NETWORKING I BOUGHT A HP PHOTOSMART 4380 ALL IN ONE PRINTER AND I HOOKED IT UP TO A DESKTOP VIA USB. I WANT TO NETWORK IT WIRELESSLY WITH ANOTHER COMPUTER(LAPTOP). I TRIED TO CONEECT BUT I CANT, I THINK I NEED A WIRLESS ROUTER FOR A SIGNAL BUT I HAVE DSL SO I GET INTERNET VIA CABLE WIRE. DO I NEED THE WIRLESS ROUTER IN ORDER TO HAVE MY LAPTOP COMPATIBLE WITH THE PRINTER?

Well...HP models that have network capability have an "N" at the end of the model number. often those that have built-in wireless have a "W" somewhere as well.

Yours does not....so you cannot print DIRECTLY to the printer via Wireless LAN. You CAN however, connect it via a USB cable to a PC that is on your Network, (you must have wireless access to this network already for this to work, if not, then you have a whole different problem that is another question=How do I add "wireless" to my Local Area Network-LAN.)

Once the printer is properly installed, then you need to SHARE it to others on your Network. How this is done varies with what operating system you have...you did not tell us.

Tallon41

if its connected via usb to a desktop pc that is left switched on then yes you can print to it from a wireless computer. You just need to share the printer on the pc that its connected to. Then add a printer on the wireless printer and choose network or wireless. You also need to enable file and printer sharing on both computers

You laptop will not be able to connect to the printer using the bluetooth technology. But the good news is that you can use the printer thru your home network by having the desktop that the printer is connected to be part of the same home network that your laptop is part of and then share your printer on our desktop and then select it as a printer to use on your laptop.
This link has instructions for all of your home network instructions.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/setup/default.mspx

Did you see if you printer was connected to the wireless network? If that doesnt work then connect the printer to your computer via USB. I hope this helped

No matter how you slice it, if you want to share the printer, you will be creating a network. If I remember this printer correctly, it has an Ethernet port to connect to a network or USB to connect ot a computer. If your router supports wired connections, you can connect it there and just inistall drivers on each device and selec tthe network option. If not, you will probably want to connect it via USB to your desktop machine and enable print sharing on that machine. Te enable printer sharing, open up the Network and Sharing Center. In the Sharing and Discovery section, turn on the option for Printer Sharing. You will still need to install the XP driver on the netbook and select the network option, but give it the proper network location (ie.\\mycomputer\this printer).

Install the software on the laptop first and when it asks to connect the device, continue without connecting. Once finished, ensure the printer on the desktop is being shared in the printers folder. Then on the laptop add a device and search the network. If your 2 computers have the network established it should see it.

If it does not say wireless on the box it cam in then it can be networked.

Download latest driver bundle (198mb) and the network reliabilty patch. Install the HP software choosing Connected via USB. Install the network reliability patch from the C7280 downloads page. Re-run the 198mb installer and choose Add a Device.

Presto! Wireless setup completes correctly.

light it on fire

well, as it says, you only need a wifi usb adapater to recieve signal. if you do have a wireless router, then you can use the wifi usb to recieve signal from the wireless router.