Don't know where to start

[Buphey]

Hello,
In our office we have 4 PCs and an HP all-in-one printer and I am trying to set up a network that WORKS! My comp has Win7; the other PCs have XP. Right now we have a shared T-1 line from the building plugged into a router and then a NETGEAR wireless router.
I am trying to figure out:
1. Am I setting up a wireless network or a LAN?
2. Is there a way to delete the current non-functioning network, or the computer that it "sees" but can't talk to
3. Printer seems to have sharing and scanning issues and when the network was working, suddenly one PC could only print things B&W, and then scanning was uninstalled (yes- all sharing selections that I could find were properly checked).

I am usually pretty good at troubleshooting but this is such a cluster&%$# right now that I just want a clean slate.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[hang-the-9]

1. Wireless Network and LAN can be one and the same. A LAN can be wireless, it just stands for Local Area Networks, meaning a network of computers connected together in some way in a small area such as a building. You can make a LAN with wired ethernet, wireless WiFi cards and access points, electric eels, anything that will send a network signal from PC to PC. If you talk about a wireless connection, technically any computer over 1 that is connected with it, can be considered a LAN.

2. What do you mean delete the current network? Do you mean the workgroup name or do you have a server setup? If the PCs are all on the same workgroup, you can create a new one just by changing the workgroup name on all of them. You say you have a shared T-1 line, how is it shared? Is your router set to give your area DHCP or is it setup up just like a switch with DHCP being central to the building?

3. How is the printer setup? Is it on the network directly or shared off one PC? If it's shared off one PC, you can't share the scanning function. Also if it's shared off one PC, it would also mean that when the network stops working, only that PC will print.

 

[Buphey]

Best answer selected by Buphey.

 

[Buphey]

Thank you for taking the time to answer my post. We ended up getting some outside help and it seems to be working now. The printer ended up getting replaced and is properly installed on the network.