Noob can't set network up

ElvisFan

ElvisFan

ElvisFan

Soldato
Joined
4 Jan 2004
Posts
4,100
Location
Sheffield, England
Right, I've got my router connected by lan cable to my desktop pc, and my laptop can connect to the internet via wireless router.

I'm completely baffled though as to how you set up a "proper" network, ie: so that my laptop can communicate files to/from my desktop pc using the wireless router and print from the laptop.

As far as I can see it, my network as it stands is just a remote internet connection for the laptop.

The network wizard in xp, etc seems to do absolutely bugger all.

If I can't sort this I'd have been better off buying an Asus EEE.:(
 
Last edited:
Can the machines ping (start, run, cmd, ping [IP]) each other?
In what way can the laptop not see the other machine?
Same workgroup?
 
The pinging thing brings no results.

I've put desktop and lappy both as "workgroup".

All the desktop and lappy can see is the router. The router's admin page on web shows the IP addresses of desktop and laptop.

The laptop, in "Network and sharing center"(Vista), shows a picture of the laptop connected to the router (the "network") which in turn is connected to the internet. No trace of the desktop pc connected to the network.

The desktop (XP) just says that a network connection is present.

I know I'm missing something fundamentally simple but I'm jiggered if I know what it is.

Like I said, the network at present is just a net-sharer. I want to transfer files and print from the laptop to the printer attached to the desktop. I could just use my exxternal hard drive to transfer files but that's not the point.

I just need walking through it from scratch, if someone would be so kind.:)
 
It really should be as simple as this:

  1. Connect machines to network
  2. Enable file sharing
  3. Make sure both machines have the same workgroup
  4. Make sure firewalls on both machines don't block file sharing
  5. Done.

The network and sharing center never will show your other machine, so that's a red herring.
It's the Start -> Network window you're after in Vista, or better still try Start -> Run (or Windows-R) -> \\[other machine's IP]. The latter's a better test because Windows can sometimes take a while to catch on about other machines in the network.

How do you mean "brings no results"? At the very least you should get something like this:
Pinging [IP] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from [IP]: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=255
Reply from [IP]: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=255
Reply from [IP]: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=255
Reply from [IP]: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=255

Ping statistics for [IP]:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 8ms, Maximum = 9ms, Average = 8ms
Click to expand...

Vista by default blocks ICMP, so you won't be able to ping it from the XP machine (which should still be able to ping the router), but the Vista machine should be able to ping both the router and XP machine.

It really doesn't help that you're giving next to no information.
 
Tolien said:
It really should be as simple as this:

  1. Connect machines to network
  2. Enable file sharing
  3. Make sure both machines have the same workgroup
  4. Make sure firewalls on both machines don't block file sharing
  5. Done.

The network and sharing center never will show your other machine, so that's a red herring.
It's the Start -> Network window you're after in Vista, or better still try Start -> Run (or Windows-R) -> \\[other machine's IP]. The latter's a better test because Windows can sometimes take a while to catch on about other machines in the network.

How do you mean "brings no results"? At the very least you should get something like this:


Vista by default blocks ICMP, so you won't be able to ping it from the XP machine (which should still be able to ping the router), but the Vista machine should be able to ping both the router and XP machine.

It really doesn't help that you're giving next to no information.
Click to expand...

I wasn't entering the commands correctly.:o

The xp desktop and the vista laptop both ping the router ok, but the laptop gives a timed out reply when trying to ping the xp desktop machine.
 
Cheers for the help, Tolien, it was the norton firewalls.

Just got the printer to sort now but then again, me and printers just don't get on.:D
 
ElvisFan said:
Cheers for the help, Tolien, it was the ****** firewalls.

Just got the printer to sort now but then again, me and printers just don't get on.:D
Click to expand...

ahem don't sware on this forums ive edited out the sware words.
 
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