Printing problems with XP2 SP2

Craig posts about his trouble getting network printing to work with the RC2 preview release for Windows XP SP2. His scenario appears to be the following:

  1. Machine #1 (Craig’s) with XP SP2 RC2 installed, with printer connected and shared
  2. Machine #1 firewall: Enabled, File and Printer Sharing checked
  3. Machine #2 (Kelly’s laptop) with XP installed (is this also RC2?)
  4. Machine #2 firewall: ???

In the above scenario, Kelly can’t print to the shared printer. If Craig disables Machine #1’s firewall, she is able to print. Is that the correct scenario, Craig?

Based on what I’ve found, one suggestion that might help with the problem is to look at UPnP. The SP2 Release notes: Networking and Communications notes that the Firewall blocks ports 1900 and 2869, which are needed for the XP implementation of UPnP. This doesn’t affect hardware that is connected to the host computer but may interfere with the ability of networked machines to find UPnP resources. The note gives instructions for opening the ports.

Since I really don’t know what I’m talking about here, I’ll throw up the standard disclaimer: This posting is provided “AS IS” with no warranties, and confers no rights. But feel free to ping me for additional suggestions, Craig.