?file and print sharing for home wireless network

  • Thread starter Thread starter JClark
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JClark

Hello Group: I'm putting together a replacement for my son's computer
at school. There, he uses a wireless network to interact with his
laptop. The old computer is not available to see how it was set up.
My question:
Do I set Windows XP to permit "file and print sharing"? Normally I
don't do this for security purposes, but I'm wondering if this is
required for my son to be able to communicate with his laptop.
Many thanks.

Jack
 
Jack,

It depends on what you want to do.
If you want to share files and printers then you need to do this.
If you don't want to share files and printers, then you don't.

Does the computer have a wireless interface?
Does it see the wireless network?
Can it connect to the wireless network?
Does the wireless network provide SSID? I think it has to for XP.
Is there any sort of WEP required on the network? If so, you need to know
the key.

Does the computer have a firewall? XP has a built in firewall.
Is it set to allow communication on the LAN? Maybe that's automatic and
maybe it needs to be set up.
Does it work if the firewall is disabled?

Is the wireless interface set up to get an IP address automatically (DHCP)?
Does the LAN provide addresses via DHCP? Very likely it is.
If Yes and No, then you need to assign an IP address to your computer
manually - in cooperation with the LAN manager person.
If Yes and Yes then do this:
Start / Run / cmd and type IPCONFIG.
The IP address should not be starting with 169. If it is, then it isn't
seeing the DHCP server on the network.

Fred
 
Jack,

It depends on what you want to do.
If you want to share files and printers then you need to do this.
If you don't want to share files and printers, then you don't.

Does the computer have a wireless interface?
Does it see the wireless network?
Can it connect to the wireless network?
Does the wireless network provide SSID? I think it has to for XP.
Is there any sort of WEP required on the network? If so, you need to know
the key.

Does the computer have a firewall? XP has a built in firewall.
Is it set to allow communication on the LAN? Maybe that's automatic and
maybe it needs to be set up.
Does it work if the firewall is disabled?

Is the wireless interface set up to get an IP address automatically (DHCP)?
Does the LAN provide addresses via DHCP? Very likely it is.
If Yes and No, then you need to assign an IP address to your computer
manually - in cooperation with the LAN manager person.
If Yes and Yes then do this:
Start / Run / cmd and type IPCONFIG.
The IP address should not be starting with 169. If it is, then it isn't
seeing the DHCP server on the network.

Fred
Click to expand...

Fred:
You are very thoughtful to provide such a detailed overview of my
problem and what I need to know to answer my question. I will try to
find out these things before my son returns to school and configure
the computer accordingly. If I get stuck, this thread should still be
pretty fresh, and I'll post the question.
Again, many thanks!

Jack
 
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