How to make an MFP networked over a local network. Sharing the printer

Despite the fact that installing a printer on a computer is not difficult, many users often cannot cope the first time. This is due to different connection types and some features associated with the definition of a printing device. Almost all modern devices are connected directly via a USB port, but it is often necessary to connect a printer via a serial port or wireless networks.

On modern laptops, only a USB port is offered for connection, so connecting a printer to a laptop is perhaps the easiest way. To do this, you need to connect the printer and laptop with a USB cable, and then turn on the printer itself. If the laptop is connected to the Internet, it will be able to determine the type of connected device and offer to download the necessary components from the network. This is possible thanks to plug and play technology. You can connect a printer to a computer in the same way, but it is important to choose a port and not a hub, since when connected to a hub, the device may not have enough energy to operate normally.

If a disc is included with your printing device, be sure to use it and install all the offered components. This rule works for any type of connection, as it helps to ensure that all the necessary drivers for the printer to work are installed.

If you do not know how to connect a printer to a computer via a parallel or serial interface, the following instructions will help you:

Through “Start” go to “Devices and Printers”;
Click "Add a printer";
Select "Add a local printer";
Determine the port by clicking "Select Printer Port";
Make sure that the values of the selected ports match;
On the printer drivers page, select your model and install the drivers in the appropriate folder.

If you are wondering how to install a printer without a disk, then it is important to download drivers for your model from the Internet or use a direct connection for automatic recognition.

Installing a wireless printer is the same as installing any other device of this type. Follow these steps:

Through “Start” and “Control Panel” select “Hardware and Sound”;
Make sure the printer is searchable and the corresponding button is enabled;
Select "Add device";
Sometimes, for proper operation, you need to put the device in WPS recognition mode.

This way you can connect any printers for printing, and you can check the success of the connection by printing a test page.

Hello, dear readers! This article, or even instructions, will describe in detail the most reliable way to configure and connect a printer over a network. We will also touch on all the system settings that are necessary to connect the printer and figure out why, when you try to log into your computer over the network, a message about access to the server may be denied (to a PC on which the printer is locally configured).

To put it simply, we will describe below how to connect two or more computers to one printer so that they both have constant access to printing. Of course, this option is most often practiced in various offices and enterprises. But it also happens that users at home, using even an ordinary router, create their own small network and connect several machines to one computer.

The instructions themselves will be divided into several parts. First, we will deal with all the basic system settings, that is, what should be enabled or disabled so that another computer can connect via the network to the PC on which the printer is installed.

You do not have permission to log on to this computer

If you try to connect to a machine with a printer configured, you may receive this or a similar message, which means you most likely need to adjust some security settings.

I recommend making changes to the system parameters, which will be discussed below, on all computers on which the printer is installed, and on all those with which you will connect to it. This way you will definitely save yourself from encountering errors related to lack of rights or something similar.

So, what do we need to connect a printer over a network?

Step 1

The first thing you should do is enable the local “Guest” account, which will be used to log into your PC from the network.

By right-clicking on “My Computer”, select “Manage”.
Next, go to “ Local users" - "Users".
In the list of available accounts that appears, find “Guest” and double-click to open it.
Now, in the account properties, uncheck the “ Disable account", and "Apply" the changes made.

If later, every time you turn on the computer, you will be asked to select an account with which to log into Windows, no problem, this can be disabled by disabling local logins for the guest. Although after enabling the guest in this way, such a situation should not bother the user.

Step 2

The second point will be to disable the ban on a previously unblocked guest from entering a computer over the network.

Actually, in this way we will exclude the guest from the list of users who will be prohibited from entering this computer. I note that in the Windows “Home Edition” version there are no local security policies, so on such versions you most likely will not be able to share the printer, but only by connecting to it using another computer.

Step 3

Well, the final point will be the Windows Firewall. This, of course, is a rather controversial point, since some recommend not touching it at all, while others insist on the opposite. As for my opinion, I, in principle, recommend that Windows XP users disable it, right down to the service that is responsible for this component.

Regarding users of Windows 7 and higher, everything is not so categorical here, and you should disable the firewall only in the corresponding section located in the control panel. However, you should not completely disable the service, otherwise you will not be able to share the printer in the future.

