Printer is shared between 2 PCs, PC A and PC B. Printer is attached to PC A. When trying to print from PC B, nothing happens. I check on PC A by doing Start/Print and Faxes etc. Message says Error printing. Any help most welcomed. Thanks. Jean Noel from Mauritius

Did you try removing the printer from PCB and adding it back into the Printer folder? Life's more painless for the brainless.

Generally - The printer must work on computer A. If it doesn't - if it was working before, if it has ink cartridges, are you sure all of them have ink of all colors?? - If the printer has never worked since you last installed it ... did you install the drivers correctly? E.g. you often must install the drivers FIRST, then you connect the printer, especially common if it's USB connected. If you did that wrong, do the same thing as for the HP drivers, next. - if it's an HP printer and it was working before, the drivers for those are well known to malfunction for no apparent reason. The quickest way to fix that is to un-install any and all drivers and software for it in Add/Remove Software in Control Panel, Un-install the printer if there's still an icon for it in there in Printers and Faxes after that, and install the drivers the proper way from scratch, and it will probably work fine. .... File and printer sharing, or at least printer sharing, must be enabled on both computers. The Workgroup names of both computers must be the same in their Network properties. RIGHT click on the icon for the printer on computer A in Control Panel - Printers and Faxes - and make sure Sharing is enabled for it. You must have made a local area network between the computers. If you don't do that remote access to the printer is disabled by default, and it can't be shared. If you haven't done that already, you can set all of the above, or at least the first two, when you make a local area network between the computers. (When you do that, or if you have done that already, the Workgroup name is changed back to MSHOME by default every time you run it if it was something else - make sure you name it the same as on the other computer). Once your settings are right, a Network printer is made automatically on the computer that isn't directly connected to it, if both computers are on, not immediately but in a short time, and Win XP or 2000 will automatically copy the printer driver files it needs over the network. (If one computer has 98SE or earlier, or possibly ME or earlier, you must make a network printer on that computer and point to the drivers for the printer on the same computer while doing that). For 2000 and XP, you do not need to make a network printer on the computer it isn't connected to yourself. It may not appear in Printers and Faxes on that computer immediately but it will in a short time. If you did make a network printer yourself, there will eventually be two network printers in Printers and Faxes - only one can be default. If the wrong one is default, nothing will happen when you try to print, and you may get an error message, unless you select the other printer just before you print. If you're not sure which one to make default, delete both and reboot - in a short time the one that automatically appears will be there, if both computers are on, and it will be the default printer. If you still can't print on computer B despite all of the above being correct.... - Check the Properties of the network printer on computer B and make sure it has the proper path to the printer on computer A e.g. \\(name of computer A)\(name of printer) . It's under the Ports tab in XP or 2000. Drag the line beside Description to the right to see the whole path. If it isn't there, in XP or 2000, click on the Sharing tab, run the Network Sharing Wizard; if you see a box where you are asked where the printer is, if there is nothing in the box, click on the dots beside the box and browse to Computer A and the printer on it. When you have finished the Network Wizard, click on "just finish... RIGHT click on the printer icon, select Sharing, enable it. - if the path to the printer is there, and it's the only one, but it still won't work.... RIGHT click on the printer icon, select Sharing, enable it. If that was already enabled and it still won't work.... What is the make and model of printer, or multifunction device with a printer included, and are both computers using XP or XP and 2000? Not all printers can actually be shared if the operating systems are not in the same "family". E.g. some HP models cannot be.