Vista can't print to network printer on windows 7

Hi. I've googled for a solution but can't find one.
Have tried several things to no avail.
My desktop Windows 7 has the network printer connected to it.
My laptop with Vista shows the network printer and when I try to print it goes through the motions, I don't get an error message or anything, but the printer won't print.
It works just fine when I print from the desktop.

I don't know what to do to fix this.

When I look in Network in Windows Explorer, I can see the printer and I can access the properties etc, it just won't print from my laptop.

 

Just to be clear, how is the printer connected?

1. Connected directly to the network through a router, switch, or etc....
2. Connected to the Windows 7 machine and shared for the network.

Sounds as if your drivers are installing correctly but you are printing to an invalid port.

If option 1 is the correct, check and make sure the port address is still correct. If printing to an IP address and this IP address is not setup as static, the IP address will change and give you the symptoms you are describing. Try setting the printer IP address to a static address and then install the printer again.

If option 2 is the correct, the term "Shared Printer" would have been less confusing to me. Network Printer is a term associated with Printers that will connect directly to the network.

It may help if you installed the printer as if it was connected directly to the vista machine. This will insure that all drivers are installed for the printer. Once installed remove the printer and try installing the network printer again.

 

Don't know about your printer, but I have a relatively new HP printer with built-in networking and I have discovered that it can not BOTH be connected via USB and via the network at the same time.

So, if yours is connected via USB to your desktop, and you also have a networking cable connected, it's working for the desktop because of the USB connection. It most probably won't connect via the network while it remains connected via USB.

 

Thanks for the quick responses.
I fixed the problem by doing the local port thing. I'm still not sure why it didn't work before, but it works now.

So thanks again for your time and help. Much appreciated.

 

I would suggest you to check for the firewall settings on your windows 7 computer and then check. You may have to change settings to allow a port to communicate if required.

Also I would suggest you to refer to the below provided link and check if the network for all the machines has been setup accordingly.