How do I share my printer between my two Windows 7 systems?

Some users find that they have a non-networked printer that worked fine in a mixed Windows environment, but found their two Windows 7 printers (one host and one client) are not able to share the printer.
Windows 7 handles networking differently than previous versions of Windows.
The easiest way to get started with sharing printers between multiple Windows 7 computers is to setup a HomeGroup.  A HomeGroup is a way to authorize different Windows 7 computers to talk to each other and share resources.  Microsoft has a good article about HomeGroups that has links to various guides.
Once the HomeGroup is setup, the next step is to setup a host for the USB printer.
This article from Microsoft details how to enable file and printer sharing, sharing the printer, and the basic steps of adding the printer.
The first two sections are fine as they are, but I would like to expand on adding a shared printer to the other Windows 7 computers.  
This process tends to have the greatest success with sharing printers in Windows 7.  Most USB only printers do have a driver available in Windows.
1.  Go to Start>Devices and Printers.
2.  Click on Add a printer at the top.
3.  While it is a networked printer, it is not the current network standard printer.  Select Add a local printer.
4.  Select Create a new port with a local port for type.
5.  Enter \\<host computer name>\<printer name> without the < > symbols.  The host computer name is the name of the computer that has the printer attached to it.  If you do not know that name, go to the host computer and go to Start>Right-click Computer>Properties.  The computer name will be listed here.  The printer's share name was selected in a previous step in the Microsoft article.
6.  Click Ok and the printer driver screen will appear.  Click on Windows Update to ensure it is the most current list.
7.  Select the printer model from that list.
8.  Follow the rest of the prompts.
At the end of these steps, the printer should be shared from the host computer to the other Windows 7 computers. 
Some important notes about this setup:
1.  Only printing will be functional.
2.  The host computer must be on for printing to work.
3.  The host computer could enter standby or suspended mode.  This will interrupt the shared printer on the other systems.
With these steps completed, the printer should be functional on the Windows 7 computers once again.
↙-----------How do I give Kudos?| How do I mark a post as Solved? ----------------↓
This question was solved.
View Solution.

I hope this information is helpful to some.  
↙-----------How do I give Kudos?| How do I mark a post as Solved? ----------------↓

Similar Messages

  • HT4539 How can I share my downloads between my two computers

    How can I share my I tune down loads between my two I pads?

    iTunes content can only be shared to an iPad or iPhone. (iOS based devices only).

  • How do I share wifi data between iMac and windows based computer on wifi network?

    I have an unsecured wifi network at home and need to easily share photos between computers>  I have an iMac and a couple window based computer> Is ther an easy way instead of using a thumb drive?

    Since photos are typically large files it will probably be quicker with the thumb drive. The other way is to set up sharing where the files are located and directing the other computers to look there.

  • How do I share my library between my two computers?

    I am on business in Montana while my family is at home in Portland. I purchased some apps and some music with my itunes account on my laptop here in Montana because I thought the purchases would automatically also be available on my desktop in Portland. However, my purchases are only showing on my laptop here in Montana. How do I get these new purchases to my family in Portland. They want these purchases now, but I won't be back in town for another 2 weeks. Please help. Thanks.

    They need to sign into the itunes store with your account credentials. You have to be OK with them knowing your password.
    Then they need to find the same exact app and pretend they are going to buy it again, and press the buy button. A popup should appear saying it's already been purchased. If they don't get THAT notice, perhaps they haven't found the same exact app.
    My advice is to just buy stuff on one PC. I wouldn't even buy stuff on an iPhone, but that's me. I'm surprised you posted you'd already connected the iPhone to the new laptop. Didn't everything on it get erased? Apple designs iPods to only sync with one PC. If you want to sync with more than on PC, you have to jump though some hoops like this
    http://cnettv.cnet.com/sync-your-ipod-two-computers/9742-1_53-50004835.html

  • HT3819 how do I share movies/music between my computers. I have opened shared on both computers and both are on, but i am not able to drag anything from one to the other. Does anyone know where the settings button is on the bottom of the itunes screen?

    how do I share movies/music between my computers. I have opened shared on both computers and both are on, but i am not able to drag anything from one to the other. Does anyone know where the settings button is on the bottom of the itunes screen?

