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Resolved Parallel Printer OK in Win7 Homegroup?

Discussion in 'Networking (Hardware & Software)' started by chrisw, 2012/04/18.

  1. 2012/04/18
    chrisw

    chrisw Inactive Thread Starter

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    Desktop A hardwired to Netgear router, laptop B has wireless connection to router. Both Win7/64. ML-1740 printer, parallel connection to A. Am I correct that it has to be a USB printer (not parallel) for it to work in a homegroup?
     
    chrisw,
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  2. 2012/04/18
    Steve R Jones

    Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

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    I would say - No you're not correct. Most of the sharing is between the two computers. If the printer works on Desktop A I'd guess you should be able to share it.
     
    Steve R Jones,
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  4. 2012/04/18
    chrisw

    chrisw Inactive Thread Starter

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    Steve...my question came about because I wanted to let B use the printer as well as A. The M$ Help screen says: "Traditionally, the most common way to make a printer available to a home network has been to connect it to one of the computers and then tell Windows to share it. This is called a shared printer.

    The advantage of sharing a printer is that it works with any USB printer. The downside? The host computer always has to be powered up, otherwise the rest of the network won't be able to access the shared printer.

    In previous versions of Windows, setting up a shared printer could sometimes be tricky. But a new home networking feature in Windows 7 called HomeGroup has greatly simplified the process. "

    The statement about USB is so "weak/non-definitive" about whether USB is a requirement or not is what led to the question.
     
    chrisw,
    #3
  5. 2012/04/18
    Steve R Jones

    Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

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    Food for thought-> Try to Share it and see what happens;)
     
    Steve R Jones,
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  6. 2012/04/19
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    You will be able to share it easily. But you do not need to use Homegroup. Just set up the printer to be shared by the computer it's connected to. Then "add the printer" on the other computer. You'll need drivers for it to be used by the other computer.

    The reason MS says "USB" is because parallel printers are not being manufactured anymore, at least not for use by the general consumer.

    Today, you'll only find USB printers or printers with their own built in printer server, the latter can be connected directly to a switch or router & used by all computers on the local network.

    Your difficulty will not be setting up sharing, it will be the fact that the old printer may not be compatible with Windows 7, there may not be any Win 7 drivers available for it.
     
    TonyT,
    #5
  7. 2012/04/19
    chrisw

    chrisw Inactive Thread Starter

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    Tony.......that's it! Homegroup has nothing to do with it. Just sharing. Thanks to all.
     
    chrisw,
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