Member Avatar for jaykray

For the life of me I can't figure out how to connect these 2 PC's. I also need to share printers each has with the other.

Please help!

J

  • 3 Contributors
  • 2 Replies
  • 116 Views
  • 15 Hours Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by kaninelupus

Dani AI

Generated

Brief, practical checklist to get an XP machine and a Vista machine on the same home network and share printers. Building on and , this focuses on concrete steps you can run through now (connectivity checks, sharing settings, printer-driver pitfalls, and quick fixes).

First, confirm basic network connectivity and name resolution. On each PC run:

ipconfig /all
ping <other-PC-IP>
net view \\<OtherComputerName>

If ping fails, fix cabling/router or Wi‑Fi first. If name browsing is flaky, use the other PC’s IP in Explorer (see below).

Enable file and printer sharing and make both machines discoverable. In Vista use Network and Sharing Center -> Change advanced sharing settings; in XP confirm File and Printer Sharing is installed and allowed through the firewall. Put both computers in the same Workgroup name so they show up more reliably.

Share the printer on the host PC and deal with drivers up front. On the host: Devices and Printers -> Printer Properties -> Sharing -> share the printer and install “Additional Drivers” for the other architecture (x86 vs x64) if prompted. From the client, add the printer by name or UNC path:

\\192.168.1.10\PrinterShare
\\HostComputerName\PrinterShare

If Windows cannot fetch drivers automatically, install the correct driver on the client first, then connect to the shared printer.

Quick troubleshooting checklist: temporarily disable third‑party firewalls to test, try connecting by IP instead of name, use net view/net use to test shares, and if you get authentication prompts supply explicit credentials (or create matching local accounts if you prefer). If printers are USB-only and sharing is unreliable, consider a small network print server or a router with USB-print sharing.

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for caperjack

For the life of me I can't figure out how to connect these 2 PC's. I also need to share printers each has with the other.

Please help!

J

Hi, never done it myself ,but google has a lot of info one doing it
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=home+networking+winxp+and+vista+

Member Avatar for kaninelupus

Been a little while, but do remember:

  • XP accounts need to be Password Protected
  • XP and Vista use different base directories, so might have to follow "root directories" once opening "Network" from Start-Menu.

As a tip: make use of Help Menu in Vista. Had difficulties myself when first moving to Vista, and the Help Menu in Vista had all the info I needed to set things straight ;)

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.