How do I share a printer from Win 7 to XP?

Factual Questions
1

I have a LaserJet 1018 printer connected directly to my computer running Windows 7. I also have a Windows XP computer which is connected to the same router the 7 computer is using. Networking and file sharing between the two computers works just fine.

However, I don’t seem to be able to share the printer. XP can see it but either endlessly insists it doesn’t have drivers (*) or won’t log on to the 7 computer which requires a password.

It seems to me like this should be fairly simple to do but it’s not working at all so far. I’m getting stuck in an endless loop of driver requests and being able to see the printer on the network but not actually do anything with it.

*Big problem with the driver package: when installing, it wants to talk to the printer directly. However, it can’t do this because the printer isn’t connected to the XP computer. The driver package does not seem to account for network installation between different operating systems. Therefore the drivers can’t install because they can’t talk to the printer over the network. The network doesn’t work because the printer doesn’t have drivers and won’t install them because the driver install process want to detect the printer before it will finish.

2

Weird. It wasn’t too bad going the other way (printer on XP computer, wireless win7 laptop).

One thing- is the printer itself shared on the Win 7 computer? If the printer itself isn’t shared, the XP machine will never see it.

3

Have you tried connecting the printer directly to the XP computer, installing the drivers, and THEN moving it to the Win 7 computer and accessing it again over the network?

4

On the Windows 7 box, you’ve shared the printer right? In the printer properties, you should have the ability to load the Windows XP driver.

5

Yes, it’s shared in Win 7. The problem seems to be that the driver won’t install fully and just keeps asking over and over if I want to install it. If it does manage to fully install, the next time I try to use it, I will get a message saying it the driver isn’t installed.

I have thought of installing it as a local printer and then putting it back to where it was. It’s not practical but I may have to do it that way. Alternately, I may just put Windows 7 on the other computer and go from there.

6

You can also try installing the XP driver on the Win 7 box, and then automatically loading it on the XP computer.

On the Win 7 machine, go the Printers section in the Control Panel, and right click on the appropriate printer and choose Printer Properties. Go to the share tab. At the bottom, there should be a button called “Additional Drivers.” The options are different, depending on your printer. Choose the first one of the following list: Windows XP, x86, Windows 2000, Windows NT, and make sure it is checked. If it’s already checked, then skip the following paragraph.

Before you check the box, be sure to have your printer install CD in the drive. Check the box, and choose OK. If you are prompted for the location of the driver, click browse, and look all over the CD. Look for a file or folder that contains the name of the option you checked, or, if you can’t find that, try the others, again in order. If you find a file, choose that and click OK. If you find a folder, double click on it and you should see only one file in it, which you can select and click OK. After that, it should install. Click okay on any remaining dialog boxes, and restart your computer if so prompted.

Now, go to your Windows XP machine. Open your Printers dialog box in Control Panel. Delete anything that attempts to point to your Win7 printer. Then choose add new printer, and go through the wizard, finding your printer. If everything is working correctly, it should automatically install the drivers.

7

It could be the network security difference between Win 7 and XP. Win 7 has homegroups a major PITA. Homegroups can be disabled.
microsoft doc step by step.
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itpronetworking/thread/033c418b-1096-4df7-bfad-fd3d431f3cd5//

8

Is the Windows 7 installation 32bit or 64bit?

9

64 bit and the WinXP is 32 bit. Never occurred to me this could make a difference.

10

64bit have different drivers and sharing a printer with 32bit windows can be a nightmare.

I will post the solution later when I get back home

11

Ok, here’s how to do it. (I found it on another site and saved it on a txt file so I don’t remember the source.)

First of all you have to do these steps to the Windows 7 computer:

  1. Share Permissions
  1. On explorer, go to C:\windows\system32\spool\PRINTERS
  2. Right click, Properties
  3. Sharing tab
  4. Advanced Sharing
  5. Check “Share this folder”
  6. Permissions
  7. Grant everyone Full Control
  1. NTFS Permissions
  1. On explorer, go to C:\windows\system32\spool\printers
  2. Right click, Properties
  3. Security tab
  4. Edit
  5. Add
  6. Advanced
  7. Find Now
  8. Choose “NETWORK”
  9. OK
  10. Grant NETWORK Full Control

AND THEN we had to install as local printers, using the port trick. . .

  1. Go to “Printers”
  2. click “Add Printer”
  3. “Add a Local Printer”
  4. “Create a New Port”
  5. use the “Local Port” option
  6. at “Enter a Port Name” enter: “\Computername\Printername”
12

Wow, looks like I was missing a step or two in my own efforts! Thanks!

Edit: does that last step happen on the 7 computer or the XP computer?

13

You say the printer is already shared. If so, you can skip the first two sections of Dog80’s instructions. But it won’t hurt to check.

In response to your question: Yes, the last section of Dog80’s instructions is performed on the XP computer. And you’ll need your install disk to be in the drive, as after #6, you will have to choose your printer driver. Click the “Have Disk” button, and then follow the instructions in my third paragraph in my previous post to find the driver on the CD.

Also, Dog80 left out a step:
3.5: Before you click next, be sure to uncheck “Automatically detect and install my Plug and Play printer.”

14

Complication: I don’t seem to have an install disk. I can bust the files out from the downloadable driver set (which I have already done). Will this suffice?