Having problems adding network printers

Ok, downstairs I have a desktop computer with XP Home. There is an old
(but works GREAT) Epson Color Stylus printer connected to the parallel
port. I also have a Canon Pixma ip4000 connected to the USB port.

Upstairs I have 2 XP Home laptops. They connect fine to my network and
access share files and the shared printers. All is fine.

I used to have a W7 laptop and I remember going through some stuff but
eventually it worked just fine, acessing my shared files and printers.

Unfortunately, that laptop bit the dust. I bought a Toshiba Satellite
laptop and so far all works perfectly EXCEPT I cannot get it to work
with the printers. It accesses my network and shared files fine. I know
it can be done because I did it before.

Here’s what I’ve tried. I went to networking and chose Add A Printer. I
specified network printer. It found both printers. But when I try to add
the selected printer, it says that it can’t find the driver. Frankly,
I looked on my desktop computer and I can’t find it either. I can also
look on my two XP laptops but I am not sure what to look for. I went to
the manufacturers sites and was unable to locate a driver, but it should
be on my computers, I would think.

I wish I could remember what I did about 3 years ago to get my W7 to
work with both computers.

Any ideas?

This is not OT since my other computers are Dells (<g>)

Mel

"MZB" <> wrote in message
news:j1pfu8$jeg$...
> Ok, downstairs I have a desktop computer with XP Home. There is an old
> (but works GREAT) Epson Color Stylus printer connected to the parallel
> port. I also have a Canon Pixma ip4000 connected to the USB port.
>
> Upstairs I have 2 XP Home laptops. They connect fine to my network and
> access share files and the shared printers. All is fine.
>
> I used to have a W7 laptop and I remember going through some stuff but
> eventually it worked just fine, acessing my shared files and printers.
>
> Unfortunately, that laptop bit the dust. I bought a Toshiba Satellite
> laptop and so far all works perfectly EXCEPT I cannot get it to work with
> the printers. It accesses my network and shared files fine. I know it can
> be done because I did it before.
>
> Here’s what I’ve tried. I went to networking and chose Add A Printer. I
> specified network printer. It found both printers. But when I try to add
> the selected printer, it says that it can’t find the driver. Frankly, I
> looked on my desktop computer and I can’t find it either. I can also look
> on my two XP laptops but I am not sure what to look for. I went to the
> manufacturers sites and was unable to locate a driver, but it should be on
> my computers, I would think.
>
> I wish I could remember what I did about 3 years ago to get my W7 to work
> with both computers.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> This is not OT since my other computers are Dells (<g>)
>
> Mel

Good luck on solving the problem. I had run into a similar problem a few
years back. My problem was with an Epson Stylus printer, networked through
my office computer. I was running a mix of XP and Vista. All of them but
one would network with the printer. I contacted Epson for assistance and
was informed that as the particular printer was not designed as a network
computer, they would not support that function and I was on my own.

Ultimately the Epson died and I replaced it with a network printer and now
every PC, (now a mix of XP, vista and W7) can see and print to the printer.

Carl

On Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:11:33 -0400, MZB <> wrote:

>Ok, downstairs I have a desktop computer with XP Home. There is an old
>(but works GREAT) Epson Color Stylus printer connected to the parallel
>port. I also have a Canon Pixma ip4000 connected to the USB port.
>
>Upstairs I have 2 XP Home laptops. They connect fine to my network and
>access share files and the shared printers. All is fine.
>
>I used to have a W7 laptop and I remember going through some stuff but
>eventually it worked just fine, acessing my shared files and printers.
>
>Unfortunately, that laptop bit the dust. I bought a Toshiba Satellite
>laptop and so far all works perfectly EXCEPT I cannot get it to work
>with the printers. It accesses my network and shared files fine. I know
>it can be done because I did it before.
>
>Here’s what I’ve tried. I went to networking and chose Add A Printer. I
>specified network printer. It found both printers. But when I try to add
> the selected printer, it says that it can’t find the driver. Frankly,
>I looked on my desktop computer and I can’t find it either. I can also
>look on my two XP laptops but I am not sure what to look for. I went to
>the manufacturers sites and was unable to locate a driver, but it should
>be on my computers, I would think.
>
>I wish I could remember what I did about 3 years ago to get my W7 to
>work with both computers.
>
>Any ideas?
>
>This is not OT since my other computers are Dells (<g>)
>
>Mel

The first thing I'd do is Google for the driver. Often, if the driver
exists, it can be found elsewhere for free as well as for money. I
speak from experience on this.

On Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:11:33 -0400, MZB <> wrote:

>Ok, downstairs I have a desktop computer with XP Home. There is an old
>(but works GREAT) Epson Color Stylus printer connected to the parallel
>port. I also have a Canon Pixma ip4000 connected to the USB port.
>
>Upstairs I have 2 XP Home laptops. They connect fine to my network and
>access share files and the shared printers. All is fine.
>
>I used to have a W7 laptop and I remember going through some stuff but
>eventually it worked just fine, acessing my shared files and printers.
>
>Unfortunately, that laptop bit the dust. I bought a Toshiba Satellite
>laptop and so far all works perfectly EXCEPT I cannot get it to work
>with the printers. It accesses my network and shared files fine. I know
>it can be done because I did it before.
>
>Here’s what I’ve tried. I went to networking and chose Add A Printer. I
>specified network printer. It found both printers. But when I try to add
> the selected printer, it says that it can’t find the driver. Frankly,
>I looked on my desktop computer and I can’t find it either. I can also
>look on my two XP laptops but I am not sure what to look for. I went to
>the manufacturers sites and was unable to locate a driver, but it should
>be on my computers, I would think.
>
>I wish I could remember what I did about 3 years ago to get my W7 to
>work with both computers.
>
>Any ideas?


How about the CD that came with the printer as a source for the
driver?

On Aug 8, 4:11*pm, MZB <m...@noway.prudigy.net> wrote:
> Ok, downstairs I have a desktop computer with XP Home. *There is an old
> (but works GREAT) Epson Color Stylus printer connected to the parallel
> port. I also have a Canon Pixma ip4000 connected to the *USB port.
>
> Upstairs I have 2 XP Home laptops. They connect fine to my network and
> access share files and the shared printers. All is fine.
>
> I used to have a W7 laptop and I remember going through some stuff but
> eventually it worked just fine, acessing my shared files and printers.
>
> Unfortunately, that laptop bit the dust. I bought a Toshiba Satellite
> laptop and so far all works perfectly EXCEPT I cannot get it to work
> with the printers. It accesses my network and shared files fine. I know
> it can be done because I did it before.
>
> Here’s what I’ve tried. I went to networking and chose Add A Printer.I
> specified network printer. It found both printers. But when I try to add
> * the selected printer, it says that it can’t find the driver. *Frankly,
> I looked on my desktop computer and I can’t find it either. I can also
> look on my two XP laptops but I am not sure what to look for. I went to
> the manufacturers sites and was unable to locate a driver, but it should
> be on my computers, I would think.
>
> I wish I could remember what I did about 3 years ago to get my W7 to
> work with both computers.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> This is not OT since my other computers are Dells (<g>)
>
> Mel

If you can't get any Windows 7 drivers for the Epson or Canon printers
from the mfrs' web sites, you have become yet another victim of the
collusion in the computer industry between Microsoft and the name
brand hardware manufacturers to make the printers obsolete for lack of
new drivers. It is not for nothing that Microsoft regularly changes
its so-called "hardware driver model." This forces companies to write
drivers differently that for the previous version of Windows, and mnay
companies make the rational choice not to do so because there is no
revenue in it for them, only the continued good will of their
customers.

Personally, I have no problem with moving on to newer hardware for a
newer operating system, but perfectly good printers, scanners and some
specialty devices fall victim to the planned obsolescence.

Possible workarounds. These may all require some trail and error,
i.e. spending a lot of time fussing around.

1. Install the Vista drivers for the printers on the Windows 7
computer. Though not officially supported by anyone, these generally
do work. Microsoft changed the hardware driver model from XP to
Vista. From Vista to Win 7, either the driver model did not change at
all, or maybe it changed just a little bit. I do not know for sure,
because I have gotten away from developing software. But I recently
succeeded in getting a video card to work properly with Win 7 by
installing its Vista drivers.
2. Printer manufacturers, like every other hardware manufacturer,
evolve their products, rather than just starting from scratch every
time. So download and install the drivers for the oldest printer in
the family of models having Vista or Windows 7 support.
3. If either of these printers has built-in Postscript, a generic
PostScript driver (actually a Postscript PPD) would allow a printer to
work, albeit with reduced capabilities. Doubtful that the Pixma does
PostScript. Epson has produced some PostScript printers. PostScript
offers THE BEST protection against printer obsolescence... Ben Myers