How do I get my laptop to print to a printer connected to another PC in my house?

I have tried to set up a home network so that I can print and share files between my two PC's and my laptop, but I haven't had much success. I am hoping that someone can point me in the right direction with some specific tips. Here is my setup:





I have an external DSL modem that doubles as a wireless router. I have a PC running WinXP that is connected to this modem/router. My printer is connected to this same PC.





I also have a media center PC running Vista in another area of the house that has a wireless router in it and connects to the internet wirelessly via the router/modem connected to the first PC.





I have a laptop running WinXP that has a wireless router in it and also connects to the internet wirelessly via the router/modem connected to the first PC.





So I have no trouble getting the Vista PC and the laptop to connect wirelessly to the internet. However, I have never been able to figure out how to successfully set up a home network so that the two PC's and the laptop see each other and so that they can share files and so that I can print from the Vista PC or the laptop to the printer connected to my WinXP PC.





I have run the network setup wizard, but I must be making the wrong selections. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.How do I get my laptop to print to a printer connected to another PC in my house?
In order to print you need to go the PC that has the printer physically attached and share the printer. You can do this several ways, one being go to Start, Settings, Printers and Faxes. RIght-click the printer you are using and select properties. In the properties dialog box, at the top, select the Sharing tab. It should be pretty self explanatory from there.





After the printer is shared, go to the wireless PCs and run the printer setup wizard and choose browse for a network printer. Chose the printer that you shared in the previous procedure and you should be good to go.How do I get my laptop to print to a printer connected to another PC in my house?
Go to the comp that is connected to the printer. Go into the printers%26amp; faxes area right click on the printer and click on share. Then go to your other comp and add the printer browse the network search for the other computer and then add the printer.
This is what I do. I unplug the USB cable of my printer from my PC. Then I plug it into my laptop. It's not wireless but it works the best.
Share the printer from the computer where is connected...





the search it in the other one.. is simple
two ways to do this that I can think of:


plug a (I think crossover but not 100% sure) cable from the laptop network card to PC with printer network card, then enable ';share printer'; on the latter -%26gt; google ';printer sharing'; for more details








the other way (more elegant IMO especially if you have a permanent ip address) - both the laptop and the PC are connected to the Internet, right? then you can connect from the laptop to the PC using ';Remote Desktop'; - it comes with XP and Vista, all you need to know is your PC's ip, again use google on how it's done, then you should be able to print directly from your laptop








Good luck



You need to share the printer from the computer where it's attached. Go to that system, bring up the printer properties, and browse through the settings. You should see a page for sharing the printer. You have to give it a name, and you may have to set a password on it...the easiest way around that, if you're using Windows, is to have an account with your name and password the same on each machine.





Now, reboot the machine with the printer. After it's back up on line, go to the other systems/laptops and try browsing the local network. The printer should show up attached to the system to which it's connected.





One other thing: it's easier to get all this working if the machines are all on the same workgroup.