The printer does not connect to the computer over the network. How to connect the printer via LAN
Hi all! In this article, we'll talk about how to make a printer network. This will be a good continuation of the topic about general ones that was previously started on the blog. So let's figure it out.
It should also be said right away that here we will not describe the detailed installation of the printer as such. After all, this is a fairly simple task. You just need to connect it to your computer with a USB cable, and then install the software.
And look for the "Devices and Printers" tab there:
Then, in the window that opens, we find our experimental printer, right-click on its icon and select "Printer properties":
In the next step, we find the "Access" section and activate the "Share this printer" option with a checkbox:
But just in case, you can still go to the "Security" tab and make sure that for the "Everyone" user group there is a checkbox next to the "Print" item:
Of course, do not forget to press the "OK" button everywhere in order for the changes to be accepted. Now if you return to the original "Devices and Printers" section, then next to the printer icon you can see an icon in the form of two men:
This suggests that we "shared" this printer, that is, we gave access to it to the local network. And yet, we almost forgot, you must definitely enable "File and Printer Sharing" in the settings of the Windows operating system itself. on this topic is attached.
Well, our story on this will come to an end. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment. That's all for now and see you again. And in the end, as always, a fresh video.
Installing a printer on a local computer with Windows 7 is not a problem for most home users: I plugged it in, inserted the driver disk - everything worked in five minutes. But today, quite often each family member has his own PC, and there is only one printer for everyone. How to share? Some solve the problem this way: you need to print something from one computer - they carry it and connect the printer to it, you need it from another - they carry it to another. It is unlikely that at least someone will find it convenient.
Many users have already learned how to combine home computers into a local network to get general access to the Internet. In the same way, it is easy to install a network printer - it will be physically connected to only one of the network nodes, but accessible from each. Let's figure out how it's done.
Installing a Local Printer on Windows 7
What you need to install
To begin with, briefly about how to connect and install a printer on one computer. In addition to the PC and printer itself, you will need:
- connecting cable, which sometimes needs to be purchased separately;
- Printer Drivers and Utilities CD - usually comes with it, but if you don't have a disk, download the driver from the manufacturer's website.
Almost all modern printers and multifunctional combines (scanner-printer-copier) are connected to a PC via USB. Computer motherboards are no longer equipped with special printer LPT and COM ports. Therefore, to connect older models, you will need an adapter - COM-USB or LPT-USB.
How to connect a USB printer
- place the driver disk in the laser drive of the computer;
- turn on the printer to the mains and connect it to the PC using the connecting cable;
- run the driver installer (usually the Setup.exe file);
- after installation, restart your computer and you can start printing.
To access printer settings and change print settings, click Devices and Printers in the Windows 7 Control Panel.
The same option is available in the right Start panel:
Select the one you just installed from the list of printers. Not only physical devices are displayed here, but also virtual ones, so look carefully.
Clicking on the icon of the selected printer opens its properties: a window for changing settings, a settings window and viewing print results.
Installing a Local COM or LPT Printer
- Navigate from the "Computer" folder to the "Network" folder. Click the Add Printer button on the top bar.
- Select "Add Local Printer".
- Select the printer connection port.
- Select brand and model. If you have a driver disc, click on the "Install from disc" button.
- Open the drive and specify the path to the installation information file - it has an .inf extension and is usually located in the root folder.
- Return to the previous window and click Next. After a message about successful installation, click "Finish".
- For Windows 7 to use the printer driver correctly, restart your computer.
Installing a network printer
In order for all PCs on the home network to use the print function, the computer to which the printer is physically connected must be allowed to share it. And also include all PCs in one workgroup. This is especially true if there are machines on the network not only with Windows 7, but also with earlier releases of this OS.
Working group
To create a shared workgroup, repeat the steps below on each machine on the network.
- Expand the system properties: in the context menu of the “Computer” folder, click on the “Properties” item. Or, through the control panel, open the “System” applet.
- Click on the navigation bar "Advanced system settings".
