# Printer problem, lil' help please **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-problem-lil-help-please/793877 "2017-08-17T16:05:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![igor\_frankensteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/839c29/32.png) [@igor\_frankensteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/igor_frankensteen)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-problem-lil-help-please/793877/21 "2017-08-19T22:49:39Z")
I don’t have Windows 10, so I’m not sure I can help a lot, but I do want to get clear on the set up, for everyone’s troubleshooting purposes. If I understand correctly, the reason why the Desktop can print to the laser is because it is locally connected to it by USB cable. It “owns” the laser. We can completely ignore the color inkjet, since it is wirelessly connected to all three pc’s. Basically, it does not rely on the same systems to print that the laser does. Any thinking about the inkjet will just confuse things. Mainly, we need to realize that the fact that the laptop that can’t print to the laser, CAN print to the inkjet, does NOT mean that that laptop has been included in the Work Group. The desktop is acting as a sort of print server for the laser, relative to the other machines. One of them can print to it, the other can’t. I have a similar setup at my house, with a Canon laser usb connected to my remaining desktop, but I am running windows 7 on everything, because the people I work for all refused to allow me to upgrade to 10 while it was free. Anyway, like you, I set the desktop PC to share the printer with the workgroup, and then told the various laptops I have to join that workgroup. Now. Can the laptop which does NOT print, see the desktop PC in it’s workgroup? Maybe that PC has not successfully joined the workgroup at all. Even if all the PC’s are connected to the internet through a shared router, if the Printer is set up as a LOCAL printer (which your laser is, since it is connected by USB), they won’t be able to use each other’s resources unless you ALSO join them in a workgroup, and direct each to share resources. Have you tried taking the maverick PC out of the workgroup, restart it, and then tell it to join the workgroup? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-problem-lil-help-please/793877/22 "2017-08-20T00:07:48Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Yes, you understand correctly. > > Assuming my diagnosis is the correct one (which your next post indirectly corroborates) it’s like this: > > The problem is the laptop that can’t print is saying “Hi there Mr. Desktop. I’m Mary and my password is ABC123. Can I borrow your printer?” And Mr. Desktop is replying “Mary? Never heard of her. Beat it little girl; I ain’t got no printers you can use.” > > If you create a user on the desktop machine also named Mary whose password is also ABC123 then the machine-to-machine dialog goes a little better: “Hi there Mr. Desktop. I’m Mary and my password is ABC123. Can I borrow your printer?” And Mr. Desktop will reply “Mary? ABC123? Let me check. Hmm. Oh yeah, you’re a known friend. Hi Mary old pal! Here, help yourself to my printer.” > > So once over that hurdle the non-printing laptop will see for the first time that there’s an HP Model 4567XYZ (or whatever) printer available to be borrowed through the desktop machine. Then and only then will the laptop consider whether it already has drivers for that model or needs to go get them and install them. > > Once past that hurdle you’ll have a nice shiny new printer icon on the formerly non-printing laptop. I will try this next, and I appreciate you dumbing it down for me. > [@igor\_frankensteen](#): > > I don’t have Windows 10, so I’m not sure I can help a lot, but I do want to get clear on the set up, for everyone’s troubleshooting purposes. > > If I understand correctly, the reason why the Desktop can print to the laser is because it is locally connected to it by USB cable. It “owns” the laser. We can completely ignore the color inkjet, since it is wirelessly connected to all three pc’s. Basically, it does not rely on the same systems to print that the laser does. Any thinking about the inkjet will just confuse things. Mainly, we need to realize that the fact that the laptop that can’t print to the laser, CAN print to the inkjet, does NOT mean that that laptop has been included in the Work Group. > > The desktop is acting as a sort of print server for the laser, relative to the other machines. One of them can print to it, the other can’t. > > I have a similar setup at my house, with a Canon laser usb connected to my remaining desktop, but I am running windows 7 on everything, because the people I work for all refused to allow me to upgrade to 10 while it was free. Anyway, like you, I set the desktop PC to share the printer with the workgroup, and then told the various laptops I have to join that workgroup. > > Now. Can the laptop which does NOT print, see the desktop PC in it’s workgroup? Maybe that PC has not successfully joined the workgroup at all. Even if all the PC’s are connected to the internet through a shared router, if the Printer is set up as a LOCAL printer (which your laser is, since it is connected by USB), they won’t be able to use each other’s resources unless you ALSO join them in a workgroup, and direct each to share resources. > > Have you tried taking the maverick PC out of the workgroup, restart it, and then tell it to join the workgroup? The laptop that does not print, can it see the desktop…I feel like it can see the house but it cannot look in any windows (heh). When I open up File Explorer, it shows me the workgroup. And when I click on the workgroup, it shows me the desktop PC, but it also indicates that there are zero files within. I have joined them all to a workgroup, just did that today, in fact. And the printer is set to share. The fact that the other laptop can print to the printer indicates to me that the problem is not in the printer’s settings, but in the non-printing laptop’s settings. Does this make sense? Thanks, mmm ---
**Author:** ![igor\_frankensteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/839c29/32.png) [@igor\_frankensteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/igor_frankensteen)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-problem-lil-help-please/793877/23 "2017-08-20T14:58:10Z")
Just as an information gathering expedition, (again this is based on Windows 7, not 10) try typing “network” into the windows ten search bar on each machine. In Windows 7, this brings up a screen which shows all the hardware that computer can directly “see.” Each machine in the workgroup should show that they “see” themselves and the router and at least the desktop PC. That proves that the PC you are looking at, is in the workgroup. When you double click on the icon for the desktop PC, you should see the printers that are attached to it, and the “user share” icon. I assume that the laptop that CAN print to the laser, will show the desktop PC in the network page, and that on that machine, when you click on the icon for the desktop PC, you can see the laser. By the way, I just stumbled across another possibility. Did you install a firewall protection on the PC that can’t see the laser? Perhaps unknowingly, as a part of adding virus or malware protection? That could prevent the one laptop from seeing other resources, and the machine wouldn’t be smart enough to tell you that was the case, because firewall creators tend to assume you already KNOW you’re fencing yourself off by installing them. Here’s a discussion of such that I saw, which I confess I don’t have the time to go through completely, but they seem to be addressing an inability to print even though printers are shared in a workgroup. > **[Firewall blocks access by Workgroup](https://community.norton.com/en/forums/firewall-blocks-access-workgroup)** > > I just receive an HP computer with Norton Security installed. The Norton firewall will not let other computers on my home network access this new computer. The new computer can access all the other computers on the network. I can only access the new... ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-problem-lil-help-please/793877/24 "2017-08-20T16:35:19Z")
That it was connected to a PC via USB would have been \*very \*helpful to put in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-problem-lil-help-please/793877/25 "2017-08-20T17:31:39Z")
Success! I opened the problem laptop’s Printers & Scanners tab within the Settings menu, and there it was. Something magical happened overnight. I printed a test page and a test from Word, both worked flawlessly. Thanks to all who replied, especially **LSLGuy, igor frankensteen, Dewey Finn, carniverousplant, scr4, Weisshund, anomalous1, Francis Vaughan, bob++, and biqu**. Much appreciated, mmm [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-problem-lil-help-please/793877.md?page=1)