Colorado State University

First, let me first explain that both of these Operating Systems are no longer supported, and should not be plugged in to the Internet.  They are no longer receiving patches and for the good of the data contained on these machines, you should be upgrading.

The following directions will instruct you on how to connect a Windows Vista/7 computer to a network printer.  A network printer is a printer that connects directly to the Internet via an Ethernet cable; it does not connect directly to another computer. In order to set up and print to a network printer, your computer must be connected to the Internet.

First, please refer to the following page so that you can be sure to get the proper information about the printer you are about to connect to:
https://cnsit.colostate.edu/kb/printer

1.) First, click on the ‘Devices and Printers item that appears in your Start Button.

2.) Click the ‘Add a printer’ button

3.) On the new dialog window that appears, select the second option for ‘Add a Network, wireless or Bluetooth printer’

4.) Your computer will now attempt to scan for printers on the network.  Instead of waiting for that, click on the item at the bottom for ‘The printer that I want isn’t listed’

5.) On this new screen, select the third radio button option for ‘Add a printer using a TCP/IP address or hostname’

6.) Enter the following in on the next screen:

Device type: Set this to ‘TCP/IP Device’
Hostname or IP address: Enter the IP Address you received from the instructions above
Port name: This will fill in automatically – you do not have to change this
Keep the checkbox for ‘Query the printer and automatically select the driver to use’ selected.

7.) At this point the install Wizard will have either found an appropriate driver automatically (will ask you for a printer name), or will be asking for you to select the make and model.  If it asks for the make and model – first, select the Company name in the left and then the model in the right. If you do not see an exact match, select something that is similar enough – drivers are often universal between similar models. (You may also need to visit the manufacturer’s web site for the printer in order to download and install the correct driver – you may also use the CD that came with the printer at this stage).  Click Next.

8.) The next few options are arbitrary. It is recommended that you do not share your printer and it is also recommended that you print a test page to make sure the printer is working properly. Click Next and Finish until the Wizard completes.