- Switch to the Computer Name tab. Click Edit. In the next window, write down the name of the new working group and click "OK" to save the changes.
Access permission
- Go to "Network and Sharing Center". Click on the "Change advanced settings..." item in the navigation bar
- In the “Home or work” device group (if you have a home or small office network) - “Network discovery”, check “Turn on printer and file sharing”. Click "Save Changes".
Connecting a network printer
The first step is performed on the computer to which the printer is physically connected.
- Open "Printers and Faxes" through Start or Control Panel. Select a printer for network access and click its icon.
- In the next window, double-click "Printer Setup". In the device properties, go to the “Sharing” tab and check the box next to “Share this printer”. Here it is desirable to note "Drawing print jobs ...". If there are computers on the network not only with Windows 7, you will need to install additional drivers (the button of the same name at the bottom of the window).
The second stage is performed on the remaining computers on the network (Windows 7).
- Go to the "Network" folder. On the top bar, click "Install Printer". This time you will need to select the bottom item - “Add a network, wireless, etc. printer”.
- After searching for network printers available for connection, Windows 7 will display a list of them. If the device you want is there, select it. Click "Next".
- After connecting, the system will notify you about the successful installation.
- This completes the installation of the network printer. It will show up in the list of devices in Devices and Printers.
It happens that Windows 7 cannot find any network printing device, although the sharing is open and all other settings are made correctly. Then you have to manually enter the path to your printer. To do this, in the “Add Printer” window, after the system searches and does not find anything, click “The printer I need is not listed”.
- The next step will prompt you to find the printer by name or network address. Check the box next to "Select printer by name". Examples of the correct entry are indicated right below the line: after the double backslash, the computer name is written (if you forgot, look in the system properties), then a single backslash and the printer name are written. If you do not remember the network name of the printer, look in its properties in the "Sharing" section.
In our example, the correct entry looks like this: \\112-PC\HP Deskjet 1050 J410 series. After confirming the entered name, the system will most likely find the device.
Solving common printer installation problems
Sometimes, despite the literal implementation of all recommendations, the printer is not installed. Neither local nor network. Most often this happens due to the following:
- incorrect or unsupported Windows 7 device drivers - this sometimes happens when trying to connect a very old printer;
- other hardware is conflicting with the printer;
- the printer driver is blocked by security software - this is especially common when installing unsigned drivers;
- a printer of a different brand was previously installed on this computer, and its traces (utilities or drivers) remained in the system;
- the computer is infected with viruses;
- the current user account does not have permission to install hardware;
- the system has security policies that restrict access to certain resources - for example, to temporary folders.
Before attempting troubleshooting, make sure that the available driver is suitable for your version of Windows 7. There are different drivers for 64-bit and 32-bit operating systems. If you are installing from a disk, check if it is damaged - the driver may not be read correctly due to scratches on the surface. It will also not be superfluous to try installing a more recent driver from the hardware developer's website.
Remove any software left over from previously installed printing devices. To do this, use the uninstaller utilities or the system's own tools - "Programs and Features".
Make sure your account has sufficient rights. If you are a member of the Administrators group in Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions of Windows 7, open the Group Policy Management snap-in (command gpedit.msc through the Start search bar) and carefully review all permissions.
To check for hardware conflicts, open System Information (C:\Windows\System32\msinfo32.exe), expand Hardware Resources, and expand Conflicts and Sharing.
If your printer is in the list of devices in the right half of the window, disable the device that shares resources with it. Of course, if there is such an opportunity.
Fixing some bugs
Error 0x000006d9 when sharing a printer
The cause of the error lies in the disabled Windows Firewall service.
Go to the section " Services and Applications
If you have several PCs, it is completely impractical to purchase a separate printer for each of them. It is much more convenient and economical to simply combine computers into a single network and organize printing documents from them on one MFP.
In this case, all PC users in the group will receive additional opportunities provided by the numerous functions of the printing device.