    Oops, I forgot a step between 7 and 8 ... before syncing the iPhone I need to explicitly send the document back to iTunes on the iPhone, or the changes won't come over at all ...
    and then one more thing ... Numbers on iOS does NOT recognize a number of key features of the OSX app, such as conditional formatting ... so after editing my document on iOS and syncing it back to OSX on my Mac, all of those settings are lost (no more conditional formatting, have to do it all over again)
    What am I doing wrong ?

  • How can i share purchased apps between 2 diff users on the same mac?

    How can I share purchased apps between 2 diff users on the same mac?

    A purchased app is associated with an Apple ID. A user with a different Apple ID cannot use the app unless they also use the same Apple ID.
    I cannot use my wife's apps nor she mine because each were purchased with different Apple IDs.

  • How Do I Share My Database Between More Than One User Account on the Same Mac?

    How Do I Share My Database Between More Than One User Account on the Same Mac?

    How to use multiple iPhone, iPad, or iPod devices with one computer. The only way is for you to have a separate user account to log into on that computer.

  • HT202213 My wife and I have different iTune accounts.  How do we share purchaed content between our ipads and iphones?

    My wife and I have different iTune accounts.  How do we share purchaed content between our ipads and iphones?

    iTunes- How to share music between different user accounts on a single computer
    You cannot merge two separate libraries across user accounts. Photos does not have the function of merging different Photos.library files. If you have Aperture then you can merge the two before migrating over to Photos.

  • I have one imac. my wife and i each have our own user accounts and itunes library.  How do we share selected music between user accounts?

    i have one imac. my wife and i each have our own user accounts and itunes library.  How do we share selected music between user accounts?

    To give other users read-only access to your library, use the Sharing features of iTunes. Sharing works over the local network as well as on the same computer. See the built-in help for details.
    If you want to give full read/write access to more than one user, see the support article linked below.
    iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer

  • HT3819 Is it possible to share a printer (attached to a Windows-7 PC) on my home network, with an iPad, iPhone or a Mac?

    Is it possible to share a printer (attached to a Windows-7 PC) on my home network, with an iPad, iPhone or a Mac?

    Possibly. You'd need to see if your printer has any programs you can put on that attached computer to allow it to be a print server.
    I'd start with your printer manufacturer first. See if they offer anything. for your model. If not, then you can look for any printer apps or programs.

  • HT2736 I have a $100 card from apple when I bought a macbook this summer.  I want to share the amount between my two kids -- 1 who has I-pad, other kid has macbook.  They have their own apple ID's assoc. w/ their device.  May I pass on the balance to them

    I have a $100 card from apple when I bought a macbook this summer.  I want to share the amount between my two kids -- 1 who has I-pad, other kid has macbook.  They have their own apple ID's assoc. w/ their device.  May I pass on the balance to them??

    A gift card can only be redeemed onto one account, it can't be split between accounts and it can't be used to gift amounts and/or items to other accounts (gifting can only be done via a credit card).

  • How can i compute the distance between every two strias

    how can i compute the distance between every two strias?The distances between every two strias in an image are almost equal .I have a picture for you in the accessory.there are many trias in all kinds of orientation in an image.fistly,i should find the most consious area,because it is simple to compute . Secondly,To improve precision,i should compute the distance of a group of trias,then conpute its average value.i dont know how to compute .pls teach me,thanks very much!
    Attachments:
    11.jpg ‏12 KB

    there is a typical image.
    Attachments:
    21.jpg ‏23 KB

  • My Mac won't share the printer to my wifes windows 7 computer

    My Mac won't share the printer to my wifes windows 7 computer. Worked fine with Snow Leopard but with Lion it won't print from my wifes computer. It also won't connect with file sharing anymore. Any solution that may help please? Thank You

    Thanks Barbara for contacting me..
    Emma, as per what I have read above, this seems to be very weird scenario. To be frank, I dont have a direct answer as to why the DVD is not running properly on the machine and why does it ejects automatically.
    But, I can suggest a workaround.
    Can you insert the DVD on some other machine(Win/Mac), and copy the complete "Adobe Photoshop Elements 8" folder on some external drive.
    Then attach the external drive to your Mac and copy the folder onto your machine say on the desktop.
    If this much part can be done, then you just need to go inside the folder, and double click on Setup.app to launch the installer.
    Does it helps?
    Regards,
    Ankush

  • How can I share a printer among a wired Mac and a wireless laptop?

