Connecting windows 7 to a printer that is connected via usb to windows xp pc?
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at
11:17 am
I have a computer that i recently installed windows 7 on, and before that both computers were connected to a printer on a windows xp machine, and it printed perfectly (by sharing the printer). I wish to do the same on windows 7 pc, i just dont know how.
Tagged with: Computer • machine • printer • windows xp
Filed under: Tech News
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Hi Abdullah,
Here is the information on how to network computers running different versions of Windows: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Networking-home-computers-running-different-versions-of-Windows. You will need to set up a workgroup, rather than a homegroup.
Once you have your network up and running, here is how to set up a printer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Install-a-printer-on-a-home-network.
Cheers,
Cassandra
Microsoft Windows Outreach
Honestly, the easiest way to map to a printer on any PC is via the Run command. First, make sure the printer is shared on the Windows XP machine and that the computer the printer is directly connected to is on.
On the Windows 7 machine, click the Start button, and then type Run in the search box. Click on the Run link under Programs, and the Run box is now open.
Type the name of the XP computer in the Windows 7 Run box, preceded by \\
(An example of this is \\LivingRoomComputer11)
Click on OK; shared resources on the XP computer will come up. Double-click on the printer and a white box will open up. Click on Printer, and select Set as Default Printer. That’s it…you’re done.
Notes: (1) To get the name of the XP computer, right-click on the XP’s My Computer, select Properties, and select the Computer Name tab. (If you see a period at the end of the computer name, do not use it in the Run box.)
(2) You can also type as \\Computer Name\printer share name in the run box. An example:
\\LivingRoomComputer11\Dell Photo
This will save you a step and make you directly connect to the printer instead of having to double-click on the printer. However, if you get errors using this method, go back to trying just the computer name as noted in the steps above.