i have four systems 2 of which are wireless and other 2 wired, the problem that i am having is to get windows to recognise each of the machines and then allow access, i have tried the wizards in XP and that doesnt seem to solve it, one of the Desktop wired systems is still running 2000 but they should still connect is it to do with permissions if so can anyone help

thanks

can you ping the other machines on your network?

(Can they all ping each other?)

SE

Yes i get a reply pack when pinging the other systems

Ok...

First tip/question, you may have done this already, but just incase...

Have you enabled sharing on the machines? The wizzard you mentioned should have done this for you, but if not, right click on a folder such as the shared docs folder and go to sharing and security.

tick the box that says share this folder on the network (if its not already ticked)

you may get a message suggesting you use the wizzard, just ignor it.
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If your using XP (with SP2) make sure that the firewall is set to allow shares

Start > Control Panel > Firewall > the Exception tab >
make sure file and printer sharing is ticked
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Make sure any other firewall software (zonealarm etc) has your network devices as trusted devices.
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A bit of a long possible solution;
if you have XP Pro try adding users to your system, if each of your systems uses a different user name add that name with no password to your system.
Do this by going to Start>Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Computer Management> look for the Local users and groups section (not available on XP Home (I believe) you will see a folder for groups and a folder for users, you can add users, add one user for each of the login names at the other computers e.g.

Say your bro' uses the comp in his room, his login name (or name that appears on the Start Menu) is Chris, add him to your list of users. (this should create a list of users that are allowed to log in to your computer)

THIS IS A LONG way round, and may not help your situation, I have only used it when trying to get Win ME to talk to an XP machine (Thank god not many people have ME anymore)
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If thats OK then maybe providing some of the following may help with resolution

The IP's dynamic or static?
If dynamic, whats giving the IP?
Are you using XP home or Pro?
What version of 2k you running on the 4th machine?

If your using a swithc/hub/router to connect to the internet, can each machine connect to the internet successfully?

SE

Hi

The Ip's are static, the three Xp machines are using Home version with SP2 and the win 2K system has SP4, all system can reach the router and access the internet.