CoronadoSEAL
pics or it didn't happen
+207|6797|USA
i am having trouble sharing a printer across a windows xp network

i have a dell desktop with XP directly connected to the router and the canon printer.
i have a dell laptop with XP that is connected wirelessly to the network.
(i went through the standard home network setup procedure on both computers, using the default MSHOME for the workgroup...and yes file and printer sharing was enabled on both)
printing from the desktop works just fine..  but when i try to add the printer on the laptop it does not work.

i have tried browsing for printers to add:  in the shared printers box it says 'microsoft windows network', under that 'mshome', under that 'main'  (name of the desktop)..  there are no printers listed
i have also tried specifying the path of the printer "\\main\MultiPass" .....  it says it can't connect.

printing from this laptop used to be no problem, but i recently reformated the desktop and haven't been able to print wirlessly since.

suggestions?
steelie34
pub hero!
+603|6661|the land of bourbon
if its connected to the desktop, you need to share the printer first...

then you'll see it when you connect to the printer share on the desktop.

Last edited by steelie34 (2008-01-15 12:45:17)

https://bf3s.com/sigs/36e1d9e36ae924048a933db90fb05bb247fe315e.png
CoronadoSEAL
pics or it didn't happen
+207|6797|USA
under printer properties on the desktop computer the printer is shared.  the shared name is 'MultiPass'... hence the:

i have also tried specifying the path of the printer "\\main\MultiPass" .....  it says it can't connect.

any other ideas? thanks.
gvers
Bad at BF:BC2
+109|6952|The Real World

Are you running a firewall on the desktop? If so which one.
TravisC555
Member
+118|6499|Cox Convention Center, OK
I have the same exact problem, only the computer that can't use the printer on the network is a desktop. The only other problem is that when I try to click on "View Workgroup comptuers" it won't let me saying "Workgroup is not accessible". And then at the end of the error message it says "The network path was not found". The computer that is having the problems not being able to access the printer is in the same Workgroup that the printer is connected directly to. I don't know what is wrong.
steelie34
pub hero!
+603|6661|the land of bourbon

CoronadoSEAL wrote:

under printer properties on the desktop computer the printer is shared.  the shared name is 'MultiPass'... hence the:

i have also tried specifying the path of the printer "\\main\MultiPass" .....  it says it can't connect.

any other ideas? thanks.
if you go to start>run and type \\main, open the printers and faxes folder, and double-click multipass, what is the exact error message you receive?
https://bf3s.com/sigs/36e1d9e36ae924048a933db90fb05bb247fe315e.png
steelie34
pub hero!
+603|6661|the land of bourbon

TravisC555 wrote:

I have the same exact problem, only the computer that can't use the printer on the network is a desktop. The only other problem is that when I try to click on "View Workgroup comptuers" it won't let me saying "Workgroup is not accessible". And then at the end of the error message it says "The network path was not found". The computer that is having the problems not being able to access the printer is in the same Workgroup that the printer is connected directly to. I don't know what is wrong.
try what i suggested in the post above and let me know what your error is...
https://bf3s.com/sigs/36e1d9e36ae924048a933db90fb05bb247fe315e.png
TravisC555
Member
+118|6499|Cox Convention Center, OK

steelie34 wrote:

TravisC555 wrote:

I have the same exact problem, only the computer that can't use the printer on the network is a desktop. The only other problem is that when I try to click on "View Workgroup comptuers" it won't let me saying "Workgroup is not accessible". And then at the end of the error message it says "The network path was not found". The computer that is having the problems not being able to access the printer is in the same Workgroup that the printer is connected directly to. I don't know what is wrong.
try what i suggested in the post above and let me know what your error is...
I tried to do that putting in the computers name, but it didn't work. I can't even view the other workgroup computers.

Edit: An error message came up and said: Network path not found.

Last edited by TravisC555 (2008-01-16 11:40:52)

steelie34
pub hero!
+603|6661|the land of bourbon
Is your server and workstation service started on the PC you are trying to connect with?
https://bf3s.com/sigs/36e1d9e36ae924048a933db90fb05bb247fe315e.png
TravisC555
Member
+118|6499|Cox Convention Center, OK
What are the server and workstation service? I don't know what those are.
steelie34
pub hero!
+603|6661|the land of bourbon
go to start>run, type services.msc.  Find the "server" and "workstation" service and make sure both are started.  (right-click and choose start if it is not running)
https://bf3s.com/sigs/36e1d9e36ae924048a933db90fb05bb247fe315e.png
TravisC555
Member
+118|6499|Cox Convention Center, OK
Yes, both are started on both computers. Still can't view workgroup computers.
steelie34
pub hero!
+603|6661|the land of bourbon
ok, do you know the name of both computers?