    I find this extremely frustrating, but I can't figure out how to share my printer for the life of me.
    My Mac Pro is connected to my router and when my girlfriend is here she connects her computer to the internet via my router wirelessly/WiFi. She has 10.4.0 and I have 10.5.5. On both computers printing sharing is enabled. Shouldn't one of our computers be able to see the other on a network? Or is there something I'm completely missing? All I want is for her to SOMEHOW connect to my computer so she can print stuff and I dont have to go behind my computer, unplug the USB, and plug it into hers. Even though I am in the printer discussion area, I even want to be able to share files too. It should be relatively simple but I don't understand what I'm supposed to do and I can't even find any sort of "setup wizard" that directs me in the direction to go. Sorry but I've been using Windows for 10 years and I'm just completely lost in the mac world now Thanks

    Hello and welcome to the Apple forums.
    With regards to sharing your printer, you need to open System Preferences > Sharing and then tick printer sharing. In the right hand pane you will also be able to select which printer to share (if you only have one then it will probably already be selected). Now your partner should be able to open their System Preferences > Print and Fax and click the + button to add a printer. If they then select the Default browser view, your printer share should be visible. If it is not visible, then please reply as there may be other factors that are causing this.
    Also, with regards to file sharing, while you were in System Preferences > Sharing you would have seen Personal File Sharing. Enable this setting so that the other Mac can see your Mac on the network. If they select the Guest account when connecting to your Mac, the will have by default access to your Public folder for viewing documents and your Drop Box for sending files to you.
    One last thing. You mentioned the other Mac running 10.4.0. The latest version of 10.4 (Tiger) is 11. So, if this Mac is really at 10.4.0, then you may want to update it as this may contribute to compatibility issues between the two Mac's.
    PaHu

  • How can I share a folder between two users on the same mac?

    Hi all,
    I would like to share a folder between multiple users on the same macbook without having to transfer the folder to the Public/Shared folder.
    Is there not a way, using the the folders shared permissions, to allow shared folders from one user to be visible and usable by another user on the same mac without having to move the folder to a designated shared location?
    Regards,
    Caleb

    jrwood116 wrote:
    Thanks, but do you have to do that every time you share a folder?
    No, you just need to do it once and that's it. Anything that is in the Shared folder is accessible by all user accounts within the same Mac.
    jrwood116 wrote:
    I've read numerous 'how to share a folder' blogs and they just say it's as simple as clicking 'share' and allowing specific users to access it...none have mentioned this (not saying your advice is wrong at all, just don't get why no-one else has mentioned what appears to be a key step!)
    Can you give me an example of such a blog. I suspect you may have mis-understood what they were saying but if you can provide a link, I'll look at it.

Maybe you are looking for

  • Why should i use iTunes Match?

    What are some of the benefits (vs regular syncing with my computer)? Do song plays sync between my library and my iOS device? All answers and help are much aprreciated.

  • Why do we bother?

    I've had it now. I spent hours fiddling the network and making sure all computer are on the same segment etc. I took the trouble to read all the supplied docs on how to do multi-host distributed rendering: Setting up service nodes (Qmaster pref pane)

  • Can I use an iPod backup made on Mac OS X on a Windows 7 computer?

    I currently sync my 3rd Gen iPod Touch to an iMac, I want to start using my newer and faster Windows computer. I use the same iTunes ID/User Account on both computers. Is there a way to backup my iPod with my iTunes account on the iMac and then load

  • Running 2 DB servlets under apache!

    When I install 1 DB servlet it works fine, but when I add a second DB servlet in the same zone (or a different one) I'm only able to start one of them, the first one which get's loaded run's (so when I start servlet 1 first then it runs, but I'm unab

  • How to share to facebook business page

    Elements keep trying to link me to my personal facebook page.  Can anyone tell me how to tell it to post to my facebook photography business page?  I used to have this option in lightroom.