I am running windows xp on a desktop in one room with a wireless router. I have a printer connected to that computer that I want to share with a laptop, also running xp. I have the desktop printer marked as "shared" but cannot get it to work with the laptop. The printer cannot be connected to the router directly.Please help!1 person needs an answerI do too

Switch on the desktop and printer so that the printer can be recognised and installed.On the laptop, go to Control Panel > Switch to Classic View > Printers & Faxes > Add Printer > and follow the wizard to connect to a network printer. Bear in mind that the desktop and printer must be switched on for the laptop to be able to print.

Thank you for the response. Unfortunately it does not find the printer by this mechanism. Recall that my printer is connected to the computer, not the router. The laptop is unable to find the printer going through the wizard as you instructed.

Here is the procedure for both XP computers:ON THE DESKTOPGo to Control Panel > Switch to Classic View > Printers and Faxes > Right-click the printer > Sharing > Put a check in ‘Share this printer’ and give it a name > Apply, OK, etc. A little hand should appear on the printer icon in Printers and Faxes.ON THE LAPTOPSwitch on the Desktop computer and the printer so that it can be recognised. Go to Control Panel > Switch to Classic View > Printers & Faxes > Add Printer > and follow the wizard to connect to a network printer. Bear in mind that the printer and the PC that it’s connected to must be switched on to be able to be accessed by other computer(s). If you have a wireless printer, the procedure is different.

Thank you again. I followed your instructions and it still does not recognize my printer. On the laptop I selected Add a Printer, then connect to a network printer, then browse for the shared printer. The laptop is unable to find the shared printer. Please help, again!

I may be wrong, but on XP I have a feeling that printer share names should be 12 characters or less and it’s best not to include any special characters.Could this be your problem?

That is not the problem. I will have to resort to paying Microsoft unless you have additional suggestions. Thank you again for your help.

There may be something here that I’ve missed, troubleshooting file and printer sharinghttp://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=fd7fd48d-6b4a-448e-a632-076f98a351a2&displaylang=en