Home Network

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OK, I'm trying to set up all the computers in my house into a nice, easy to use network for my family. I've got a PC, a Mac, 2 PC Laptops and a broadband router.All the devices are connected to the router for internet. The 2 laptops are wirelass and both run Windows XP. The PC runs on XP too and the Mac is OSX. Both of these connect to the router through ethernet. They can all see the router but they can't see each other yet. I'm only starting this now but it will be handy if anyone has any tips posted for me in case I get stuck somewhere. And just to start you off, my basic problem at the moment is trying to combine a wireless network and an ethernet network in through my router. It sucks.Thanks in advance.Haha, that rhymes.

Bob, we have my laptop (wirelessly) and the kids PC (cable) and his pc (cable) hooked up to a router, it makes life SO much easier, all are running XP pro. I havn't a clue about how he did it, but if you have a problem with it I know he will be able to help if you get stuck..........

I know he is away, but any help would be great! I'm absolutely flumped (no, its not a word) but I don't wanna get my dad to ask one of his pals. He gets so smug about it even tho he has no clue about how its done.

flumped is a word innit???? I used to watch 'the flumps' ahh happy childhood days............I had to do it once while he was away, and remember being mainly in the router set up bit (online)........it should ask if you want to enable/allow access to the difference devices etc...........i clicked on a few things and it worked LOL YAY ..........what router is it that you are using?

A Netopia router. It has both wireless and ethernet connections. Hmm, I might just fiddle around with the routers settings.Oh, and since I got kinda bored looking I decided to doodle a bit to help you guys help me.

ok bobboI dont know about the mac but the xp is easy.you have to tell the lap tops and pc that they are on a net work.start......control panel.....network setup wizard.fonce you get that it walks you thru it easy, easy, easy.You knwo what a mac is and a pc and a laptop, and a router, you are overqualified to establish the network.the mac, your o your own, I dont know how to work that in to it but the others you chud have talking to each other in less then 15 minutes.

OK, well I went the simple route and fucked up my laptops. I changed the connection settings and then it wouldn't let me change them back. SO I did a system restore on 1 of them, tried something else and got it working perfectly. I tried doing the same to the other laptop but the system restore says that there is nothing different with the settings so it can't change anything. Now thats just stupid, there is quite obviously something wrong and different but it can't identitfy any difference from the way it is to the way it was at mulitple restore points over the past month. I hate this, it really is simple but it decides to enter my back passage anyway!

Start > Run > type 'CMD' > OKtype 'ipconfig' and note the ip address. Go to a different computer.Start > Run > type 'CMD' > OKtype 'ping' then a space, and then the ip address you noted ealier.Example : ping 192.168.1.100If it pings successfully...Start > My Computer >Right-Click (C:) and select 'Sharing and Security...' on the action menu. Under the sharing tab, bubble 'Share this folder'Now a different computer should be able to access this computer. Go to a different computer and type in \computer nameExample : if my computer name is xp-websexinfo then I'd type in \xp-websexinfoNotice these are \ and not /

ok. *takes in breath* sorry i dont know macs, cant help you there, but anyway.

get a wireless access point from..whoever. plug it into a port on the broadband router. If you have neighbors who live really close by or are just insecure, look thru the manual and figure out how to turn on WEP encryption, and make up a (CASE-SENSITIVE)password. access points are built to work out of the box, so if you dont want enryption, plug it in and youre good.

lets see....for each windows me/2000/xp machine:goto the desktop, then right click my network places, and double click your connection. find 'Internet Protocol(TCP/IP)', and double click. click 'obtain ip address automatically' and 'obtain dns automatically'. I think xp automatically sets the workgroup name to 'workgroup' last i checked, so i dont think you need to mess with that at all.

Now that I think about it, Macintoshes should have TCP/IP on them, so the setup for them shouldnt be too much different, but idk how you would get them to interface with the windows boxes

edit: ah right forgot about the firewall xp has, i wouldnt know my computer doesnt even have sp2 installed lol

So, the checklist goes something like...Make sure you can Ping... if you can't then check your installed protocolsMake sure your resources are sharedMake sure your firewall is set correctlyIn my experience, if you can ping and your resources are shared, your computers should be able to exchange files.

Anyway, here they're 3 tips from me:a) a DHCP server, configured from the router, can set up the network to every single computer. Once you simply plug a pc to your router and you've got an internet access, this means that everything is configured properly AND others computer on the same router can access this computer now.b) a wireless network and a LAN network on the same router almost always belong to the same network. The wireless network isn't seperated from the others on the same routerc) ping is not working always, since a firewall can block this traffic. The best way to see the computers logged in is from the router interface (show clients pc)

All is well in the world. Got all the laptops hooked up to the PC. The shared documents only works on one of them tho, but the other one has always been fucked up when it comes to networks. But the iTunes on each can all see each other, so thats good enough for now.I'm gonna be getting the apple AirPort Express so I shall be able to control the music in any room from any laptop or computer in the house.

you do know that you have to tell the computer to share everyfile you want shared right ? I just shared each c drive on my network saves time over adding everythng one at a time.

Yeah I know that. I have a Shared Documents folder on each of the computers. The PC and one of the laptops work perfectly, sharing documents and music.

It sounded like a sharing issue. Glad everything is working now!