Windows 7 drivers available yet, but a plug and play driver will be available mid-November.

 

[Ace38]

Its the 1022. I think we used the Vista drivers, but its been so long I'd have to double check that as well.

 

[BeechV35Pilot]

Interesting thread. I am also having issues with homegroup sharing the HP Laserjet 1022 (base model) that is attached to my Win7 x64 desktop computer.

I have another Win7 x64 desktop that is a part of both the same workgroup and homegroup and I am attempting to configure that computer to use the HP Laserjet. When I first indicated I wanted to add this shared printer to the other desktop, Win7 there recognized that drivers were needed and seemingly pulled them from the desktop with the attached HP.

Now, when I attempt to print from the other desktop the print job makes it to the print spooler of the computer sharing the printer and the job moves to a PRINTING status but nothing actually prints out.

Upon running the printer troubleshooter, the troubleshooter complains about a stuck print job but interestingly the job then does print out.

I am suspicious of the HP driver since it is not technically a Win7 driver but instead is a Vista driver. HP announced on their website that a Win7 driver for this printer should be available by mid-November, so I am going to wait until that driver is out before I spend a lot of time trying to get this to work.

In the meantime I will follow the OP's progress here and report if I have any success in a few weeks.

 

[Ace38]

Interesting to see I'm not the only one having an issue along these lines. I tried removing the homegroup, and connecting just as a shared printer, however the need to reboot prior to printing remains.

I think unless someone else has a suggestion to try we'll just keep rebooting and wait for those 7 specific drivers that are due in a couple weeks.

I appreciate everyone's support on this matter!