I have three computers running windows 7, two laptops one desktop. the desktop is wired to my belkin wireless router. I added a hp photosmart c5280 printer, shared but I still cannot print from the laptops (toshiba and compaq). I am planning to purchase a wireless network card for the Dell desktop. The desktop is in the basement and usually working upstairs. Desktop is home premium, compaq is ultimate. Any other information needed?

Things to consider: desktop needs to be on for printer to work Printer drivers need to be installed onto the Laptops Setting up a shared printer Traditionally, the most common way to make a printer available to a home network has been to connect it to one of the PCs 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 PC 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. When a network is set up as a homegroup, printers and certain files are automatically shared. (To learn more about what homegroups do and how to use them, go to the Windows website and search for "HomeGroup: Recommended links.") If you've already set up a homegroup and want to access a shared printer from another homegroup PC, just follow these steps: peter If you find a posting or message from me offensive,inappropriate or disruptive,please ignore it. If you dont know how to ignore a posting complain to me and I will be only too happy to demonstrate :-) "celestron" wrote in message news:340d9009-69e8-457f-881f-faa452a7860b... I have three computers running windows 7, two laptops one desktop. the desktop is wired to my belkin wireless router. I added a hp photosmart c5280 printer, shared but I still cannot print from the laptops (toshiba and compaq). I am planning to purchase a wireless network card for the Dell desktop. The desktop is in the basement and usually working upstairs. Desktop is home premium, compaq is ultimate. Any other information needed?

Hi, You need to install the printer drivers on both desktop and laptops. Please ensure that all PCs are in the same workgroup or you could create a HomeGroup for file and printer sharing. I would like to recommend you to visit the following guides: Share a printer Install a printer on a home network Access files and printers on other homegroup computers Best Regards DalePlease remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

I still don't see an answer to the issue here, or this is the norm of shoveling some shallow techno crab down... If you understand the question. please don't reply. The idea is to have a fully wireless networked devices ,,, not to have a printer connected to a PC ( defeats the purpose) .. Why would HP sell wireless printers if they can work on windows while they're connected.