Last edited by steelie34 (2008-01-16 12:23:02)

https://bf3s.com/sigs/36e1d9e36ae924048a933db90fb05bb247fe315e.png
TravisC555
Member
+118|6499|Cox Convention Center, OK
Yes, and I have tried to add the printer by typing \\Computername\printer in the "Add Printer" wizard but it still couldn't connect.
steelie34
pub hero!
+603|6661|the land of bourbon
well, lets not get ahead of ourselves.  can you ping the computer that is hosting the printer from the other computer?
https://bf3s.com/sigs/36e1d9e36ae924048a933db90fb05bb247fe315e.png
TravisC555
Member
+118|6499|Cox Convention Center, OK
No, it timed out each time.
steelie34
pub hero!
+603|6661|the land of bourbon
ok, it sounds like a firewall issue.  Go to the firewall properties of the host computer, and make sure file and printer sharing is checked.
https://bf3s.com/sigs/36e1d9e36ae924048a933db90fb05bb247fe315e.png
GenLobo
Member
+6|7096|California

CoronadoSEAL wrote:

i am having trouble sharing a printer across a windows xp network

i have a dell desktop with XP directly connected to the router and the canon printer.
i have a dell laptop with XP that is connected wirelessly to the network.
(i went through the standard home network setup procedure on both computers, using the default MSHOME for the workgroup...and yes file and printer sharing was enabled on both)
printing from the desktop works just fine..  but when i try to add the printer on the laptop it does not work.

i have tried browsing for printers to add:  in the shared printers box it says 'microsoft windows network', under that 'mshome', under that 'main'  (name of the desktop)..  there are no printers listed
i have also tried specifying the path of the printer "\\main\MultiPass" .....  it says it can't connect.

printing from this laptop used to be no problem, but i recently reformated the desktop and haven't been able to print wirlessly since.

suggestions?
are both PC's in the same workgroup?
Do you have a password set on your desktop?
I would make sure both PC's are in the same workgroup and that your laptop is not a domain PC.
steelie34
pub hero!
+603|6661|the land of bourbon

GenLobo wrote:

CoronadoSEAL wrote:

i am having trouble sharing a printer across a windows xp network

i have a dell desktop with XP directly connected to the router and the canon printer.
i have a dell laptop with XP that is connected wirelessly to the network.
(i went through the standard home network setup procedure on both computers, using the default MSHOME for the workgroup...and yes file and printer sharing was enabled on both)
printing from the desktop works just fine..  but when i try to add the printer on the laptop it does not work.

i have tried browsing for printers to add:  in the shared printers box it says 'microsoft windows network', under that 'mshome', under that 'main'  (name of the desktop)..  there are no printers listed
i have also tried specifying the path of the printer "\\main\MultiPass" .....  it says it can't connect.

printing from this laptop used to be no problem, but i recently reformated the desktop and haven't been able to print wirlessly since.

suggestions?
are both PC's in the same workgroup?
Do you have a password set on your desktop?
I would make sure both PC's are in the same workgroup and that your laptop is not a domain PC.
coronado sounds like he has the setup done correctly, but it's possibly a permissions issue between his PC and the target.  If the computer you are trying to use to connect to the printer is using guest only authentication, and the target computers guest account is disabled, he will not be able to connect.  this is why i asked for the exact error.  "access denied" indicates a different problem than "failed to connect"

edit:  if this is the case, you don't want to enable to guest account, this greatly decreases your security.  you instead want to remove the "force guest" restriction.

Last edited by steelie34 (2008-01-16 12:40:33)

https://bf3s.com/sigs/36e1d9e36ae924048a933db90fb05bb247fe315e.png
TravisC555
Member
+118|6499|Cox Convention Center, OK
Okay, I got it to ping the computer which the printer is hosted on.

I tried viewing the workgroup computers, still that same error.

Last edited by TravisC555 (2008-01-16 12:45:54)

steelie34
pub hero!
+603|6661|the land of bourbon
ok, try to connect the printer again....
https://bf3s.com/sigs/36e1d9e36ae924048a933db90fb05bb247fe315e.png
TravisC555
Member
+118|6499|Cox Convention Center, OK
It still won't let me connect to the printer.

Here is the error message when trying to view workgroup computers:
Workgroup is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource.

The network path was not found.

And when trying to add a printer:
Windows could not connect to the printer. Either the printer name was typed incorrectly, or the specified printer has lost its connection to the server.

Last edited by TravisC555 (2008-01-16 12:52:05)

steelie34
pub hero!
+603|6661|the land of bourbon
go to start>run, and enter \\computername  (replace computername with the name of the pc hosting the printer in there.)  does it open up?
https://bf3s.com/sigs/36e1d9e36ae924048a933db90fb05bb247fe315e.png
TravisC555
Member
+118|6499|Cox Convention Center, OK
\\computername

The network path was not found.
steelie34
pub hero!
+603|6661|the land of bourbon
do you have any other firewall software on the host pc?  opening the file and printer ports should be sufficient.  if you can ping it, you can typically connect to the pc.  by the way, what OS is the host PC?
https://bf3s.com/sigs/36e1d9e36ae924048a933db90fb05bb247fe315e.png

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