There was an old thread with this same concern and I tried all of the suggestions posted there. The most frustrating thing about my scenrrio is this freakin thing worked fine till I uninstalled/reinstalled my printer on the pc.
I have a Lexmark x2470 connected via USB to a Desktop running XP. My Laptop is running Vista Business and connected to my Desktop via a Netgear wireless router.
I can access files on the Desktop from my Laptop and access files on my Laptop from my Desktop. I can print from my Desktop but cannot print from my Laptop.
I know that many others have had the same problem and have tried the solutions that solved their problems -- none worked for me.
Solution 1-
This is how I got my Vista Laptop to Print to a Shared Laser Printer which is connected via USB to my XP Desktop computer.
1. On your Vista Laptop, Go to Control Panel - Choose Printer - Then Choose Add Printer
2. Choose Add Local Printer
3. Click on Create a New Port, the default in the drop down list is Local Port. Do Not Change this. Click Next. You may have to type in Local Port. You will then be presented with a list of printer manufacturers. Select your vendor and specific printer from the list. If your printer is not listed, select the closest match. My printer is not on the list nor can I find any documentation on the web as to which is the closest match.
4. A dialogue box will appear asking for you to enter a port name. Type in \\computer name\printer name. For example, My computer's name is Office and the printer's name is Office Printer, so I typed in \\Office\Office Printer. You can find out the name of your printer by Browsing for available network printers BEFORE you do step number 2 above. This is accomplished by doing step number 1, but select Add Network, Wireless or Bluetooth Printer. Vista will search for available Printer. Right down exactly how you have named your XP printer.
5. You should now be able to print from you Vista Machine to a XP Printer. So this was moot for me to do.
When I attempt to "connect" from the Vista Laptop this is the error message I get:
I tried dlding Vista drivers to install on the laptop but they turned out to be Vista installation files that obviously installs the whole program on the laptop. No point in installing anything Vista-esque to the PC cause that will over ride the operational drivers that I have running now. I truly am stumped. Thoughts?
I have a Lexmark x2470 connected via USB to a Desktop running XP. My Laptop is running Vista Business and connected to my Desktop via a Netgear wireless router.
I can access files on the Desktop from my Laptop and access files on my Laptop from my Desktop. I can print from my Desktop but cannot print from my Laptop.
I know that many others have had the same problem and have tried the solutions that solved their problems -- none worked for me.
Solution 1-
This is how I got my Vista Laptop to Print to a Shared Laser Printer which is connected via USB to my XP Desktop computer.
1. On your Vista Laptop, Go to Control Panel - Choose Printer - Then Choose Add Printer
2. Choose Add Local Printer
3. Click on Create a New Port, the default in the drop down list is Local Port. Do Not Change this. Click Next. You may have to type in Local Port. You will then be presented with a list of printer manufacturers. Select your vendor and specific printer from the list. If your printer is not listed, select the closest match. My printer is not on the list nor can I find any documentation on the web as to which is the closest match.
4. A dialogue box will appear asking for you to enter a port name. Type in \\computer name\printer name. For example, My computer's name is Office and the printer's name is Office Printer, so I typed in \\Office\Office Printer. You can find out the name of your printer by Browsing for available network printers BEFORE you do step number 2 above. This is accomplished by doing step number 1, but select Add Network, Wireless or Bluetooth Printer. Vista will search for available Printer. Right down exactly how you have named your XP printer.
5. You should now be able to print from you Vista Machine to a XP Printer. So this was moot for me to do.
When I attempt to "connect" from the Vista Laptop this is the error message I get:
I tried dlding Vista drivers to install on the laptop but they turned out to be Vista installation files that obviously installs the whole program on the laptop. No point in installing anything Vista-esque to the PC cause that will over ride the operational drivers that I have running now. I truly am stumped. Thoughts?