How to Network XP to Vista Printer: Step by Step Guide

You may have an old XP system, which needs to be networked with a brand new laptop running on Vista with a network printer. If you directly try to network them, you may have very little success right away; so here’s a quick guide explaining all the steps to be followed.

Before You Start

The following steps are listed assuming that you’ve a new laptop with Windows Vista installed, connected to an 802.11g wireless network with other PC’s running on XP SP2.

Note: Before you try to proceed, you should ping to/from all PC’s to others so as to ensure that the network connectivity is fine.

10 Easy Steps to Network XP to Vista Printer

Here are the 10 simple steps to be followed -

1. Unplug your USB cable from the Windows XP powered PC

2. Plug-in USB cable of printer into your Windows Vista PC

3. Plug-in the printer to power supply and wait for the printer driver installation to get triggered on the Vista machine.

Note: Vista machine can automatically download the latest driver, but same is not the case with Windows XP systems. As such, you may have to explicitly download the latest driver on XP system(s) if you try to use these instructions when dealing with XP systems.

- Ideally your printer will be installed on your Windows Vista PC.

In case, there are any problems encountered during this step, you can download the Windows Vista printer driver for your printer from manufacturer’s website. Next, you will have to install the driver on your Windows Vista PC. During installation, when you’re prompted to connect the printer to your PC, you must choose the option to “Proceed with installation without connecting the printer”.

4. This should do the trick and now you’re ready to click on the Printers icon, which can be found on the Control Panel of your system.

5. Right-click on the printer you’ve recently installed

6. Click on Properties and navigate to Ports tab.

7. Click Add Port >Local Port>click New Port.

8. Now, you should see slots to enter Port Name, share name and network path of your printer – fill these carefully and Click OK.

For instance – \\HOMEPC\MyPrinter

Note: You must ensure that this new port has a check ticket against its name in the corresponding checkbox.

9. Now simply Click Apply > OK > Close

You’re now all set to print from your Windows Vista PC and shared printer.

Note: When sharing printers or even simple files, you need different user names, and both PC’s CAN NOT work with same user ID and password set.

You may need to follow this last step, in few cases, so it has been listed out separately.

Ensuring that Both Systems are Using the Same TCP/IPv Version

If you have problems to make Vista to network with XP, you may have to follow this additional step to ensure that both systems are using same TCP/IPv version to establish connectivity.

Click Start > Network > Network and Sharing Center > Manage Network Connections

Right-click on the connection you are using (which is LAN in most cases) > TCP/IPv4 > Advanced button > WINS tab > Enable NetBIOS Over TCP/IP button > OK

Note: By default Vista uses TCP/IPv6, while XP uses TCP/IPv4

Suggested Reading

1. Windows Movie Maker Guide for Dummies
2. Guide to Finding the Best Photo Printer
3. Running Microsoft’s Windows Movie Maker in Windows 7 & Windows Vista
4. How to Root Your Toshiba Thrive
5. Basic Guide of Common Windows Keyboard Short-Cuts for Beginners