How To Enable Printer and File Sharing on your home network

By Mitz

Free computer Help

If you have a home computer network you can easily share files and share a common printer between them all. However before you share a printer or any files on your home network, you must enable or share these items. Here is a detailed, step by step tutorial on how to enable Printer and File sharing.

How to enable a Printer to be shared on your home network in Windows XP

1. First we have to get to Printers and Faxes properties.

2. Go to the start menu

3. Choose Printers and Faxes form there. If it is not there, choose control panel

4. Then double click on Printers and faxes

5. Now you will see the printers that are installed on your computer

6. Right click on the printer you want to share

7. From the menu you can choose either properties or sharing...

8. You simply go to the Sharing tab and choose to share the printer. You can also rename your printer here.

9. Go here to  install the network printer on the other computers in your network.

How to enable File Sharing on your computer on your home network for Windows XP

If I wanted to share My Pictures folder with everyone on the network I would do this:

1. Open My Documents Folder (Usually can find in the start menu)

2. Find the My Pictures folder and right click on it. A menu will appear

3. Choose Sharing and security

4. Click on share this folder

5. It will fill in the name for you

6. Then press permissions button

7. Here you can tick which one you want. If you only want people to see but not touch the files choose read only. If you want to all full control tick that.

8. Then click apply and ok

9. Click apply and Ok again

If I wanted to share another folder you simply do the steps again.

How to enable printer sharing in Windows Vista?

1. Go to the start menu. Choose Control panel.

2. In the control panel double click on the icon Network and sharing center.

3. Click on the arrow that is to the right of Printer sharing.

4. This section will open. Put a check next to Turn on printer sharing. See screenshot below.

5. Now press apply.

How to turn on file sharing in Windows Vista?

As you can see in the screenshot above, there is also a section for file sharing. You can press on the drop down arrow and enable file sharing there.

See How to share files and folders now that it is enabled.

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