The essence of the procedure
In order to ensure printing of documents from computers on the local network, it is necessary to open access to the device on a PC with an MFP connected to it. Of course, the machines must be combined into a single working group.
This point is especially important when there are PCs on the network that work not only on the latest versions of Windows, but also on other OS modifications. It should be noted that the number of combined computers is not limited.
Each machine on a local area network (LAN) has the ability to access all the functionality of an MFP or a simple printer, provided they are properly configured.
In essence, a LAN is nothing more than a communication system that provides convenient use of peripheral resources from any PC in the group, i.e. printers, optical drives, plotters, hard drives, etc.
Below is a guide to setting up the printer via a local network in cases where it is equipped with a special connector for direct connection to a wired Internet, as well as when the device is connected to a separate PC on a LAN.
The negative aspects of the second case include the fact that you can work with the printer from other machines only if the computer is turned on, directly connected to the MFP. 
How to create a PC group?
First, let's take a step-by-step look at the process of organizing one such working association with the most popular OS installed - Windows 7:
PC setup step
For computers with Windows 7 and with younger versions of the OS, when installing the printer, there is usually no need to manually install drivers, since modern operating systems find them on their own and install them on the computer after automatic download.
However, it is not uncommon, during the setup phase, to install the appropriate software for the model.
It is recommended to prepare in advance either a complete removable media with software, or first save it on your computer by downloading it from an official source on the global network of the printer manufacturer.
Immediately after connecting the printer to the PC via a cable or via Wi-Fi (if the router has the appropriate print server function), a notification will be displayed on the monitor about the successful completion of the procedure, and if not, you will need to do manual debugging and install the software yourself.
To do this, just follow a few steps:
Organizing access to the printer
At the next stage, you need to make sure that the equipment is accessible from other PCs located on the LAN. If you want to do this in Ubuntu, then it is recommended to use Samba, that is, a Linux server that creates a Windows network environment. Thus, computers on this OS will treat all PCs on Linux as if they were running Windows.
If you need to start printing documents from Mac OS X, then in the Print dialog, clicking on Printer will display a list of the appropriate equipment.
This operating system already includes a significant number of drivers for most models of devices used for printing, so there are no difficulties when directly connecting a PC to a printer, but network peripherals have to be registered separately.
At the end of this guide, there is a methodology that describes all the step-by-step actions for this.
And if you want to configure in Windows, then you need to follow these steps:
Setting up a PC located on the local network in order to be able to print from it to a shared printer
Unfortunately, in many offices of our domestic companies, computer equipment is not often updated, and so far the outdated Windows XP remains a very common OS in the PCs of employees of Russian enterprises.
Therefore, the instruction is given on the example of this legendary shell. But happy owners of modern operating systems should not be upset, since the algorithm of actions in them is absolutely the same. At this stage, a local network has already been organized, or all PCs are in a single group.
It only takes a few of the following steps:
Through "IP"
If there are difficulties with indicating the exact PC from a large list of machines, which often happens in large firms, then the task is quickly solved through the IP that is issued by the router.
When you enter the exact address of the PC and the name of the printer, the system will immediately establish the computer's access to the equipment.
Then click on the connection you are using.
In the menu that appears, click "Details".
From the next window, rewrite the IP.
Then comes the already familiar process and, at the end, a printout of a test sheet.
If the printer is equipped with a print server
Many MFPs have a port for connecting to an internet cable, eliminating the need to constantly keep one PC on, which is directly connected to the equipment.
The sequence of actions consists of the following steps:
Note: the above methods are most often used to solve the question. The choice of the optimal method in each specific case depends on the configuration of the devices used in the network.
Installing a network MFP in Mac OS
If there is no device in the list of equipment, you will first need to install software from the manufacturer for a specific model. Then you can proceed with the following steps:
- Through the "Printer" menu, open the "Print" service;
- Click "Edit printer list";
- Click "Add Printer";
- Specify: a) "LPR Printers using IP" or b) "AppleTalk";
- If option "A" is selected, then specify the IP of the equipment;
- If "B" - you will need to activate "AppleTalk" in the network settings.
