Print Local:>RDP to Win7/10 ->VBox WinXP

[RgG]

Remote computer runs Remote Desktop to a Windows 7 (or 10) Desktop, which runs VBox WinXP Guest OS.
Need to print to the local printer (whether on the remote network or connected directly to remote computer) running the RDP client.
Cannot figure it out.

Was able, at least in most cases, to do this running XPMode on Win7, but can't figure out any workaround to do this with VBox. VBox can print to the Host machine's printers, but doesn't see the TS printers.
IF I could create a fake printer on the host that redirects to a TS printer on the host?
End goal is getting a 16-bit Windows app to print to the RDP client's printer...

(The only way I can get it presently is to print to a pdf in the VM saved in host-accessible drive/file. Then the RDP client can open it in the host with pdf reader and use Terminal services printer to get it printed locally - but that's more steps than would like.)

[scottgus1]

Cannot figure it out.

I'm sorry but I'm afraid I can't either... The remotes and locals are not pinned down enough in my mind.

It sounds like you have a host PC running Windows 7 or 10. Virtualbox is on that PC, and you have an XP guest.

I think you also have another PC somewhere else and you are Remote Desktop-ing into that other PC. This other PC has a printer on it that you need to print to from the XP guest.

It appears you are running the Remote Desktop Connection on the host PC, and you are sharing the other PC's printer onto the host PC.

You can print from the host PC on the other PC's printer. When you were running XPmode you could print from the guest to the other PC's printer. But now using Virtualbox you can't print to the other PC.

If I don't have this grasped, please draw a picture and attach it using Upload Attachment.

XPmode probably had all sorts of inside tricks to tie the XPmode guest into the heart of the Windows 7 host, so programs on the XPmode guest would run as if they were really installed on the host. Virtualbox keeps host and guest completely separate, and you would need to set up a network between host and guest to get printer sharing to work. Adding in the Remote Deaktop Connection complicates things by not having an obvious network for the Virtualbox guest to connect to. If you cannot re-share the shared printer from the other PC, you may not be able to get the Virtualbox guest to see the RDP-shared printer, unless RDP has an accessible network capability. I have never heard of one.

[BillG]

They probably do, but that does not help us unless they decide to tell us how they do it.

File and printer sharing in XP uses the old NT-style computer browser service and SMB1. This is disabled by default in Windows 10 and is not recommended by Microsoft because of the security problems with SMB1. Even if you enable SMB1 in Windows 10, file and printer sharing between Windows 10 and XP Is unreliable.

To move files from XP to Windows 10 I usually do it in two steps. XP to Windows 7 then Windows 7 to Windows 10.

I don't even try to print from an XP vm to a network printer or a printer shared on Windows 10. Printing from Windows 7 (physical or vm) to a shared printer on a Windows 10 machine works fine.