printing - Can I avoid having a Windows 7 "Guest" account when enabling AirPrint?

08
2014-07
  • Richard

    Because I don't have an AirPrint enabled printer, I've used the instructions on this site to allow me to share my existing printer through my Windows 7 desktop.

    This allows me to print from any iOS device when my Windows 7 desktop is turned on. It's not perfect, but better than buying a new printer.

    The problem is that you have to enter my Windows username and password into an iOS device when you want to print. Fine for me (if a little annoying) but not something I want to share with visitors.

    The only solution I've seen so far is to enable the "Guest" account in Windows 7, this works, but I'm not keen on that from a security point of view.

    Is there any other way to configure Windows to allow people on an iOS device to print to my shared printer without having to supply a password?

    • Answers
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    Related Question

    When installing additional printer 32-bit drivers fails on Windows 7 64-bit I get the error "Selected printer driver not found", what should I do?
  • Questioner

    I've successfully installed Windows 7 (x64) and drivers for my Canon MP510, and have no problem printing with this setup.

    There is another PC in the network running XP SP3, and I want to share the printer so that users of that PC can also print.

    On W7 I have the option of installing additional printer drivers for other system architectures (Itanium and x86). I've downloaded the most current 32-bit drivers for the printer, but every time I direct the install dialog to the folder containing the drivers, I get the following error message:

    Selected printer driver not found

    The specified location does not contain the driver Canon Inkjet MP510 Printer for the requested processor architecture.

    Retry Cancel

    I'm stumped. I'm absolutely certain that the specified location actually does contain the correct drivers; I've even installed them on the XP system.

    I've tried everything I can think of. What am I overlooking?


    • Related Answers
  • Seasoned Advice (cooking)

    Finally cracked it! It's to do with the printer name in the driver's inf file.

    When I installed Windows 7 it automatically installed the MP600 driver but it called it "Canon Inkjet MP600 Printer". NOTE Inkjet. When you unzip the Canon driver and look in its driver folder the printer inf file is called MP600PR.inf. Edit this file with Notepad and you will find:

    [Manufacturer]
"Canon" = Canon,NTx86.5.1

;
; Model sections.
;
; Each section here corresponds with an entry listed in the
; [Manufacturer] section, above. The models will be displayed in the order
; that they appear in the INF file.
;


;Windows2000
[Canon]
"**Canon MP600 Printer**" = CNM_0295XP, USBPRINT\CanonMP600718E, CanonMP600718E, CanonMP600

;WindowsXP
[Canon.NTx86.5.1]
"**Canon MP600 Printer**" = CNM_0295XP, USBPRINT\CanonMP600718E, CanonMP600
"**Canon MP600 Printer**" = CNM_0295XP, BTHPRINT\CanonMP600718E, CanonMP600

    Canon just calls the printer "Canon MP600 Printer". Since the names are not exactly the same windows does not think that the drivers are for the correct printer. Just edit the inf file to "correct" the name and it installs without a problem.