Win 7 printer sharing over network Q?

[BobMCT]

I'm trying to support a small group (3-6) of laptops all running Win 7. All laptops belong to the same workgroup, all are connected to the same wireless network defined as a "work" group.

I have a printer connected to one laptop via USB and defined it as a shared printer with a specific name.
When I try to add a printer on the other laptops via "Add printer" and select "Add a network, wireless or bluetooth printer" the desired printer is NOT displayed. When I try "desired printer not listed" and even define it as "\\laptop-name\printer-name" and click on next it still doesn't find it.

So, my Q is this: What other factors might be involved preventing this shared printer from being "seen"?

I'm trying to do this as a shared printer because the laptop uses DHCP for its IP and it changes daily.
Thoughts/ideas/suggestions greatly appreciated...

 

[goombawaho]

Start with the basics.
Are all computers part of the same workgroup? Same spelling and capitalization. If not, change and reboot all.

What are your network settings set to?

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/enable-file-and-printer-sharing

Can you ping the computer with the shared printer on another PC from a CMD prompt via IP address?? via NAME??
If the above work, can you do a \\PCNameWithSharedPrinter and get anything to pop up on the other PCs?

 

[vacunita]

Can you find the computer that has the Printer connected to it on the Workgroup?

Can you ping it by IP?



----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
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Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

Web & Tech

 

[BobMCT]

No for both questions. What is strange is that when these same laptops and printer are brought to a different location/network, they see and connect just fine with NO changes.

 

[dilettante]

The router is probably blocking Workgroup Name Resolution broadcasts. This can be a simple router setting, or the router may be placing different machines into different subnets (less likely).

A "wireless network" isn't a Workgroup, a Workgroup is a soft construct. A given wireless network can have 0, 1, or "n" Workgroups running over it. Don't confuse infrastructure with protocols.

 

[vacunita]

I tend to agree with dilettante. Looks like a router level settings to prevent wirelessly connected devices to see each other in the network. More commonly found in public wifi networks so you can't see who else is connected at the time.

----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

Web & Tech

 

[goombawaho]

Crazy thought (not really) - is the work network defined as PUBLIC NETWORK on the PCs?? If so, Windows 7 will be much more restrictive about what it allows vs. a HOME or BUSINESS network.

Check it out: Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Network and Sharing Center Should be set to WORK.

 

[BobMCT]

Thanks for all the comments. The workgroup on all PC's is defined as Work. But the site's are public wifi sites even though they're WPA2-AES secured (we have the access keys). Because of the differences in access at various sites I tend to agree with the consensus that its router/firewall restricted.

Thanks again, all.

 

[hairlessupportmonkey]

Why not install a nice NAS such as a QNAP TS-459 (

http://www.qnap.com/uk/index.php?lang=en-uk&sn=5050&c=2485&sc=2490&t=2508&n=13978)

The reason is you can centralise your file and print with it without the need to spend lots of money on a server. The printer can be connected and you can also store all important company files on it without having them spread across separate PCs. If one is lost or stolen or breaks, its all gone. The QNAP can also backup to a cloud service therefore adding extra data retention.

I know its not the answer to your question, but its a possible solution to your pain.

ACSS - SME
General Geek

 

[goombawaho]

Are you confusing the name of the workgroup with the LABEL you give to the network connection? The name of the workgroup doesn't matter as long as they are all the same. The classification as HOME, WORK, PUBLIC applies to the network connection.

 

[BobMCT]

Nope. Not confusing. The network names/labels are assigned by whomever installed/setup the wireless router. Most are broadcasting the SSID, some are not. The workgroup is a Windows item assigned along with the laptops name, etc. Interesting that this morning at the particular location we are in everything fired up, found the network, found the shared printer and all is well. Go figure. But Monday is a different day... Thanks again all.

 

[cdogg]

Not only that, but when you travel from network to network, Windows 7 will prompt you the select the type of network if it's the first time connecting to that network. So, when you checked it earlier and saw that it said "Work", was it on the network having trouble? If not, then that "Work" setting might change to Home or Public when it's back on the problematic network. You should be checking this on every laptop too. And by the way, Home and Work are less secure for a reason. You should be careful about setting either on public Wi-Fi hot spots.

Now that we've got the disclaimer out there , you might be better off setting up a HomeGroup. To do so, all laptops have to be in the "Home" profile for the network (even less secure than Work, but it makes sharing a lot easier). Stepping through the HomeGroup wizard will give you a password which can then be shared with the other laptops.

Resources:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/...to-finish=windows-7&v1h=win8tab1&v2h=win7tab1

http://arstechnica.com/information-...tical-guide-to-domestic-bliss-with-windows-7/

-Carl
"The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty: it's twice as big as it needs to be."

[tab][navy]For this site's posting policies, click [/navy]here.

 

[goombawaho]

You are still not understanding me. This is what I was trying to tell you + see picture.

....but when you travel from network to network, Windows 7 will prompt you the select the type of network if it's the first time connecting to that network. So, when you checked it earlier and saw that it said "Work", was it on the network having trouble? If not, then that "Work" setting might change to Home or Public when it's back on the problematic network.

Link