One printer two computers

  • Thread starter sparkyspike
  • Start date
S

sparkyspike

Hopefully you already know the answer just by looking at the title...

I have a laptop (wireless, Vista) and a desktop (hard-wired, XP) and I want them both to use the same printer (HP C5280).

They are both set up to use the printer one at a time by connecting a USB lead from the printer into either computer. The printer uses the arch shaped USB plug, not the flat one (I assume this is normal).

I'm not interested in trying to get the printer to talk wirelessly to both computers, even though I do have a USB wireless dongle I could use. I just want to plug them both in.

Can I use a splitter cable/adaptor, or do I need a USB hub? Or is it not going to be possible?

Thanks for any replies...
 
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What we did was, and it's free.....

Downstairs PC:
Go to Start - Control Panel - Printers and faxes
Right click on the printer and go to Properties, and click the Sharing Tab
Click the Share this printer button, name the printer, and check the List in directory check box

laptop:
Goto Start - Control Panel - Printers and faxes
Double click Add printer
Click on: A network printer button and then click Next
Click Connect to this printer (the middle option)
You should now have a screen that says searching for printers and then'll it will list your Office PC. Double click the + button to the left of it's name and it should list the printer there.

Salem.
 
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As Salem says, sharing your printer costs nowt.

People with networks do it all the time.

Dont waste any money buying more equipment that needs more power when it is not needed.
 
Sharing your printer via the downstairs PC does mean the downstairs PC must be on for you to print - this may, or may not, be an issue.

You could buy a network print server to remove the need for turning on the desktop when you wanted to print. These are reasonably expensive at around £30 - you could almost buy a second printer for that!

I have a similar situation with a desktop and multiple laptops, where it would be a pain to continually turn on the desktop to print. Rather than buy extra hardware I find it easier to make the USB lead to the printer accessible and just plug the printer directly into whichever machine I need to print from.
 
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