In general, usually in Windows 7 the need to disable or enable this component depends on the situation, so I recommend, just in case, checking the ability to connect to the printer in both cases.

Disabling the firewall in Windows 7 and higher:

Stop the firewall in Windows XP services:

Once again, just in case, I repeat that in Windows 7 you should not disable the service, otherwise in the future you will have to encounter a problem when sharing a printer, which will be discussed later.

Setting up the printer

So, having finished with the system settings, you can now go directly to the printer itself. A little higher, we opened network access directly to the computer itself. Therefore, we will be able to log into the computer, but unfortunately we will not see the installed devices on it until the printer is shared.

In order to do this, you need to follow a few more simple steps:

But, do not rush to close this window; it is also recommended to set security rules so that other users, in the event of a failure, can at least clear the print queue.

Well, now that you’ve sorted out the printer and operating system settings, you can now safely move on to connecting the printer via the network.

Connecting to the printer from another computer

Well, we are already at the finish line, now we just need to connect all the other computers to our shared printer, this is done quite simply.

But it’s not always that simple; sometimes when you try to connect, the system may say that it does not have the necessary software for this device, so you will have to do it manually.

In addition to this option for connecting a network printer, there are several other really good connection methods, which you will learn about in future articles, so there is only one recommendation, either subscribe to our blog updates or even better

If you have several computers and only one printer, then you probably had to run with a flash drive from one computer to another in order to print a document. This is very inconvenient because it takes a lot of time and forces you to break away from your current work. A network printer can be a solution to this problem. In this article we will talk about how to connect a printer via a local network.

In this article we will only describe the process of connecting a printer via a local network. In order for you to use these instructions, you must already have a local network built and the printer must be connected to one of the computers.

Step No. 1. Share the printer.

In order to connect the printer to a computer over a network, it must be shared. To do this, open the Start menu and go to the "Devices and Printers" section.

If you are using Windows 8, then you need to open the Start screen with tiles and search for “Devices and Printers”.

After this, the operating system will prompt you to open this window. In the "Devices and Printers" window you will see printers, as well as other devices connected to your computer.

Here you need to right-click on the printer that you want to make accessible over the network and select the “Printer Properties” menu item.

After this, the “Printer Properties” window will open in front of you; here you need to go to the “Access” tab. On the "Sharing" tab, you must enable the "Share this printer" feature.

After enabling sharing, close this window by clicking the “OK” button. That's it, your printer is now accessible over the local network.

Step No. 2. Connect the printer via a local network to another computer.

Now we need to connect this printer to another computer via a local network. To do this, open the “Devices and Printers” window on the second computer and click on the “Add a printer” button.

After this, the “Add a printer” window will open in front of you, in it you need to click on the “Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer” button.

After searching for printers, the operating system will prompt you to connect the printer to which you previously shared access.

All you need to do is highlight the found printer and click on the “Next” button. This will complete the process of connecting the printer via the local network.

But, if the operating system does not find the printer you need, then click on the “The printer you need is not in the search” button. After clicking this button, the system will prompt you to enter the printer address manually.

The printer address must be entered in the following format: “\\computer-IP-address\printer-name”. For example: \\192.168.1.2\hp.

After searching for the printer by IP address, the operating system will report that the printer has successfully connected over the network.

After this message, the connected network printer will appear in the system and will be available for use.

Solving the problem of how to connect a printer via a local network is not such a problematic matter and almost any home user of such office equipment can cope with it. In general, installing a network printer on a computer running Windows 10 or some other version of this system is an excellent solution if you have several PCs at home or at work, but only one MFP. Instead of constantly coming up and printing documents from one computer, many users prefer to combine their home or office computers into one local network or simply “local area”.

To answer the question of how to connect a printer over a network, first of all you will need a cord to organize the connection and a CD with a driver and utility specifically designed for your device. If there is no CD included with the device, then either from the manufacturer’s official website. It is also worth noting that almost all modern printing devices are equipped with USB ports for connecting to a PC. For this reason, the motherboards of most system units are no longer equipped with COM and LPT ports. But if you decide to connect old equipment with a new computer, then for this you will need to find an appropriate adapter.

