Re: Unable to create home network
- From: Malke <notreally@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2007 10:11:08 -0700
wjvonde wrote:
I have to XP pc's - a desktop and a laptop.
They are connected with a simple 4-port router. The router is
cable-connected to the Internet.
Both the desktop and laptop connect OK to the Internet. The desktop is
accessible from the laptop in My Network Places. I can edit and save
desktop files from the laptop.
No matter what I try, the laptop is NOT accessible from the desktop. The workgroup name and computer names look OK.
What am I doing wrong on the desktop in setting up the network?
Since I don't know what you've done or what operating systems the two computers are running, all I can give you are general network troubleshooting steps. Not everything may be applicable to your situation, so just take the bits that are. It may look daunting, but if you follow the steps at the links and suggestions below systematically and calmly, you will have no difficulty in setting up your sharing.
Excellent, thorough, yet easy to understand article about File/Printer Sharing in Vista. Includes details about sharing printers as well as files and folders:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727037.aspxThis link will take you through Vista networking very well:
For XP, start by running the Network Setup Wizard on all machines (see caveat in Item A below).
Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall; or 2) inadvertently running two firewalls such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party firewall; and/or 3) not having identical user accounts and passwords on all Workgroup machines; 4) trying to create shares where the operating system does not permit it. Read through the general networking tips below and if you still are having difficulties, MVP Hans-Georg Michna has an excellent small network troubleshooter here:
http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm
Taking the time to go through his troubleshooter will usually pinpoint the source of the problem(s).
Here are some general networking tips for home/small networks:
A. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network (LAN) traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, this means allowing File/Printer Sharing on the Exceptions tab. Normally running the Network Setup Wizard on XP will take care of this for those machines.The only "gotcha" is that this will turn on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you aren't running a third-party firewall or have an antivirus with "Internet Worm Protection" (like Norton 2006/07) which acts as a firewall, then you're fine. With third-party firewalls, I usually configure the LAN allowance with an IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would substitute your correct subnet. Do not run more than one firewall.
B. With earlier Microsoft operating systems, the name of the Workgroup didn't matter. Apparently it does with Vista, so put all computers in the same Workgroup. This is done from the System applet in Control Panel, Computer Name tab.
C. Create identical user accounts and passwords on all machines. If you wish a machine to boot directly to the Desktop (into one particular user's account) for convenience, you can do this. The instructions at this link work for both XP and Vista:
Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) - http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm
D. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center:
1. If you need Pro's ability to set fine-grained permissions, turn off Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab) and create identical user accounts/passwords on all computers.
2. If you don't care about using Pro's advanced features, leave the Simple File Sharing enabled.
Simple File Sharing means that Guest (network) is enabled. This means that anyone without a user account on the target system can use its resources. This is a security hole but only you can decide if it matters in your situation.
I think it is a good idea to create the identical user accounts/passwords in any case when Vista machines are involved and it isn't an onerous task with home/small networks.
E. Create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users' home directories (My Documents) or Program Files, but you can share folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the Shared Documents folder. See the first link above for details about Vista sharing.
Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
.
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