Need help setting up a home network

[jcase97]

Forgive me if I have missed one that goes over this but I can't find anything to help me with what my troubles are. So here is the best descritption I can give.
We have 3 computers, one desktop which has a wireless router to it and that is where the dsl is hooked up with the modem, along with the home printer. Then we have two notebooks that are already on the wireless network well they are connected to the internet through the router, But I can't get them to share any files or the printer....I can't get the notebooks to share any files or folders with the desktop computer. I have went in and set up the home networking and saved everything and then saved it on a jump drive then set it up on the notebooks but still I can't get them to communicate to on another! How do I fix this or what is it that I need to get them to share everything? Does my desktop have to have a networking card or what do I need to do to get them all to share or communicate with one another?

Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[Iceblue]

Have you enabled folder and printer sharing on your main computer?

 

[jcase97]

yes on all computers.

 

[Iceblue]

You may have already done all of this, but still, some questions (to be answered separately for each computer):

When you go to My Network Places, what do you see?

When you go to My Computer - Properties - Computer Name what do you see?

When you try to Control Panel - Printers and Faxes -Add Printer - network printer - browse for printer, what does Windows tell you?

One other thing... have you check the router setup? Is the router allowing access to the LAN by the wireless clients?

 

[jcase97]

Okay upon looking at everything you have ask I went to look and on my main computer then to the "my network places" and there is nothing there, I click on the veiw workgroup computer and all it tell me that my network is not accxessible. that I might not have permission to uses this network resource and to contact the administrator of the server but it doesn't give me a list of servers either. I go to the other computers and all the same thing. I try to install our printer on the other two computers but it once it ask for the remote computer name and then the printer name, because we have a printer that works on a network and such I enter all the correct info and it says it can't find it.

If you can please tell me what I need to do and where I need to just start all over at that would be great because I think I have messed things up.

Also I do not have a printer adapter at all....do i need one because I was lead to believe I didn't. Also on the desktop computer I have WinXP and one laptop has WinXP, but the newest laptop/notebook has Windows media. I was told that this would not matter either. If there is somewhere on here that explains all of where I need to start and so forth please advise of of where it is so you don't have to repeat yourself.
Thank you so much!
Jenn

 

[Iceblue]

Let's start with what works: All of your computers can access the internet, right?

If so, this means the basic LAN is functioning. The problem is getting a Windows Home Network functioning.

To answer some of your questions: WinXP Home, WinXP Pro, and WinXPMCE will all network together fine. Should not be an issue UNLESS you have individual accounts with passwords set up, then things get a bit more complicated.

So, do you have accounts with passwords set up on any of these machines? If so, are any of these machines XP Pro?

You do not need a printer server to share the printer (once you get the Windows network functioning), but the computer that has the printer attached to it will need to be powered up for any of the other computers to use the printer.

Don't worry about the message that said "you may not have permission, contact your server admin, yadda, yadda" that is just Microsoft's less than helpful generic error response that says

"I can't find the network resource you are trying to connect with. I have no idea why I can't find it so I'm going to send you poor clueless users off in search of an IT professional to help because that is easier for us programmers to do than actually determine what might be wrong and display a useful error message."

:roll:

You didn't answer one of the questions I asked before.

When you go to My Computer - Properties - Computer Name what do you see?

Do this for each computer. The key thing you are looking for is what is in the Computer name and the Workgroup name. The computer names should all be different and the workgroup name should all be absolutely no exceptions exactly the same.

If the above is all hunky dorey, try this:

Go to the Control Panel on each computer. Go to Network Connections. Right click on the "Wireless Network Connections" on your wireless connected computers and the "Local Area Connection" on the wired computer. Select "Disable." Wait a few minutes. Then do the same thing, only this time select "Enable". Wait a few minutes.

Now go to My Network Places and see if you can "see" the other computers.

If nothing still, then the next place to look is your wifi to LAN setup in the router. Recall, I asked this question

One other thing... have you checked the router setup? Is the router allowing access to the LAN by the wireless clients?

What is the brand name and model number of your router? Was it provided by your DSL provider? Did you set it up, or did the DSL's technician set it up?

PS: You have rebooted each computer since you tried to run the home network setup wizard, haven't you? If not, do that before you mess with anything else in this message.

 

[jcase97]

All computers are connected to the internet, the desktop is the one that the modem and router is connected to. Which is a Belkin 2.4ghz 802 11g or something like that...

Okay no passwords on any of them at all.

For the My computer properties all the computers names are different ie, desktop, ie1505 and laptop5150, and then the network name is all the same MSHOME!
So I think all that is right!


The router is setup to allow access to the LAN by the wireless clients.
We set it up via the booklet that was provided with the router.

Yes rebooted I couldn't tell you how many times. I will try going to the control panel>network connections and such as you suggested tonight and let you know how things work out in the morning. Let me also say that once before the old laptop we have still we had on a home networking but it was with another desktop which is fixing to be added back to the whole ordeal once we get it all upgraded and more things installed on it, if I can figrue out how to get these first three to talk with one another...

 

[Iceblue]

If you have a couple of cat5 or cat5e cables kicking around, try connecting everything to the wired LAN until you can get the Windows Home Network working. Just to remove one variable from the process.

If you can get everything to work with the wire, but it still won't work with the wireless, we know where to concentrate.