To connect a network printer, first establish a reliable connection between the physical device and the PC using a USB cable. Then place the driver disk in your computer's drive and run the software installer. After the drivers are installed, all you have to do is restart your PC and print a few test pages. Having thus prepared the basis for installing a network printer on Windows 7, also perform the following sequence of actions:

Open the control panel of your Windows operating system and find a section called “Devices and Printers” among the entire list. You can also go there through the right panel of the Start menu.
Find among the installed devices the device that will be connected and configured as a network device. Look at the list carefully, because... This window displays not only physical, but also .
Go to the properties of the desired device and check all the settings specified in it.

How to install a network device

To make connecting a printer via a local network available to all local network users, you need to open general access to this device for all network participants. In addition, to make the printer network, you will need to include all computers in one special workgroup. This step is especially necessary if there are also PCs on the local network with earlier versions of Windows, for example, XP.

To share a Windows 7 or later printer and create a workgroup, carefully read the following instructions:

To begin, open the drop-down list by right-clicking on the “My Computer” icon. Then select Properties.
Next, go to the point where additional parameters are displayed - to do this, pay attention to the left side of the window that opens.
Click on the tab called “Computer name” and click on “Change” at the very bottom. Then a new window will open in front of you, where you will have to create a name for the new group and save the change by clicking on “OK”.

In order for the network printer setup to complete successfully, you will also need to give access permission. Otherwise, setting up a Windows 7 network printer may be a waste of time, because... other PCs connected to your local network will not be able to use this device. To set up your network printer properly, follow the steps below:

Open the “Network and Sharing Center” and on the left side of the window, find the item that allows you to change additional settings. Click on it to make the necessary changes to the configured device.
Go to “Network Places” through the section called “Home or Work”.
There you need to check the box that allows you to enable sharing of printing devices. After making changes, do not forget to save them by clicking on the appropriate button.

In general, with the installation of a network printer in Windows 7, if you treat it competently and seriously, there should not be any problems, because the procedure is not a complicated process. Next, you can learn how to properly connect an already installed device.

How to properly connect a network MFP?

This action consists of two stages. The first is carried out directly on the PC to which the printing device is physically connected.

In the control panel you need to find a section with a list of printers and faxes and go to it.
Next, identify the desired device to which you want to provide access over the network and click on it.
In the new window, double-click on the device settings, then open the “Access” tab.
Find the item that requires sharing and check it.
It is advisable to also check the box next to “Rendering print jobs on client computers”.

The second stage of a process such as installing and configuring a printer over a network must be performed on all other PCs connected to the current local network.

Open the folder called "Network". Find the printer setup menu on the top menu bar and click on it.
Open the add network device section.
After the system searches for printers that are currently available for connection on the network, it will display a list of them in the same window. Select the desired device from among them and click on “Next”.
After the connection is made, the system will definitely notify you about it. After this, the selected printer will be permanently displayed in the section with devices and printers.

But sometimes the question arises about how to install and configure a printer if the system cannot find a single network device. This problem can appear even if public access is open and the local settings are correctly configured. To answer the question of how to make this printing device visible, you will have to enter the path to it manually.

Open the “Add a Printer” window after Windows cannot find any device available for printing via the network and click on the item indicating that the desired printer is not in the list.
Next, you will be asked to find the device by its network address or its name. Check the box next to “Select printer by name.”
Enter the computer name after a double backslash, followed by a single backslash and the name of the printing device. You can find out the current network name by opening the “Access” section in its properties.

In general, an MFP made networked and connected via a local network will save on the purchase of several similar devices. As you can see, setting it up is not difficult at all. This is especially true for using the device at home or in an organization with a large number of PCs, where purchasing dozens of printing devices is an impractical purchase.

Is it possible to imagine full-fledged work on a computer without connecting to a printer? Perhaps, being a gamer, the answer to this question can be given in the affirmative. Whatever you say, the lack of the ability to print documents does not affect the quality of games. Nevertheless, for those who like to work in Word, Excel and other text programs, having a working printing device at hand is not just important, but vital. Fortunately, such pleasure is inexpensive today. However, it is not enough just to buy a suitable model; you also need to know how to install it correctly on a PC with Windows 7.