The printer is one of those devices that "accompanies" every computer device and many users want to know how to connect the printer to the computer, considering that it is quite difficult to do this. Some time ago, this procedure was indeed not the easiest, but today everything is different. And you can easily cope with this task on your own.
Connecting a printer to a PC: methods, features
Let's look at three ways in which we can connecting printer to PC, namely:
1) connect with a USB cable to install a local printer;
2) printer network connection by IP address;
3) connection to a printer installed on another PC.
Connecting the Printer with a USB Cable
When you unpack and install the printer next to the computer device, immediately connect the USB cable to it - the end where the plug looks like a simple USB input inserted into the computer. Connect the other end of the cable to the PC. Then proceed as follows.
1) Go to the "Control Panel" and select the "Devices and Printers" section there. You will see a list of all devices that are connected to your PC.
2) On the top panel, click on the "Install Printer" line. A window will open in which you need to select the type of printer you are connecting. Since in our case it is a USB device, select Local Printer.
3) Mark the item "Use the following port" with a dot and click on the field with the name of the ports that are free to connect to. From the list that opens, select the name "USB001".
4) The next step is to select a driver for the connected device. In the list with the name "Publisher" find the name of the manufacturer (for example, Canon), and in the list "Printers" find the model directly (for example, Canon LBP5960).
If you cannot find the name of your device, you will need to download the driver and install it manually. Download the driver on the official website, then click on the line "Install from disk ...", specify the path of the downloaded driver and confirm the action by clicking on the "OK" button. Then check the box "Replace the existing (current) driver" and click on the "Next" button. Now do this:
1) Specify the name of your printer, after which its installation and configuration will start.
2) Pay attention to the “Sharing settings for home PC” item: if you are at home, cancel sharing, if you work in the office, you can open it so that you can continue to connect to printer and print on it from multiple PCs.
3) Check the box "Use the default printer" and click on the "Finish" button.
If you did everything right, then, looking into the "Device Panel", you will find your "freshly connected" printer there.
Connecting a network printer
To install network printer connected to the Internet, click on the "Install Printer" button and select "Local Printer". Only in this case, you need to check the "Create a new port" item, and then select its type - "Standard TCP / IP Port".
You will see two fields: in the first, enter the IP address of the printer, in the second - the name of the port, so that it can be identified later.
Your further actions will be the same as in the first case, when the connection was made via a USB cable:
1) select the driver (or install it manually),
2) allow (or deny) public access,
3) mark the printer as primary,
4) close the window by clicking on the "Finish" button.
Connecting to the printer from another PC
It often happens that there are several computers and the user of each of them needs to print. There is only one printer. How to proceed in such a case? Yes, it's very simple - connect printer from another PC over the network and send a print job to it from any network device. More precisely, the task will first arrive at the PC to which the printer is connected, and from there it will go to the device.
In order to print over a network, it is mandatory to open a shared printer. To do this, go to the "Properties" of the printer, go to the "Access" item and there check the box for opening access, indicating the network name (for example, it can be Xerox WC 5010). Click "Apply" to save the settings.
Next, on all the PCs that you want to connect, go to "Devices and Printers" and click on the line "Install a printer". Again, select "Local Printer" and create a new port - "Local Port".
A window will open in front of you, where you will need to register the full path to the printer, that is, specify the name of the computer and the network name of the printer. It might look like this: \\AndreyPB\Xerox WC 5010. Here AndreyPB is the name of the PC you want to connect to, and Xerox WC 5010 is the name of the printer (you specified it when sharing). Then do the following:
1) click on "OK";
2) substitute your printer driver, for which: 1) click on the line "Install from disk"; 2) specify the path to the folder where the downloaded driver is located;
3) select the default printer;
4) close the installation window.
As you can see connect printer to computer It's not hard at all and you can easily do it.
