Newbie - heip accessing files on network

  • Thread starter Thread starter PAR
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P

PAR

The only file sharing I have ever done was with two towers with parallel port
connector. I have a Linksys router and have created the network. but I can
not figure out how to get the guest laptop to access the host laptop.

Another question
can I link a non wifi desktop to this system by plugging in a network cable
directly to the Linksys router?

Thank you for your help
 
PAR said:
The only file sharing I have ever done was with two towers with parallel port
connector. I have a Linksys router and have created the network. but I can
not figure out how to get the guest laptop to access the host laptop.
Click to expand...

Run XP's Network Setup Wizard (in Start > All Programs > Accessories >
Communications) on each computer. If the Wizard detects the router's
shared Internet connection, tell it to use that connection.
Otherwise, tell the Wizard that the computer connects to the Internet
through a residential gateway. Tell the Wizard to enable File and
Printer Sharing.

If there's a firewall program (Norton, McAfee, PC-cillin, ZoneAlarm,
etc), configure it to allow access by other computers on the local
area network. Note that some antivirus programs have firewall
components that must be configured.

Right-click and share any desired disks and folders.

There's no "guest" vs. "host" distinction in file sharing over a local
area network. That distinction only applies to file sharing using
parallel or serial Direct Cable Connection.

To access the other computer's shared disks and folders, type the
other computer's name in the Start > Run box in this format:

\\computer
Another question
can I link a non wifi desktop to this system by plugging in a network cable
directly to the Linksys router?
Yes.

Thank you for your help
Click to expand...

You're welcome!
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
PAR said:
The only file sharing I have ever done was with two towers with parallel port
connector. I have a Linksys router and have created the network. but I can
not figure out how to get the guest laptop to access the host laptop.

Another question
can I link a non wifi desktop to this system by plugging in a network cable
directly to the Linksys router?

Thank you for your help
Click to expand...

Yes, you can make a non-wifi computer part of your network by connecting
it to one of the 4 LAN ports on the back of the Linksys router. In
fact, you should use a computer connected to the router by Ethernet
cable anytime you want to modify the router's configuration. All you
need to do is to connect it; you don't need your wireless network
password or SSID.

Assuming that you have XP (because you're posting in a WinXP NG), here
is some excellent from MS-MVP Malke:

For XP, start by running the Network Setup Wizard on all machines (see
caveat in Item A below).

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.

For more info, see
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/setup/default.mspx

--
Lem -- MS-MVP - Networking

To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm
 
I can't run the network wizard on the one laptop - I think because it is a
business laptop and it is tied to another network? So I tried to just connect
the tower and the laptop.

The tower is directly connected to the Linksys now and the Linksys is
connected to the dsl line.

I ran the network wizard on each machine, but it screwed up the lap top.
Now I get a dialup connection anytime the internet is called up. And while I
can connect to the internet on both computers I can't access the one database
I need to share. Since both machines connect to the internet differently I
chose different methods of connecting to the internet. But, I am not
interested in sharing the internet - I NEED to share a database that exists
only on one computer.

I wanted to get "Any" network connection to work so I could try to share
this database before I go out and buy a new laptop.

My goal is to have two laptops that will connect through the Linksys without
an internet connection for a traveling auction business. One laptop needs to
be in one room which serves as an office and the other in the auction arena.


I am trying to set up a trial network to see if I can share the database
successfully,. If I can't share the database, there is no point in
purchasing the second laptop. I need to have everything in place by Dec 20th.

When I enter \\computer name I get

The network path was not found.

I also tried the remote Desktop connection. I get :

The client cold not connect to the remote computer.
Remote connections might not be enabled or the computer might be too busy to
accept new connections. It is also possible that network problems are
preventing you connection.etc

Thanks for your help - I am not sure what I am doing wrong.
 
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