How to Share a Dell Printer on Vista
Dell is one of the largest computer electronic manufacturers in the world, and as a result, it can produce high-quality and inexpensive devices, such as printers. In a perfect world, every computer would have its own printer. However, that is not a financial or practical possibility in most cases. A better solution is to network all the computers together and share a single printer between them. Windows Vista makes it simple to share the device between multiple computers.
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
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1
Ensure that each computer on your home network is on the same "workgroup," as Windows will only network with computers on the same workgroup. Do this by following Steps 2 to 6.
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2
Right click the "Computer" button found in the "Start" menu and choose the "Properties" option.
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3
Click the "Change Settings" button located under the "Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings" heading.
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4
Click the "Change" button on the "Computer Name" tab.
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5
Type the name of your workgroup (the default is WORKGROUP) and click OK.
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6
Change the workgroup on every computer on your network so they are all on the same group.
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7
Turn on file and printer sharing on each computer in the network by followings Steps 8 to 13.
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8
Open the control panel from the link in the "Start" menu.
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9
Click Network and Internet and choose the "Network and Sharing Center" button.
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10
Click "Turn on network discovery" if it is off and click "Apply."
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11
Click "Turn on file sharing" if it is off and click "Apply."
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12
Click "Turn on printer sharing" if it is off and click "Apply."
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13
Close the Control Panel.
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14
Open the "Run" box from the Start Menu. If the "Run" option is not found in the "Start" menu, press the Windows key and "R" at the same time to open it.
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15
Type "control printers" (without quotes).
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16
Right-click on the printer you wish to share and choose the "Sharing..." option.
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17
Open the "Sharing" tab and click the "Change Sharing Options" button.
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18
Check the box labeled "Share This Printer," give it a name, and click OK.
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19
Go to the other computers on the network and open the Printer Control Panel as described in Step 15.
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20
Click the "Add Printer" button.
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21
Choose the "Add a Network, Wireless, or Bluetooth Printer."
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22
Choose the printer you shared in Step 18 and click "Next."
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1
Tips & Warnings
If other computers cannot see your printer, your firewall may be blocking it from being seen. See Resources below to fix this uncommon issue.
