OK, I've all but given up. I'm going to have to get some help with this one. I'd like to figure out a way to link all 3 of my PCs together. I've tried doing shared folders and setting up a home network but I can't seem to get all of the steps done right. I set up the network, bring the settings to my new PC, upload them, and then nothing changes, etc. I've search a lot on the internet but it just seems to point to the "How to" pages from Microsoft. I've tried making a folder on my site and saving to it but that doesn't seem to work unless I drag and drop. I've tried to create a Z drive but it won't let me select any of the folders on my web space. There's just always something that is a stumling block with each thing I try. Here's my situation: Dell PC with Windows XP Home English (wired to wireless router) Dell PC with Windows XP Pro Japanese (antenna to wireless router) HP Laptop with Windows XP Home (antenna to wireless router) The two that are on an antenna are downstairs, the one that's wired is upstairs. I want to be able to share files between them, such as my address book, backups to restore so I can use the same program on all 3 PCs and use 1 data file, general files that need to be updated and printed out on different PCs at different times (time sheets, envelope labels, etc). What's the best way? I have web space to save to accessed by an FTP connection. Can I create a folder there and create sync folders on each PC? Should I create a Z drive? Should I just create an FTP folder and drag and drop files to update them? Any help would be appreciated.... Thanks!
Make sure all PCs are on the same workgroup name. Keep in mind. XP home does not support network domains. It can only do basic workgroups which is what you'll have to do. Also, make sure the wireless can access the Internet, which then means the wireless is working. Go to each PC and make sure that file and printer sharing is enabled.
Well I tried again and I don't think I have the right equipment. The internet connection comes in from the wall and into the cable modem. From there it's a wired connection to my wireless router. My host PC is connected to the wireless router via a cable. The other two PCs are connected wirelessly to the router. So I can't use the wired computer as my ICS since the other computers can't connect through it, and vice versa. And my PC doesn't have another jack for the second wire if I wanted to put it between the modem and router. Looks like I need to get a wireless adapter for my ICS and build a wireless network? I might be off base on that. Also, is there any benefit to the new A frequency? I'm using G now but if I have to buy a wireless adapter I might as well get the A-type and upgrade the other two.
Your computers connect to the Internet via the wireless router, not the PC directly connected to the router via ethernet cable. I'd stick with G since thats more widely available and has more support than the A band at the moment. Connect to the wireless router thru your browser, do this thru the PC connected to it via the ethernet cable. Go in there and set up an SSID. If you don't know how to connect to the router then use the software CD that came with the router and auto-run the program. Follow the instructions thru there. You need to set up an SSID first for the wireless network.
Your setup sounds fine. All you need to do is make sure your wireless router is setup to give out DHCP addresses (probably the default) and that all of your machines are setup to recieve these addresses. To find out if all your computers are on the same network, find out what your current IP is on one of your machines (open a Dos window and type 'ipconfig'). Exchange the last octet for "255" and then ping that address. IE, if your PC's ip is 192.168.1.100, then in the dos window, type "ping 192.168.1.255". That's the broadcast address. You should get a reply from all other machines on the network. If they reply, you're good to go. Just map the drives and enjoy.
If i'm correct the following is what you have (or want) : IP addresses could be different from yours, just use your own range Basically you dont need ICS; the router handles that. The router has 2 ip addresses: an internal one which you use to connect to, and an external one which is the ip address assigned to you by your ISP. I prefer to give my internal PCs fixed ip addresses; so that i always know what ip address my pc has. With DHCP this might change which i find confusing and it can complicate things if you make mappings based on ip addresses. Anyway, just make sure your internal ips are in the same range as the routers. My router has 192.168.1.1 so i choose 192.168.1.X as my computer's ip. If you for example would have 10.0.0.1 for router internal ip you'd pick 10.0.0.X for your pc's IP. If you set it up this way you should be able to use internet on all 3 pc's (router takes care of that if properly configured) and map network drives from all pc's to all pc's. As mentioned above just make sure you enable file and printer sharing on all your pc's, and share the folders you want to make accesable to other pcs. I've sometimes had the problem that i needed to enable the windows built in guest account for sharing to work though, that might be a problem too. If set up you can access the other pc just by typing for example \\192.168.1.10 from start--> run. Anyway good luck.
Thanks for the replies so far... Here's where I'm at: I managed to set up a secure network. I did GaijinPunch's ping test and 4 results came back...? I only have 3 PCs... Next I'll start researching the whole mapping thing....
OK, it took me 33 minutes to get lost again. I set up a new network connection. We'll call it "Bob." Now in my network connection box there are two icons, one saying 'Internet gateway' and one below it saying, 'Local Area Connection.' When I go to Map the Network Drive I see 4 networks listed after hitting the Browse button: Entire Network, my Japan-games.com ftp folder, My Groups, and My Websites on MSN. Under Entire Network is Microsoft Windows Network, and under that is Bob. I'm assuming that that's where I want to be. But, I can't select Bob. I can't create a new folder in Bob. I can't create a shared folder and then drag it into Bob. So in the end I can't advance past that screen since I can't point to a folder. I also tried pointed to the My Web Documents folder under the My Groups connection but that didn't work either. I think I have some gaps in knowledge that are probably making really easy tasks into stumbling blocks....
Re: 4 replies when pinging the broadcast: Your router will also reply to a broadcast ping. As for how to talk to the other computers. Don't bother with any of that "my network places" and shit. It's confusing. All you need to do is: 1: Set up your drives for sharing on any computer you want to talk to remotely. This is very simple. Right click the drive (or folder even) you want to share. Select Sharing. Go through all the "I know what I"m doing" shit and then give the share a name (remember the name, as well). 2: Go to another machine, and map this share. To do so, open Explorer ("My Computer", not Internet Explorer). From the menu, select Tools->Map Network Drive. A window will open. You need to select the drive letter your local computer will use, and then you need to type in the path to the share. If the computer's IP you used in step 1 was 192.168.1.1, and you named the share "my_share", then you would type "//192.168.1.1/my_share". This share will now show up as whatever drive you selected. It might get a bit confusing if you use only IP addresses. I would suggest setting each computer's IP to a static IP, and typing them in a hosts file... that's after you understand the mapping though.
Thanks gaijin, you touched on the areas that I was having problems understanding. I ended up creating a shared folder on my XP Pro machine, then mapped all 3 PCs to that drive. I didn't know that the name of my server was supposed to be similar to 192.168.1.1, so I didn't know what to type there and no folders were coming up when I tried to select one. Looks like that was the wall for me. I still haven't created static IPs yet, I'll do that next. Right now I just haven't turned any of my machiens off...heh...
Well, in just about any case w/ computers, you can refer to a remote machine by it's IP address, or it's name. The thing is, your computer has to know the name of the machine. You would enter this in the hosts file. Google it, and you'll find more information on it that you want to know.
