How to Add a Shared Printer to a HomeGroup Network in Windows 7.

Choose Start→Devices and Printers.

You see the Device Stage list. You may or may not have any printers indicated at this point.

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At the top, click the Add a Printer button.

Windows 7 asks whether you want to add a local printer or a network, wireless, or Bluetooth printer.

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Click the Add a Network, Wireless, or Bluetooth Printer paragraph.

Windows starts searching for printers throughout your entire network. Usually, it finds the printer you want. Sometimes it doesn’t. The wizardshould show you a list of found printers.

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If you see your printer in the list, go to the next step. If Windows isn’t finding it, click the Stop button and then click The Printer That I Want Isn’t Listed. Click the Browse button and then locate the printer on your network.

If the wizard doesn’t display the printer you want to install, you can install it by typing its name into the Printer text box under the Select a Shared Printer by Name option. The name should be in the form \\host\printer

Substitute for host the name of the printer’s host computer. Substitute for printer the share name of the shared printer (look on the host computer’s Printers list). The completed name should look something like this: \\Dimension\LJ4.

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Select the printer, click the OK button, and click the Next button.

Windows asks Do You Trust This Printer?

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Click Install Driver. Then click Next.

Windows whirs and clanks for a while and then asks whether you want to make the new printer your default printer.

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Select the default printer and click Finish.

Your new printer appears in the Device Stage list. Notice that the Device Stage lists the type of printer and tells you which computer it is attached to — in this case, Tamgaan (a Windows XP computer).

File and printer sharing has to be allowed on both the host computer and the computer the printer is hooked into. To turn on file and printer sharing, choose Start→Control Panel and, under the Network and Internet icon, click the Set Up File Sharing link.