Step by Step Guide to Installing a New Printer in Windows XP

When installing a new printer with the Add Printer Wizard, you can choose between adding a local printer (one that's directly cabled to your computer through one of the ports) or a network printer (a printer that's connected to your network with an Ethernet connection, just as your computer is connected to the LAN).

To install a new local printer with the Add Printer Wizard, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button on the Windows taskbar and then click Control Panel on the right side of the Start menu.

2. Click the Printers and Other Hardware hyperlink if the Control Panel window is in Category View.

Otherwise, double-click the Printers and Faxes icon if the Control Panel window is in Classic View.

3. Click the Add a Printer hyperlink in the Printers and Other Hardware window to start the Add Printer Wizard and then click the Next button, or press Enter to advance to the Local Printer or Printer Connection dialog box.

4. Make sure that the Add Printer Wizard selects the Local Printer radio button, and the Automatically Detect and Install my Plug and Play Printer check box beneath this radio button before you click the Next button.

5. If the wizard is unable to detect your printer in the New Printer Detection dialog box, click Next to install the printer manually.

6. Select the port for the printer to use in the Use the Following Port drop-down list box in the Select a Printer Port dialog box and then click the Next button.

7. Click the manufacturer and the model of the printer in the Manufacturers and Printers list boxes, respectively, of the Install Printer Software dialog box.

If you have a disk with the software for the printer, put it into your floppy or CD-ROM drive and then click the Have Disk button: Select the drive that contains this disk in the Copy Manufacturer's Files drop-down list box and then click OK.

8. Click the Next button to advance to the Name Your Printer dialog box.

If you want, edit the name for the printer in the Printer Name text box. If you want to make the printer that you're installing the default printer that is automatically used whenever you print from Windows or from within a Windows program, leave the Yes radio button selected beneath the heading, Do you want your Windows-based programs to use this printer as the default printer?

9. Click the Next button to advance to the Printer Sharing dialog box.

If you want to share this printer with other users on the network, click the Share Name radio button and then, if you want, edit the share name (this is the name that the other users on the network see when they go to select this printer for printing their documents) that the wizard gives the printer in the Share Name text box.

10. To print a test page from your newly installed printer, click the Yes radio button selected beneath the heading, Would you like to print a test page? in the Print Test Page dialog box.

11. Click the Next button to advance to the Completing the Add Printer Wizard dialog box, where you can review the settings for your new printer before you click the Finish button or press Enter to finish installing the new printer.

To use the Add Printer Wizard to install a printer that's available through your Local Area Network, you follow just slightly different steps:

1. Click the Start button on the Windows taskbar and then click Control Panel on the right side of the Start menu.

2. Click the Printers and Other Hardware hyperlink if the Control Panel window is in Category View. Otherwise, double-click the Printers and Faxes icon if the Control Panel window is in Classic View.

3. Click the Add a Printer hyperlink in the Printers and Other Hardware window to start the Add Printer Wizard and then click the Next button or press Enter to advance to the Local or Network Printer dialog box.

4. Click the A Network Printer or a Printer Attached to Another Computer radio button in the Local or Network Printer dialog box and then click the Next button or press Enter to the Specify a Printer dialog box.

5. If you know the name of the network printer, click the Connect to This Printer (or to Browse for a Printer, Select this Option and click Next) radio button and then enter the network path in the Name text box.

If your network printer is on a network that uses an Internet address and you know this URL address, click the Connect to a Printer on the Internet or on a Home or Office Network radio button and then enter the address in the URL text box. If you know neither of these pieces of information, leave the Browse for a Printer radio button selected and then click Next to advance to the Browse for Printer dialog box.

6. In the Browse for Printer dialog box, locate the printer in the Shared Printers list box by clicking the network icons until you expand the outline sufficiently to display the printer icon.

When you click the printer icon in this outline, the wizard adds the path to the Printer text box above.

7. Click the Next button to advance the Default Printer dialog box.

If you want to make the printer that you're installing the default printer that is automatically used whenever you print from Windows or from within a Windows program, leave the Yes radio button selected beneath the heading, Do you want your Windows-based programs to use this printer as the default printer?

8. Click the Next button to advance to the Completing the Add Printer Wizard dialog box, where you can review the settings for your new printer before you click the Finish button or press Enter to finish installing the new printer.

After you add a printer to your computer, you can start using it when printing with programs such as Word 2002 and Excel 2002, or when printing from Windows itself.

To switch to a new printer that you haven't designated as the default printer in programs such as Word and Excel, you need to open the Print dialog box (choose File-->Print) and then select the printer name in the Name drop-down list box.