Windows 7 Windows 7 not able to share printer with XP

sudz28

New Member
I saw the previous thread, but my setup is reversed; I have my Windows 7 computer hosting the printer, and attempting to print over the network from a Windows XP machine. Unfortunately, the Windows 7 system won't let me install the x86 print drivers for this printer (because, of course, Windows 7 is 64-bit and the XP drivers are for 32-bit). I then tried to install the print drivers directly on the XP machine, but that's not working either - and in any event, with at least 5 other computers in the house running XP I'd rather not have to run around to each one and install the drivers, I would much rather have the Windows 7 machine have both sets of drivers. Does anyone know how I can accomplish this? This is for a Canon i850 printer.
Thanks!
Sudz
 
I don't think it will work. The only option that windows allows is to remotely install the drivers from the host machine, but only the drivers the host machine is using. You will probably need to install manually. I'm just guessing here, so don't take my word as final.
 
I don't think it will work. The only option that windows allows is to remotely install the drivers from the host machine, but only the drivers the host machine is using. You will probably need to install manually. I'm just guessing here, so don't take my word as final.

Thanks for your input Mike; however, I don't understand why Windows would even give you the option of 'installing additional drivers' if it would only allow remote installation of the drivers the host machine itself was using. I can believe it won't allow you to install drivers for a completely different-bit operating system (64-bit in the case of Windows 7, but 32-bit in the case of XP) but I'm hoping that someone will tell me otherwise. I have found guides on the 'net that seem to indicate you should be able to have Windows XP clients connect to/install drivers/use a printer hosted by a Windows 7 workstation, I just haven't had any luck getting it to actually work (see: Share Files and Printers between Windows 7 and XP :: the How-To Geek) due to Windows 7 refusal to install the XP drivers.
Sudz
 
When I was sharing a printer on a machine with XP x64 with another machine with XP x86 on it I ran into the same thing. I got around it by using the software disk I got from HP to install the drivers. When it went to install the driver on the second computer there was an option to get the driver from the disk.

Somehow mine just worked. I'm sharing an HP psc1350v printer on W7 x64 with a laptop with Vista x86 Home Premium and XP x86 Home dual booting on it. It seems like I did have to get the drivers for XP off the disk but that was set up quite a while back and I don't remember it too well. It was a couple years ago when I was still using XP x64 on my desktop. When I switched to W7 it was already there. Vista just did it all by itself.
 
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