Shared printer at home

grumbler

I have a PC and a laptop, both W7 and connected to WiFi.
The printer (very old one) is connected to the PC.
How can I make it accessible from the laptop?

I've ticked the box "Share this printer" in the properties. What next?

When I try adding a device in laptop Control Panel it keeps and keeps searching ...

If it's something very complex, don't waste your time on trying to explain. I'll wait for my son to do this when he visits us.

colin79666

On the laptop go to Start > Run
Type \\PCNAME (substitute in the name of your PC) and press enter/return.
With any luck the shares on your PC will open up and you can double click the printer, following the prompts to add it.

grumbler

\\***** is not accessible. You might not have permissions to use this network resource...

I guess I need to change some settings in my desktop?

colin79666

On both machines go into the control panel and navigate to the following:
Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center\Advanced sharing settings

Under the Home and Work Networks make sure both Network Discovery and File and Printer Sharing are On.

grumbler

Thanks.
Both are On on the desktop, but Off on the laptop and unfortunately I can't change them on the laptop as it's from my work and I don't have administrator's privileges .

Should I abandon this idea?

colin79666

Short answer: yes.

You might want to invest in a wireless printer, however you would need to install the driver which would require admin rights

grumbler

I'll wait until I run out of cartridges then...