wireless networking help

[custard]

alright probably really obvious to some but new to me

right i have a pc and laptop here.
pc has xp pro and laptop xp home

pc is hard wired to a netgear router with the laptop connecting over wifi

trying to set up sharing between the two
ran the wizard and on the laptop i can see the pc & laptopin workgroup computers
however i get an error trying to connect to the pc
in the pc i get an error that the workgroup is not accesible.
pc & laptop are o the same workgroup

tried disabling the pc's firewall to no avail(not using windows firewall)

thanks

 

[y2dom]

I know this sounds really obvious but have you restarted the pc's?

as soon as the workgroup is set the same you should see the computers on either pc.

 

[herpsuk]

Have you set the work groups and computer names correctly?

make sure by going to

Start > Right click on my computer > click properties

or

Open My Computer > Click View System Information

THen once in the properties click on "Computer Name" and check that the name and workgroup is correct, make sure the workgroups are the name and the names you can use something like "laptop" and "computer" or what ever.

Now there is a few ways to access the files on each computer:

1. Open "My Network Places" and click on "Add a network place", click on Next, Click on "choose another network location" and then click next. Then there should be a drop down box, in this type :

\\computername\shared\

and then click on next. this should then add the network place for that computer. to share files accross this all you need to do is add files to the shared folder and then grab them from my network places. you can also just add "\\computername\" instead of having share don the end but its up to you.

2.Open up my network places and then click on "Entire network" which is along the left hand side. THen click on "Microsoft Windows Network" and then click on your required workgroup name. THis will now show all the computers up that arte on that workgroup and will allow you access to them for the Shared Files and Printers.

J

 

[custard]

right i fiddled around.renamed the workgoups and changed the pc log in details
turned off the firewalls and rebooted them both
both now seem to be working,
turned on the firewalls and touch wood working fine

fickle things computers

 

[custard]

alright.i take it back.
now its not working and nothing has beedn changed.
laptop shows both itself and the pc in thr workgroup however gives an error trying to access the pc.
pc flags up an error just trying to show the workgroup computers

 

[Helz]

Well you're a step ahead of me - my laptop and PC have never been able to see one another, despite all of the above :bang: Might have another go sometime........

 

[custard]

gonna go back to it on sunday(day off)
TBH im thinking its my pc's firewall or something similar

 

[Madshorty]

Is it the old XP home issue? We get this at loads of companies we go to where XP pro and XP Pro have problems - some days it works, other days not.

Have you checked that file and printer sharing is enabled on both pcs?

 

[Si]

Can't find the article but I'm sure Madshorty is correct; there was an issue before between home and pro via networks. Whether MS issued a fix, I dunno.

Worth checking and changing if neccessary.

My Computer / Explorer > Tools > Folder Options > View > Scroll to bottom and set "use simple file sharing"

Do this on both machines.

 

[custard]

ah well perhaps i will install an 'evaluation' copy of xp pro

 

[Madshorty]

For diagnosis and testing purposes only huh?!:devil:

If you just upgrade instead of a complete install you will save yourself time.

 

[custard]

right both machines now run xp pro
both machines have passwords to log in
both are on the same workgroup
on the pc when i go to view workgroup computers it flags an error
on the laptop i see the pc and laptop but it brings an error when i click on the pc icon
this is with firewalls disabled

 

[Madshorty]

What is the error?

 

[Helz]

Sorry to hijack your thread Custard but I ended up getting mine sorted (XP and 2000), don't know why it hasn't worked previously or why it works now, I hope you're as lucky! Ended up disabling and re-enabling firewalls a few times and it is now working tentatively with firewalls up - bet next time I restart one or the other it strops!

 

[custard]

What is the error?

need to recheck later but iirc its administrative rights on both(though slightly different message on both)
both pc's are running from administrator accounts.
i note neither has asked for a password but the laptop did work for a short spell accessing the pc

 

[Trancendental]

I'll try help as much as I can but do this for me.

Rename the workgroups on both machines to

WORKGROUP

No spaces, no mad characters including "-" or anything else.

Disable both firewalls and then reboot both machines.

When the machine has rebooted make sure the firewalls are still disabled. Run the wizard. Choose your Workgroup names again. If you're asked to reboot, do so.

When they reboot make sure the firewalls are still disabled.

Now check to see if you can see both machines.

If you can, use both machines for a while with the Firewall DISABLED.

Reboot one and when it reboots, make sure the firewall is still disabled and see if you can connect to the other machine.

Reboot the other and do the same.

If it works with the Firewall down then you need to do something with your firewall. Something like Enable NetBIOS Neighborhood and maybe Internet FileSharing.

There may be ports which have to be permanently open. Check on the Microsoft website.

ALSO check your Router. It may have a built in Firewall. Make sure you have not enabled Internet connection sharing on either PC.

 

[Madshorty]

u need to make sure that the username for the laptop has administrative rights on the pc and vice versa.they need to be different usernames

to do this go into the control panel and click users.then click add.enter the username of the other machine and the name of your workgroup in the boxes. click next and select administrator as the access level.click ok.repeat on other pc.

 

[Trancendental]

u need to make sure that the username for the laptop has administrative rights on the pc and vice versa.they need to be different usernames

to do this go into the control panel and click users.then click add.enter the username of the other machine and the name of your workgroup in the boxes. click next and select administrator as the access level.click ok.repeat on other pc.

Not true as running a PC with Admin rights is less secure then running a PC in Limited User mode.

One would not be forced to put their machine at risk to share files and I have multiple PC's in this house on a shared network with a variety of user rights and they share without problems.

Only difference between my set up and Custards is that all machines havee XP Pro and all machines are Wired. No Wireless computers.