Mac laptop accessing a PC Printer??? can anyone HELP!
 

My wife has her mac laptop running osx, and I have my pc's which the printer is hooked up to

I am pulling my hair out trying to figure out how to get it so she can print to the pc printer from her mac laptop

has anyone done this successfully, and if so, can you clue me in?

THE printen is hooked to YOUR computer? If so, do you have a network, and have selected the printer as SHARE? Then add a new network printer as her pc, locate it on the network, and there you are...

the printer is hooked up to my wired pc in my office

all computers are networked

the printer is set to share on the pc, I am using it on this wirelesss laptop

add a new network printer as her pc? what does that mean?

I have tried numerous times to find the printer on her mac laptop in the network, and it just doesn't happen

How to manually add a Windows shared printer
Open Printer Setup Utility (located in /Applications/Utilities).
Mac OS X 10.4.x users: Choose Add Printer from the Printers menu, then hold the Option key while clicking the "More Printers" button.
Mac OS X 10.3.x users: Hold the Option key down while choosing Add Printer from the Printers menu.
Choose Advanced from the first pop-up menu.
Choose Windows Printer via SAMBA from the Device pop-up menu.
In the Device Name field, type the name you would like to use for this printer in Mac OS X.
In the Device URI field, use one of the following formats to link to the printer:

smb://user:password@workgroup/server/sharename
smb://user:password@server/sharename
smb://workgroup/server/sharename
smb://server/sharename

Notes: "user" is the name of a Windows user who has privileges to use the printer. "password" is the password of that Windows user. "workgroup" is the name of the Windows workgroup to which the computer sharing the printer belongs. "server" is the name of the computer sharing the printer or its IP address. "sharename" is the shared Windows printer's share name.

Tip: You don't need a "workgroup" when specifying the IP address of the computer (such as when the printer is on a different subnet), or if your Mac belongs to the same Windows (SMB) workgroup.


Choose the appropriate PPD or printer driver from the Printer Model pop-up menu.
Click Add.

Mac OS X 10.3 and later, Printer Setup Utility allows you to add a printer that's being shared by a Microsoft Windows PC. However, Printer Setup Utility may not see some shared Windows printers. Here are some reasons why and what you can do about it.

The printer name contains more than 12 characters
Only printer share names that contain 12 characters or less will be displayed in Printer Setup Utility when browsing for a Windows printer. If you need to use a printer with a longer share name, either shorten the share name on the computer that's sharing the printer, or add the printer manually using the steps at the end of this article.

Incorrect Windows username or password when adding a Windows printer
Printer Setup Utility will prompt you for a username and password when adding a shared Windows printer. These fields can be left blank if the computer sharing the printer is set up to allow guest users to see and print to the shared printer.

If the computer that's sharing the printer is set up so that only specific users can see the printer, the printer list will be blank if the wrong user (or no user) is entered. Contact the administrator of the computer sharing the printer to determine what username and password to use. Please note that the steps in "How to manually add a Windows shared printer," below, will not work if you are not using a correct username and password.

The computer sharing the printer is on a different subnet
Printers shared by Windows PCs that are on a different subnet than your Mac will not be listed. You can manually add printers shared by a Windows computer on another subnet using the steps below. Be sure to use the computer's IP addresshahaha8212;not the computer's workgroup and name when adding the printer manually.

The shared printer's comment contains special characters
If one of the shared Windows printers has a Return character (which isn't displayed) at the end of its comment (description), any printers that should appear after it will not be displayed.

To resolve this, go to the computer that's sharing the printer and remove any Return characters (or other special characters) from the printer's comment. Please note that the steps provided in "How to manually add a Windows shared printer," below, will not work until you remove these characters.

Tip: Printer Setup Utility lists available printers alphabetically, but Windows may not list the printer order in the same way. This means that the printer with the special character in its comment may not be the last printer listed in Windows, as it's listed in Printer Setup Utility

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301397

that should help ya let me know:)

Or instead of doing a peer-to-peer type setup, just pickup a print server. You can get one from Newegg for under $40:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&ATTR4=&ATTR5=

I believe that is all shit I tried (except for the print server)....it is all stuff I also found on the web and tried...which is why I am so frsutrated

I am on the right track, I got it to print, but it was a page of total garbage

Basically it is just a case if your on the network of "sharing" the printer, becuase it is a MAC though and depending on what printer your using you will have to instal printer software for the mac....either off the disc or from the printer company website :thumbsup

You can also asign the printer a network ISP address then you wouldnt need the printer driver for the MAC.