Windows 10: How can I share printer on network without sharing files?

• I am inquiring about a home network. Would like to share a printer on desktopA with others on network.
• It works great with laptopA which is on same Microsoft account.
• But others in the house are not on this Microsoft account, and I do not want to give them access to files - only to printer.
• When I try to install the network printer on these other computers, it asks for the password to desktopA/laptopA.

How can I share printer access without giving printer users access to files also?

Thank you,

Chris

:)

 

turning on file and printer sharing windows 10

Thank you for the update. What we can suggest now is to turn on File and Printer sharing in Command Prompt. Here are the steps to do it:

• Leave File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks turned
  on.
• Type CMD in the Search bar.
• Right-click on Command Prompt, and select Run as Administrator.
• Type netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="File and Printer Sharing" new enable=Yes, and hit
  Enter.
• Exit from the command prompt, and check if it will work.

If issue persists, try turning it on using Powershell, and check if it works. Here are the steps:

• Leave File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks turned
  on.
• Type Powershell in the Search bar.
• Right-click on Windows PowerShell, and select
  Run as Administrator.
• Type netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="File and Printer Sharing" new enable=Yes, and hit
  Enter.
• Close PowerShell.

Let us know how it goes.

 

Home Network and shared printer access problems

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



We understand your concern, as you are having issue with accessing the files and printer within the network and in order to get clarity and to assist you accordingly, please reply with the answers to the questions below.

• What is the error message you get, while accessing the file or the Printer using Windows 7 PC?
  
• Are you aware of any recent changes on the PC, prior to this issue?
  

Meanwhile, we would suggest you to perform all the steps in all the PC that are connected in the network as suggested by Roohi Taj on January 8th, 2019
in this
post.



As an additional information please refer the below articles:

File sharing over a network in Windows 10

Share files in File Explorer



We await your response.



Aditya Roy

Microsoft Community – Moderator

 

Block File sharing in Wifi network, Windows 10

Hi Lori,

As per the description, I understand that you want to block file sharing on your Wi-Fi network. I suggest you to follow the steps provided below and check if it helps.

• Right click on Start and select Control Panel.
• Change the view type to Large Icons.
• Click on Network and Sharing center.
• In the left navigation pane, click on Advanced sharing center.
• In the right pane, under Files and printer sharing, select the option:
  Turn off file and printer sharing.
• Restart the system and check for status.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted on the status for further assistance.