Windows 7 Cannot print wirelessly through home network

vev46

Active Member
Joined
May 9, 2012
I have a ZT desktop PC running Windows 7 64-bit on a home wireless network. My printer is a Brother HL-1400 laser monochrome, connected to my PC via USB. About 9 months ago I bought my wife an Acer laptop, (Costco), also Windows 7 64-bit, and was able to add it to my network so it would print wirelessly. About 3 months ago, it would not print, but since most of the printing is done through my PC, I did not immediately look into the problem. Well, my wife would like to again be able to print wirelessly, so I checked all my settings and followed the instructions as I did initially, but I've had no luck getting printing done wirelessly from the laptop. When the print command is given, the printer does not wake, and the print jobs stay in the queue, with no error message on the laptop. System Restore does not offer a restore point far back enough to when the printing worked. It works perfectly when connected via USB. I called Brother, and after they verified the printer was OK, they would not help me further, saying it's a computer problem. I then spent over an hour with Costco concierge service, and they had me reload the printer drivers, but this made no difference. I called Acer, and through remote connect they said that there was a problem with internal conflicts in the laptop, and could help only if I paid about $80 for them to fix this one problem, or about $300 for 2 years.

I would very much appreciate if anyone could point me in the right direction so I can again print wirelessly.
 
I suppose the first thing to check would be her connection to your computer. I will assume she can see you computer and has permissions for the printer.

Some of the following things might be done to both systems, just in case.

Make sure the printer is not set to "Paused Printing" and the sharing is set up correctly. You can do this in the Devices and Printers dialog, on the printer right click menu and select "See what's Printing".

Also, while in the Devices and Printers dialog, on the printer right click menu, there is a troubleshooter. Perhaps running it will provide some info.

Since you have reinstalled the drivers, the port used has probably been reset, but if you want to check, use the right click menu again and select "Printer Properties" to get the Admin version of the Properties dialog.

The link below will show you how to clear out the Print Queue in case something is stuck there.

How to Forcefully Clear All Jobs From a Print Queue
 
Did you check if the printer sharing is enabled in the network sharing preferences?

I tried it, but no joy. Googled the problem again with different wording, and found a Brother site

http://welcome.solutions.brother.co...001.html?reg=as&prod=mfc5100c_as&c=hk&lang=en

with detailed step-by-steps, but this was also unsuccessful. BUT, it was suggested I call Brother for phone help if problem persisted. They suggested I call Microsoft, I did, and they asked which AV software I use. I said MS Security Essentials, and VOILA! that creates a conflict, since MS Security Essentials includes a firewall, which will cause my problem while running Windows Firewall at the same time. Now I can leave Windows Firewal off without danger, and network printing works.

WHEW!
 
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It is my understanding that MSE does not have its own firewall. Maybe someone else will have another opinion.

When I installed the drivers for my Epson printer, it created holes in the firewall for it to operate. I would assume the Brother printer would have done the same thing. If you open the Windows Firewall (wf.msc) and check the Inbound rules, you should see some entries for the Brother printer, along with several File and Printer sharing entries. On the Outbound rules, all I see are File and Printer sharing entries.

If the firewall is the problem, maybe use the Brother setup to add the wireless setup again.
 
It is my understanding that MSE does not have its own firewall. Maybe someone else will have another opinion.

When I installed the drivers for my Epson printer, it created holes in the firewall for it to operate. I would assume the Brother printer would have done the same thing. If you open the Windows Firewall (wf.msc) and check the Inbound rules, you should see some entries for the Brother printer, along with several File and Printer sharing entries. On the Outbound rules, all I see are File and Printer sharing entries.

If the firewall is the problem, maybe use the Brother setup to add the wireless setup again.

Yes, you are correct: Microsoft gave me incorrect information when I first called. After your last post on this, I did more searching and verified it. Another call to MS verified this - thank you. I am still facing the inability to print through the network unless WF is turned OFF. A closer look at Inbound Rules shows the printer should be allowed. Would changing to TCP protocol maybe help? Inbound rules.jpeg
 
My system shows both UDP and TCP ports configured. And both configurations use ANY for the local port. Yours does not seem to show any TCP entries and uses specific ports. Since these are different manufacturers, I would assume they might be different, but I do expect you would need a TCP firewall option.

I can't check right now, but if you gave the printer model number, I will try to check how it is supposed to be set up.

Edit: You might try opening the Resource Monitor on the Network tab. You can watch the TCP connections to see what might open if the printer was working. With the firewall off, you should be able to see what it is using and then set that in the firewall.

The firewall does have a logging capability, but it is a little complicated to set up. Make sure and check the Event Viewer to see if any messages are generated around the time you try to connect to the printer with the firewall enabled.
 
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I just checked my system, and it looks like the spoolsv.exe is what is actually doing the printing. That service shows up in the Inbound rules in 3 places, with one for private, one for public, and one for Domain.

So, check for an inbound rule for File and Printer Sharing (Spooler Service - RPC) the File and Printer Sharing (Spooler Service - RPC-EPMAP) and make sure the private versions of both private versions are allowed.
 
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