Printer issue after upgrading to Windows 7

I upgraded my XP desktop to W7 which is connected to HP Photosmart C4480 All in One and this computer prints OK. My laptop was upgraded from Vista to W7 and is on the Homegroup. I can access all the libraries no problem but when I try to print from the laptop it states "Printer not on server". Have checked that printer is shared and have downloaded recent patch from HP, have deleted old drivers and installed latest W7 drivers from HP, have run printer troubleshoot and network troubleshoot which says everything is working OK . I connected the laptop directly to the printer and it prints ok. I have tried disabling all firewalls and anti virus on both computers but does not solve issue. Password protection is off.
When I try to find the printer by command prompt (CMD – NET VIEW) it only shows the computer I am on. When I try to print on laptop it shows as "1 document in queue" but does not show on desktop as in queue. When the printer window came up again I clicked "Find Printer" even though the printer was showing above it and a new window came up with the title FIND THE DIRECTORY and underneath this it said "The active directory Domain Services is currently unavailable". I really am going crazy trying to sort this problem as I usually have no problem with technical issues. What are your thoughts please.?

 

Hi neighbour! How are the icebergs down there?
Some thoughts.
You might like to try this which I found on one forum (it might just be a different way of connecting - I don't know what you've tried):
1. Go to "Network"
> 2. Click "Add a Printer"
> 3. Click "Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer"
> 4. If your desired printer doesn't appear, click "The printer that I
> want isn't listed"
> 5. Click "Add a printer using TCP/IP address or hostname"
> 6. Key in the Hostname or IP address (I key in the IP address)
> 7. Click next
> 8. Select your printer driver or "have disk option"

When I do a CMD - NET VIEW on my XP which is wirelessly connected to a printer via a VISTA PC, only the Vista PC is listed; not the XP. So I'm wondering why yours lists your laptop but not the desktop. Maybe it's not connecting properly to the PC and hasn't realised that the PC is a server?

You might also try disabling your firewalls and rebooting, making sure they don't start on bootup. Some people have found that you need to make sure there's not even a hint of firewall there. I had success with this when setting up my network, although there were other steps I had to do as well, so I'm not sure if this was part of the solution.

 

Oh, you would want to make sure you're using an account with admin rights as well. I guess you know that. :wave