Setting up a network

[bballnut]

[quote]

I use my LAN connection more for moving files between computers than for the internet.

I have tried to do this also, but with no sucess. I recently bought a linksys wireless router-- model # wrt54gs. I set it up with no problems to share access to the net for multiple computers. I would like to set this up to share files between the computers. I have tried to use the microsoft network setup wizard but to no avail.

all computers are running windows xp home edition. two are wired and one is a wireless laptop.

is there a guide to help nubies setup a network? I looked on the site but must be overlooking.

any help would be a great.

[jagabo]

Right click on a folder or drive and select "Sharing and Security..." Go to the Sharing tab, select "Share this folder on the network" and optionally "Allow network users to change my files".

[redwudz]

Just to add, networking is fairly easy on XP. The 'Wizard' does most of the setup. I've had a few weird problems as I have learned how to hook everything together. Networking can be a little complex because both computers at either end have to be able to communicate with each other more or less equally. XP home is not quite as simple as XP Pro for networking, but I have used both. I presently have 5 computers linked together with both a router and a switch and they all get along fine. I haven't got any wireless setup, but it should be similar.

It all has to do with permissions. One computer has to agree to accept the data from the other computer and visa versa. That's what setting up sharing is all about. But work with the Windows help setup and the Wizard and it should all come together.

When it works, it's very nice. I set my server drives up for sharing on all my computers and 'map' them. They just show up on each computer as another hard drive and I can access any of them from any computer. This from my laptop. It just shows the video server, the other computers drives aren't mapped. I'm going to add another server in about a week with eight additional drives.

[bballnut]

I used the wizard and looked at help but still can not get one computer to recognize the other.
I am running ZoneAlarm on all computers. Will this program prevent the setup? Do I even need ZoneAlarm now with the new Linksys router?

I shared all the drives I wanted to use also.

[jagabo]

Make sure all computers are in the same workgroup. Right click on My Computer -> Properties -> Computer Name.

[bballnut]

I used the wizard and looked at help but still can not get one computer to recognize the other.
I am running ZoneAlarm on all computers. Will this program prevent the setup? Do I even need ZoneAlarm now with the new Linksys router?

I shared all the drives I wanted to use also.

I turned off ZoneAlarm and guess what. I was able to see shared folders in my workgroup but still will not open in my network. Said I did not have permission. What now?
Do I need ZoneAlarm? Is the Linksys firewall protection good enough? also, when I share a folder, does it allow anyone from the net to access it?

[redwudz]

I would activate Zone alarm again after you get the computer set up to allow your network. The hardware firewall on the router mostly does network Address Translation (NAT) that keeps your real computer address hidden. But it doesn't help much when you are on the net, unless you set it up for that. ZA would be easier. Once you are hooked up and running with the network, ZA will probably figure it out and behave.

Now that you see one of the other drives or folders on your computer, you are mostly there. What I would try is to go to the computer that you see the drive or folder on, disable sharing on that drive or folder, then re-enable it. And try again. Be sure to set all the permissions so you can write to the drive or folder, along with read from it.

If that doesn't get you hooked up, repeat running the Network Wizard on both computers again. It's just a process of getting them to 'see' each other, setting up 'permissions and rules', then agreeing to 'talk'.

You can also try 'pinging' the other computer. In a Command prompt window, type 'ping 192.168.0.X' without the quotes and 'X' being the address of the other computer. Then hit 'enter.. I'll assume your computers are set in the 192 range, fairly standard for a router.