Overview of connection methods

Depending on the placement of the printer and the user’s actual access to it, there are 2 options for installing this device on a computer with Windows 7, namely:

connect it directly to the PC (local method);
install via network (network method).

Is it worth explaining when and what method should be used to connect? Yes? Well then, let’s explain, it’s not a complicated matter. In principle, already from the name of such methods it becomes clear that the local method involves using the device for printing on only one computer, while the network method allows users of several PCs to print documents on one device.

Have you figured this out? Great! Then all that remains is to figure out how to proceed with the local and network installation method on Windows 7.

Option #1: Local connection

How to install a printer using local method on Windows 7? Very simple! Just connect it via USB to your computer. Note that if they are set correctly and have not changed since the installation of the operating system, the connected equipment will be recognized and installed on the PC automatically.

However, this trick is not always successful. What if, for example, an HP LaserJet 1010 printer is not installed on your computer? In this case, we proceed like this.

Step No. 1: Connect to PC.

First, connect the printer using a USB cable to the computer and turn it on to the network. Next, open the “Start” menu and select the “Devices and Printers” tab:

In the window that appears, find and click on the “Printer Installation” tab:

Then we decide on the connection option. Do you want to install it locally? Have you changed your mind? Then click on “Add a local printer”:

Next, select the printer port. In principle, it is better to leave everything as is, without changes, since the LPT1 port fully meets the installation requirements. This completes the connection. All that remains is to make adjustments to its operation. To do this, click on the “Next” button and move on to the next step.

Step No. 2: We make settings for the printer.

What needs to be done first? First, install the driver. You can do this in three ways:

using the installation disk;
using the Hardware Installation Wizard;
via Windows Update:

Let's say that at the time of installing the HP LaserJet 1010 we did not have a disk with a driver for it, it is not installed, or we are using a computer without a drive. What do we do in this case? It would seem that everything is simple: you can install it from Windows Update. But that was not the case.

There is no official driver for the HP LaserJet 1010 in Windows 7. In this case, there are 2 options:

install it by downloading from the Internet;
Select the driver for HP LaserJet 3055 PCL5 in the installation wizard.

We will choose the last option, because despite the difference in name, it is completely suitable for the HP LaserJet 1010:

Now all that remains is to decide on the parameters for accessing the printer from other PCs. In this case, we either restrict it (“No sharing…” item) or allow printing on it (“Allow sharing…”):

This completes the device setup. It remains to check its operation.

Step #3: Check the seal.

So, if all the connection and configuration steps were completed correctly, after selecting the parameters for accessing the printer, a window will appear with a message about its successful installation. Whether this is actually true still needs to be checked. How to do this? Click the “Print test page” button:

Is everything working? Does it print without problems? Then you can safely praise yourself! We tried our best!

Option #2: Network connection

Have you figured out the local connection? Then installing a network printer in Windows 7 will be absolutely no problem.

Step No. 1: Connect and configure a network printer.

What are we doing? Through “Start” go to “Devices and Printers”, click “Add a printer” and select “Add network…” in the window that appears:

As a result, Windows 7 will automatically search for all printers connected to the network. What do we need? First, find out the name of the network printing device to which we need to connect. Did you find out? Then select the appropriate option and click “Next”:

As a result, the computer will connect to the device and automatically install drivers for it. What to do if it doesn't install? Pay attention to system messages. Sometimes this process requires manual configuration. In particular, the “Install driver” button may appear in the network printer installation window. By clicking on it, the problem will resolve itself and the corresponding message will appear on the screen indicating the successful installation of the network printer:

Step #2: Checking the work

How to check the operation of a network printer? Print any document. It seems like everyone should be able to cope with this, right? But what should you do if the document was sent for printing and did not print? This, we note, happens quite often. How to solve the problem? To get started, check these settings:

determine whether the equipment is connected to the host computer;
determine if there are any restrictions for such a network printer;
check if it is connected to the network;