Networking different OSs and Wired+Wireless - please help a noob!

TheBigCheese

TheBigCheese

TheBigCheese

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6 Sep 2005
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Hi everyone

I run quite a few computers in one house but split upstairs and downstairs.

They are all independent at the moment but ideally I would like to network them together and be able to share the data from different machines and backup everything onto one PC.

I am working with...
Windows XP 32bit
Windows Vista 32bit and 64 bit
Windows 7 64bit (the main machine)

The machines upstairs are wired, the ones downstairs are wireless but I would like a seamless network between them (I don't want to be running a cable down the stairs).

My router is an O2 wireless box 2, and I can plug a netgear 8 port switch into it.

I have read up on it, followed some online guides and tried to get it working, alas I can't even seem to get Windows 7 and XP to see each other on a wired connection via the router, never mind anything more complicated. :(

Could anyone tell me:
Firstly, if it's possible!
What I would need to do
Point me to any online guides you have used that worked

Thanks very much in advance! :)
 
Last edited:
Awww no replies.

Can anyone link me to tutorials that worked for networking different OSs'?

The ones I tried don't seem to work...whether it's a problem at my end or not I'm not sure.


Cheers.
 
wired / wireless it does not make any difference if its an out the box o2 router and all the machines have internet access all your machines are networked (the hub does not complicate things)

you must now configure the software... google windows 7 xp network and it should give you the answer.

disable all firewall software and AV while you try and make it work as it may stop it working..
 
SMN said:
What do you mean network them together? What are you trying to achieve?
Click to expand...

Just file and folder sharing between the machines - I will be capturing/creating data on some machines which I want to move across quickly to faster machines for editing/encoding.

I then need to move it onto a backup computer with attached external storage for a double backup solution.


Fanatic said:
Really need a more detailed map of your network before anyone could help.
Click to expand...

Hope this helps! I want the three XP machines to be seen by the W7 and Vista computers to drag the data off them and edit it on the faster machines - then it will be backed up to the next PC.

The Vista 32 and other XP are laptops which will just need to be backup to the backup machine.



edscdk said:
wired / wireless it does not make any difference if its an out the box o2 router and all the machines have internet access all your machines are networked (the hub does not complicate things)

you must now configure the software... google windows 7 xp network and it should give you the answer.

disable all firewall software and AV while you try and make it work as it may stop it working..
Click to expand...

Yup I did that already and couldn't even get one XP to see the W7 machine :(
I was following this guide.

I'm wondering if it was the firewall stopping things working...
 
Make sure they're in the same workgroup, and that sharing is enabled in all the machines. I was able to access all shared folders with one XP machine, two Vistas and one 7.
This was all done with the O2 Wireless Box II ;)
Setting up sharing on XP was a bit harder though, there was a few things I had to install (protocols, etc) but I can't remember how I did this, sorry :(
 
Thanks for the reply. :)

I was trying to get 7 and Vista 32 working the other day, as you say with them on the same workgroup and with all sharing enabled (as outlined in the tutorial I linked to) and it just wasn't having it...

I'll give it a go now with 7 and XP, sounds like it could be trouble though with what you have mentioned about protocols etc. :confused::eek:
 
SUCCESS...sort of!

I've managed to get W7 64 and XP 32 talking to each other - the main machine and the backup machine, which is great! :D

However...connecting via ethernet I was expecting whopping data transfer speeds of around 80-90MB/s as HDDs to in my main machine, what I've actually got is around 11MB/s :(

Would that be caused by the O2 router?

I have a gigabit switch, if I connected all the wired machines into the switch and then connected the switch to the router should I get faster transfer speeds as (in theory) the router would be out of the equation?

(I'm asking before trying it as it's packed away somewhere and plumbing all the wires out and in will be a nightmare if it doesn't work!)

Thanks!
 
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