networking Windows 7 to windows Vista and Xp

jak731 · 22 Nov 2009 at 00:56

can anyone help me network my Laptop Using Vindows Vista HP 32bit and Netbook Using Xp pro 32bit to the rest of the PCs on my network that are running W7 RC7100.

i have tried googling, but most links seem to link to other forums with unclear instructions.

all machines currently have internet access (via the same connection) but only the windows 7 PC can see each other

Memphis · 22 Nov 2009 at 00:57

Sounds like simply making sure the workgroup name is set to the same on each machine.

Networking each version of the OS is as simple as each other.

jak731 · 22 Nov 2009 at 01:21

Both network location and workgroup name are identical, but i still cant see the vista laptop with the windows 7 PCs.

Zarf · 22 Nov 2009 at 10:08

can you browse to it directly using IP address?

i.e type

Code:

\\192.168.0.2\

in the start menu box, using your vista machines ip (can be found in network status, or by typing ipconfig from command prompt)

swinnie · 22 Nov 2009 at 10:32

Is File Sharng/Network Discovery switched on?

davethe11 · 22 Nov 2009 at 12:35

don't know if this is correct, but it rings a bell that a user account with the same username and password should be set up on both the xp machine, vista, and windows 7 machine. If you try this please let us know if it works, as I will be networking xp to windows 7 soon and the info would be handy.

Memphis · 22 Nov 2009 at 13:35

davethe11 said:
don't know if this is correct, but it rings a bell that a user account with the same username and password should be set up on both the xp machine, vista, and windows 7 machine. If you try this please let us know if it works, as I will be networking xp to windows 7 soon and the info would be handy.

That's only required if password protected sharing is switched on. If it's off, that isn't required.

davethe11 · 22 Nov 2009 at 13:48

ok, thanks for the info Memphis

ChileanLlama · 22 Nov 2009 at 14:55

Do you have firewalls on any of the machines?

Try opening them up for all traffic on your internal network range (providing you trust everyone on your network of course!) e.g. 192.168.0.1 to 192.168.0.255 in both directions.