Vista Woes: Windows Cannot Connect To The Printer
I’ve had a printer connection problem on my Sony Vaio running Windows Vista (Business Edition) for some time, but just haven’t got around to tracking down a resolution.
Every time I run the Add Printer Wizard to hook up a Samsung Laser Printer on a local network connected to my IBM Desktop running Windows XP, I get the alert message you see on the left:
Windows cannot connect to the printer. There is not enough memory to complete the operation. Please close some programs and try again.
With no other programs running, I was kind of stuck for an answer. Vista Help was no use, so I searched on Google and came up with an easy, but illogical solution. Here’s what worked for me:
- Go to Control Panel
- Choose Printers
- Choose Add a printer
- Choose Add a local printer
- Click on Create a new port. The default in the drop down box is Local Port. Do not change it.
- Click Next
- A dialogue box appears asking for you to enter a port name.
- Type in the \\computer name\printer name (my own example is ibmdesktop\samsung1740)
That’s it! Your network printer should now appear in the list of printers on your computer. It seems strange that Vista thinks printers on a local network are local, but at least I can now print from the comfort of the living room….or the dining room….or the porch….or the deck….or upstairs…..
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September 12th, 2007 at 3:28 am
I think it is about time that you upgrade to windows XP
September 12th, 2007 at 4:49 am
Nice one!
September 17th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Ha Thomas:
I had Vista installed for about a month before reverting back to XP. Too many probs with Vista right now. A good rule of thumb is to give an OS 6 months to a year before installing. There’s always issues with a new release. ALWAYS!
It’s not just Vista though. No one makes drivers that work with the new OS. So it’s not all Bill Gates issue.
December 13th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
I’ve searching for this solution long time ago… THANKS A LOT
…it works!!!
February 24th, 2008 at 10:19 am
This works!
I had to use Windows Update to select my Dell Laserjet 1100, but that is the only change.
Is Vista incompatible with just about everything?