Re: Creating home network, setup questions
- From: Malke <malke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 13 Sep 2008 04:59:00 -0700
Junior Junk wrote:
Comments inline (with snippage) and networking instructions after your post:
We have just bought a new computer and I would like to setup a home
network with our two windows XP home edition service pack 3 computers and
the new
windows vista service pack 1 Home Premium. At least, I think I want a
home network.
First question: Given that goal, is a home network only / best way to go?
Yes, you want to set up Local Area Network (LAN) file/printer sharing. This
is quite easy to do.
Second question is: Is the router shown in the "Connect multiple computers
to the internet" section required when the modem provided by ISP is both
modem and router?
In order to share one IP address (obtained from your ISP), you need a
router. If the cable/DSL modem is a combination modem/router, you don't
need a separate router. If you have cable, the modem will be a small box
connected to the outside world by a coax cable (thick, usually black with a
silver "screw ring" on it. If you have DSL, the modem will be a small box
connected by a cable to one of your phone jacks.
If there are multiple ports on the back of the modem aside from the one
connected by coax or going to the phone jack, you have a combination
modem/router and no more equipment is necessary. You can also Google that
box's make/model to find out exactly what it is.
Is it possible that the modem for my ISP is in the main box where the
cables
enter the home? The box I have in my office that was provided by my ISP
is a D-link wireless router DI-624.
The D-Link DI-624 is just a wireless router, not a modem/router.
Third question: One of the xp machines has norton, the other xp machine
has
avast. The vista machine will likely have avast as well. I believe I am
confused about the discussion around antivirus software settings and
firewall
settings. Does anything need be done to norton or avast to make this
work?
Yes, of course you need to configure your firewall. See below for details. I
would uninstall Norton and replace it with Avast. If you have the free
version of Avast, there is no built-in firewall component.
Here 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.aspx
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 overlooked firewall (including a stateful
firewall in a VPN); 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.
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. DO
NOT TURN OFF FIREWALLS; CONFIGURE THEM CORRECTLY.
B. For ease of organization, put all computers in the same Workgroup. This
is done from the System applet in Control Panel, Computer Name tab.
C. Create matching user accounts and passwords on all machines. You do not
need to be logged into the same account on all machines and the passwords
assigned to each user account can be different; the accounts/passwords just
need to exist and match on all machines. DO NOT NEGLECT TO CREATE
PASSWORDS, EVEN IF ONLY SIMPLE ONES. 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, turn off
Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab).
E. Create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users' home
directories 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
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ
.
- Follow-Ups:
- Re: Creating home network, setup questions
- From: Junior Junk
- Re: Creating home network, setup questions
- References:
- Creating home network, setup questions
- From: Junior Junk
- Creating home network, setup questions
- Prev by Date: Creating home network, setup questions
- Next by Date: All in one
- Previous by thread: Creating home network, setup questions
- Next by thread: Re: Creating home network, setup questions
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
