question about sharing a printer

I have a USB printer connected to a desktop XP system, and the box is wired to a wireless router. I also have a Vista laptop connected wirelessly to the router. So both computers have access to the internet. All i could find was documents on the web saying that I should allow sharing the printer from the desktop. Of course my Vista is not seeing the printer, or the desktop from the first place. All the docs talking about setting up home network are basically talking about getting internet access through wired/wireless router.. i am still missing a part here. Could someone help find the right doc/information on how to share the printer in this case so that laptop can use the printer (obviously wirelessly through the router)? Thanks a lot

the box is wired to a wireless router

???

Not sure if you meant it is connected to an Ethernet port on the wireless router (since many wireless routers also have wired - Ethernet - 4-port switches too) or if you meant the box connects to the network/Internet through a wireless router.

At any rate, it does not really matter.

Of course my Vista is not seeing the printer, or the desktop from the first place.

Okay, I get the Vista is not seeing the printer, I don't understand what you mean by "the desktop from the first place". What is the "first place"?

My first thought on all this is that you do not have the firewall on your XP box configured to allow the laptop access through the firewall. If you have not specified the IP of the Vista laptop as being a "trusted" IP, then sharing will not work - that means your firewall is doing it's job well and blocking access from unauthorized systems. Have you added the laptop's IP to the trusted IP tables?

Thank you so much for your reply. Yes the XP system is connected to an Ethernet port on the wireless router. By the "first place" i meant that the laptop cannot see the other system in the network. I imagine there should be a domain and systems are connected through that domain right ? So when I add a printer and it cannot detect it automatically, i try manually enter its name and host path, but it still cant find it. On the Vista laptop, if i click start then network, shouldnt i be able to see the other XP system's host name listed ? I dont see it now , all I see is the host name of the laptop and the router. I am a newbie here so please bear with me. Thank you for your help

If both computers can access the Internet through your router and out your cable/DSL modem, then your "network" (that is, everything on your side of the router) is working. If your computers cannot see each other, then once again, it would appear to be a firewall issue. Just telling XP to allow sharing is not good enough. The firewall on the XP system MUST also be told to allow the other computer(s) access. So, you need to determine the IP of the Laptop and tell the firewall on the XP system that access requests from that IP are allowed.

You can determine the laptop's IP by accessing the Router's tables, or from the Vista machine,

1. Click the Windows button
2. In the Start Search box enter: cmd
3. At the prompt, enter: ipconfig - note the IP address
4. At the prompt enter: exit and press the Enter key to close window

Then, in the firewall's setup menus on your XP system, add that IP address to the "Trusted" zone. If you will be adding more than one computer, you can add a range of IPs instead.

If you have not installed a 3rd party firewall, then you are probably (hopefully!) using Windows Firewall, which you can access through your Control Panel.

With home networks, you don't worry about domains.

BTW, a better, and much more secure way to add printing capability to a home network is to connect the printer to a print server instead of a computer. There are many advantages to this:

1. All computers on your network can send print jobs to the printer at the same time!
2. The printer is not tethered to any computer - this means no computer has to powered on and running properly for other computers to print
3. The printer can be centrally located in a convenient to all location
4. No print and file sharing needs to be set up on any computer - which exposes security vulnerabilities
5. The server is the "host" - therefore, your computer does not take a performance hit when another computer sends a print job

Some routers have built-in print servers (and many printers do too), which is very convenient. If yours does not, you can get Ethernet (wired) or wireless print servers to add to your network. Newegg has several that support USB printers to choose from, such as this Ethernet Buffalo LPV3-U2 Print Server. There are several wireless types too, but as expected, they cost more.

Even though print servers have a cost overhead, IMO, the security aspects alone are worth it, but the convenience is the kicker. For me, not needing my computer running for the wife to print is great, as is the fact I don't use up a bunch of my desk space for the printer. The networked printer sits on the file cabinent conveniently located between our two desks.

I am a newbie here so please bear with me.

As were we all at one time or another - sadly, many seem to forget, or choose to ignore that fact. The stupid question is the one not asked.