Connect the primary, or first, computer to the printer. This is done traditionally with a printer cable linking the primary computer to the printer. If this is the first time the computer is hooked up to the printer, be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions for installation and setup.
Change the settings on the primary computer to allow sharing of the printer. Go through the control panel menu option, and select printers. Right-click on the printer selection and choose "Share printer." You are now able to share the printer with any other computers on your network.
Connect the secondary computer to the printer. Access the shared printer option from the secondary computer. Select "network neighborhood" and locate the primary computer. Double-click on the primary computer, and the shared resources will become available. Double-click on the printer. You can now utilize the printer from both computers.
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Print sharing has become popular in many home networks primarily because it reduces the cost in implementing networking environments as well as maximizing the potential uses of network resources. The process of hooking two computers to a single printer is very much different from connecting two printers to a single computer because unlike computer systems, printing devices normally only have one communication port that can host a connection. To achieve the task of connecting two computers to a single printer, other devices would have to come into the picture to serve as the host for the printer and provide the underlying communication layer for all devices trying to make use of its printing functionality. The Operating System running on both machines that want to make use of the printing device must also support networking and printer sharing features in order to make this task feasible.
Materials Needed:
- Router
- Ethernet cable
- USB switch
- crossover cable
- network card
- print server
- Operating System that supports printer sharing
Step 1
One of the easiest options to share a printer on networked machines is to connect and install it in one of the machines. Simply click on the 'Start' button and choose the 'Control Panel' category.
Step 2
Select the 'Printer and Faxes' option and click on the 'Add a Printer' task. This will bring up the printer installation page. Make sure to install the printer hardware as a local printer. Follow the prompts to complete the installation process.
Step 3
When completely installed, click on the 'Start' button and select the 'Printer and Faxes' category. The icon for the newly installed printer should be there already. Right click on the icon and select sharing.
Step 4
Provide a shared name for the printing device and click on the 'OK' button.
Step 5
On the other computer, repeat Step 1 to Step 2 but this time, choose the network printer option. Type in the name of the printer and follow the prompts. Install the device driver when prompted to do so.
Step 6
A variation of this method which eliminates the use of a router device is to connect the two machines using a crossover cable. Simply insert one end into the NIC of the machine and repeat the process for the other computer.
Step 7
Both machines must be running at least Microsoft Windows XP to allow for the automatic detection of the network connection. This procedure basically functions the same way as a network environment but is limited to two machines and does not require a router.
Step 8
An alternative to this setup is to install a Print Server which will host the printer hardware and connect directly to the network router. In this method, simply connect the printer to the printer server.
Step 9
Proceed by connecting the print server to the network router which will allow the printer hardware to be detected in the network environment as a standalone device. To print using this method, simply use the IP address assigned to the printing device.
Step 10
Another possible solution is to use switching devices. These types of hardware became popular when printers were hosted using parallel and serial cable connections. For USB-based machines, a USB Switch box may be used. Connect the printer directly to the box using the USB cable.
Step 11
Connect the USB cable from each computer to the respective USB ports on the switching device. To use the printer for computer A, simply set the switch to A and do the same for B. In this method, no additional installation is required. All data switching and handling activities are done by the hardware switch.
One method is to use a printer switch box. See related links for some example devices. Another method would be to connect the printer to one computer and share the printer with another computer on the same network.
Yes, you can. There are multiple ways to that. First one is to connect the printer to one of computers and connect both computer to the same network or just to each other. Second one is available if your printer supports LAN. For this case you need a router or switch. Third one is to use print server, and you will need a router or switch but LAN support is not required. USA port must be present.
my answer-> Its an all-in-oneanswer b4 mine->There are two ways to make that connection. You either try finding a paraller connection splitter, ie, a box that has one input parallel connection (for the printer) and two output parallel connections (to each of the computers) and somehow toggles between the computers when needed, or you install the printer in one of the computers and establish a network connection between the computers with printer sharing.
Yes, you can connect one printer to each computer and connect both computers on a local network, then install the network printer from each other's computer. Or you can give printer servers to two different printers.
If the two computers are on the same network, make sure the driver is installed on both computers (you can usually download it from the manufacturers website). connect it to one of the two and make sure that computer has printer sharing turned ON. Go on the other computer and go into network devices/printers, or go into Microsoft word and go file>print>find printer.
If they are reasonably close together, you can use an "A/B Switch", otherwise you'll need to network them.
You can set up a network. The most simple network consists of only two computers. You can use this network to share files, a printer, or another peripheral device, and an Internet connection.
The simplest kind of home network contains exactly two computers. You can use this kind of network to share files, a printer or another peripheral device, and even an Internet connection. To connect two computers for sharing these and other network resources, consider the options described below The traditional method to network two computers involves making a dedicated link by plugging one cable into the two systems. Several alternatives exist for networking two computers in this manner:
I believe that it is possible to connect to computers to one monitor. I have worked with brand new LCD monitors with two inputs - one DVI and one VGA. The monitor auto-senses which port is being used. So in theory, use the auto detect button on the front of the LCD panel to switch between computers.
You need to turn the sharing option on in the printer properties and add the group Everyone to allow printing (or create an account for another computer, but because you have only two computers in your local network you might not need to do it). After that you have to find out the computers with the printer attached ip: Start->Run->cmd, in the cmd window type ipconfig and press Retutn/Enter. After you know the ip address, switch to the computer wich doesn't have a printer and again Start->Run->\\ip_address (for instance \\192.168.1.3). And press Enter, after you will see shared folder and the printer which you want to connect to. Double click on it, it will ask you to install drivers for the printer, you have agree. After this you can use printer on both computers. In order everything works properly you have to change firewall options (windows firewall and dedicated you have one). You have to check the option File and Printer Sharing.
Two computers
A computer network - is two or more computers linked together. It's useful - because computers can communicate 'live' with each other. Additionally - If computers are networked, you only need one printer. All the computers on the network 'share' the printer between them.