Can't connect to network printer on a winxp box

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gp18

Can't connect to network printer on a winxp box

Post by gp18 »

I'm running Maya/Mate on a Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop. I am trying to connect to a printer which is connected to a winxp computer on my wireless network. My original situation was as follows:

Winxp box workgroup name was MSHOME
Laptop workgroup name was WORKGROUP
Laptop hostname was longer than 15 characters

When I went to Administration>Printing>Add>Network Printer>Windows Printer via SAMBA>Browse it would show MSHOME with the xp box's name after it, then on the next line it would say WORKGROUP with the laptop's name next to it. If I clicked on the xp box, after "thinking" a while, no printer would be displayed. I should mention that I did enable print sharing for that printer on the xp box.

Based on other threads I found on here, I made a couple changes. First, I changed the workgroup on the xp box to "WORKGROUP", same as the laptop. Then I edited the hostname of the laptop to one of less than 15 characters. Now when I browse for printers, only the laptop shows up. I ran the smbtree command and they both show up, however.

Code: Select all

rich@rich-Dell1545 ~ $ smbtree
Enter rich's password: 
WORKGROUP
	\\RICH-DELL1545  		rich-Dell1545 server (Samba, Ubuntu)
	\\D64X7M31       		Cam's Computer
rich@rich-Dell1545 ~ $ 
I had an important document to print, so I plugged the printer into the laptop and the drivers automatically installed and I was able to print what I needed. It would be really nice to be able to do it over the network though. What am I missing?
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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altair4
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Re: Can't connect to network printer on a winxp box

Post by altair4 »

The fact that smbtree shows no shares at all on the WinXP machine implies a firewall is in the way. Disable the firewall on the WInXP machine ( and the linux machine ) long enough to see if smbtree lists the Windows printer.

Another possibility is that the Windows printer has not been shared: Start > Control Panel > Printers and Faxes > right click on your printer > Sharing
Please add a [SOLVED] at the end of your original subject header if your question has been answered and solved.
gp18

Re: Can't connect to network printer on a winxp box

Post by gp18 »

Thanks for the reply. I checked the firewall on the laptop and it was already disabled (by default apparently?) and I disabled the firewall on the xp box. The output from smbtree looks identical to what I posted above. As I mentioned above, I did enable sharing for that printer on the xp machine.
altair4
Level 20
Level 20
Posts: 11419
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:27 am

Re: Can't connect to network printer on a winxp box

Post by altair4 »

See if you can connect to the printer directly by ip address.

Go through the Printer utility and enter the following in "Enter Device URI":

Code: Select all

smb://192.168.0.100/WinXP-Printer-Name
Change it to the actual ip address and printer name on the XP box.
Please add a [SOLVED] at the end of your original subject header if your question has been answered and solved.
gp18

Re: Can't connect to network printer on a winxp box[SOLVED]

Post by gp18 »

That worked! Thank you.
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