Windows 7 Printing From Wireless Laptop

The issue you are facing with having to physically "wake up" your desktop in order to print from your laptop is likely related to the power settings on your desktop computer. When a computer goes into sleep or hibernation mode, it can sometimes cause issues with network connectivity, including shared printing. Here are a few steps you can take to resolve this issue and ensure that you can print from your laptop without having to manually wake up your desktop every time: 1. Adjust Power Settings: - Go to the Control Panel on your desktop computer. - Navigate to "Power Options." - Check the current power plan settings and make sure that the computer is not set to sleep or hibernate too quickly. You can adjust the settings to prevent the computer from going to sleep too soon. 2. Disable Sleep/Hibernate: - Consider disabling sleep or hibernate mode entirely if you don't need them. This can ensure that your desktop is always available for printing. - In the Power Options settings, you can change the settings to "High Performance" mode, which typically disables sleep mode. 3. Network Connection Settings: - Check the network adapter settings on your desktop to ensure that it remains active during sleep mode. Look for options like "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" and make sure it is unchecked. 4. Wake-On-LAN (WoL): - Another advanced option is to set up Wake-On-LAN functionality on your desktop. This allows you to remotely wake up a sleeping or powered-off computer by sending a special network packet. - To use WoL, you need to ensure that your desktop's network adapter supports it, and you need to configure both the desktop's BIOS settings and the network adapter settings. 5. Printer Sharing and Permissions: - Check the printer sharing settings on your desktop to ensure that the printer is shared correctly and that the appropriate permissions are set for users to access it. - Make sure that both the desktop and laptop are on the same workgroup or homegroup to facilitate sharing resources. By following these steps and adjusting the power settings and network configurations on your desktop computer, you should be able to resolve the issue of having to manually wake it up to print from your laptop. If the issue persists, you may need to explore advanced settings like Wake-On-LAN for more remote waking options.