Windows home networking / wireless printer sharing
March 8, 2010 7:06 AM   Subscribe

Windows home networking / wireless printer sharing

I recently bought an HP LaserJet P1505n and plugged it into my wireless router. It works perfect on my desktop (wired to the router) and on my Vista laptop (even when the desktop is off). On my wife's laptop (XP), however, I can only make the printer work after sharing it on the desktop, and it will only print when the desktop is on. Is there a way to make the XP laptop "see" the printer (as the Vista laptop can) so that it can print without having to turn on the desktop?
posted by AwkwardPause to Computers & Internet (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Did you set up the printer with an IP address? If you did, you should be able to install the drivers for the printer on the laptop and then connect to it via IP. Here is a guide (PDF) that will shows how to do that in Windows XP:
posted by PhillC at 7:56 AM on March 8, 2010


PhillC - Are you saying that AwkwardPause needs to assign a fixed IP address to the printer, rather than allowing the router to assign possibly-varying addresses via DHCP? I don't think the linked pdf addresses this explicitly, and I don't recall the answer for XP, but I'm just wondering if this might be part of the problem here. Sorry if this is belaboring the obvious (though not obvious to me) or a useless tangent.
posted by Dave 9 at 9:04 AM on March 8, 2010


I'm assuming you know how to put the printer on the network and assign an IP address to it, then setup a network printer in Windows.

Here's a checklist from HP of things to try. It's quite possible that Windows firewall is causing trouble for instance. Work your way down the list and see what's going on. Can you get to the printer's web server from the XP box?

Futhermore, it looks like Windows XP 64 may have issues with this particular printer. Fortunately HP seems to have a workaround---try this.
posted by bonehead at 9:05 AM on March 8, 2010


Dave 9:

Yes, the printer should have a FIXED IP address. That would make it easier to troubleshoot.
posted by PhillC at 9:51 AM on March 8, 2010


Best answer: Did you install the printer? Vista should detect it and start using it automatically, but you need to install it before it will work on XP.

Make sure the printer is configured to use a fixed IP address. You can set this using the printer's built in web interface - go to the current printer address in a browser, log in and set a fixed IP. Try to pick something that won't be used by the router for auto-assigned addresses - XXX.XXX.XXX.150 is usually fine. If it worked, after restarting the printer you'll have to go to the new address to log back in to the web interface. Make sure the printer is working at this new fixed address before proceeding.

On the XP machine, start the Add New Printer wizard. Choose LOCAL printer, NOT network. This is counter-intuitive but it works. Make sure you UNCHECK the box marked "Automatically detect and install..." - you want to do this manually.

When prompted, choose the option to create a NEW port for the printer, not an existing one. From the drop-down list choose "Standard TCP/IP Port".

Enter the IP address of the printer. The port name should fill in automatically, usually IP_(address.of.printer) or you can specify a port name. I usually just use the default. If it asks for a specific port number or protocol just use the default settings, don't change anything.

The system will set up the new port, and when done (which can take a while) it will ask you what printer driver it should use. If you have the drivers installed, pick them from the list. If you don't, put the driver CD in and tell it to search for the driver on the CD. At the end, ask it to print a test page. The printer should spit out a page after a few seconds.

I've set up this same printer on several Windows XP systems in our lab. I've used the same procedure to set up HP networked printers for years. It's much easier than it used to be back in the Win95 days when you had to use the HP JetAdmin software just to create the TCP/IP port.
posted by caution live frogs at 1:52 PM on March 8, 2010


Response by poster: Did you install the printer? Vista should detect it and start using it automatically, but you need to install it before it will work on XP.

Oh ... feck. *red in the face* Sometimes the simplest answer is the right answer.

Thanks all!
posted by AwkwardPause at 6:20 PM on March 8, 2010


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