What do I need

[MidiMagic]

I want to do the following:

- Connect to DSL from two computers.
- Transfer files between the two computers.
- Use one printer from either computer.
- Occasionally isolate one computer from this setup when running certain software (due to latency requirements)

The computers each have one Ethernet port and one free USB ports.

The DSL modem has one Ethernet port.

The printer has one USB port. It is currently using one of the USB ports that is not free on one computer.

Both computers run Windows XP.

What type of network and equipment do I need?

[mdm7923]

That Depends on How you want to network it, if you want to network it using ethernet cables then you will need to run cable from 1 PC to the other either via a switch or hub, or directly through the use of what is called a crossover cable, depending on the distance from Computer A to Computer B, this may not be the best solution unless you want to run Ethernet cables throughout your house, in the case that Computer A is far away from Computer B then you will want to pick up a wireless router from Best Buy. if you are going with option A, the direct cabling, I would recommend a switch as it will allow you to connect more computers later on if you expand the network, the way you would configure it
A) Take the Ethernet cable from your DSL Box plug 1 end into the DSL box, the other into a port on the switch
B) take another Ethernet cable, plug it into Computer A, plug the other end into a port on the switch
C) take yet another Ethernet cable, plug it into Computer B, plug the other end into a port on the switch
D) Enable Print Sharing on the computer your printer is connected to (this link tells you how to do so)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/maintain/printers.mspx
E) Enable File Sharing on Both Computers
(this link tells you how to do so)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304040

If you are going the wireless route
A)Buy a Wireless Router from BestBuy or computer shop, and 2 wireless PCI or USB adapters depending on whether or not you have a wireless adapter on your PC
(check this by going to start>my computer>advanced system settings>hardware>device manager, and looking under network adapters, or by going to start>run and typing devmgmt.msc), also get one that is Vista Compatible in case you decide to upgrade to Vista/Windows 7 in the future!

B) Take the Ethernet cable from your DSL Box plug 1 end into the DSL box, the other into the port on the router that says either WAN or INTERNET
C) Install any PCI or USB adapter you have purchased

D) Enable Print Sharing on the computer your printer is connected to (this link tells you how to do so)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/maintain/printers.mspx
E) Enable File Sharing on Both Computers
(this link tells you how to do so)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304040
F) SECURE YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK! go to the windows command prompt type ipconfig and hit enter go to where it says default gateway, write this number down go to Internet Explorer or Firefox and type this number in the address bar at the top and hit enter, the default username and password should be something like admin for the user name and password for the password, go to wireless settings and enable WPA or WPA2 and type the password you want to use

hope this guide helps,
Mike

[jbennet]

Router (wired if you dont need wifi)
Plug the ethernet from the modem into the WAN port on that
Connect clients to the client ports
Then setup windows file/print sharing.

XP home or pro?

[RickR WIN-TEAM]

Hello MidiMagic, My name is Rick and I work with the Windows Outreach Team. I have some suggestions for you to help you with creating a “Home Network”. In your case it might be easiest to purchase either a Wireless or Wired Router. Simply plug your Ethernet cable into the Router or set a Wireless connection with each computer. Follow these instructions on how to set up a home network found here: http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/76174f4a-7522-425a-9424-324dd299265e1033.mspx . Once your network is up and working then connect your printer to one of the computers (your choice), typically the one that is used most, then install the printer on the second computer through the network.
To share a printer attached to your computer
1. Open Network and Sharing Center by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Network and Internet, and then clicking Network and Sharing Center.
2. Click the arrow button next to Printer sharing to expand the section, click Turn on printer sharing, and then click Apply. Your printer is now shared on the network. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. If you are using a computer connected to a workgroup, click the arrow button next to Password protected sharing to expand this section, and then check to see if password-protected sharing is turned on or off. If it is turned on, only people with a user account and password for this computer will be able to access your printer. Turn this off if you want anyone on the network to be able to access the printer you are sharing. To change this setting, select the option you prefer, and then click Apply. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask and I will see what we can do. But read over the Help-and-How-To on the Windows pages as a guide to help you with the process.
Rick, Windows Outreach Team

[jbennet]

Open Network and Sharing Center

He stated he is running XP. Those instructions are for vista.

[RickR WIN-TEAM]

Hi Midi Magic, I apologize for giving instructions for Vista previously. Here are links to the XP how-to guide to: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/setup/wired.mspx and a guide to sharing printers on XP: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/maintain/printers.mspx , sorry for the confusion before.
Rick, Windows Outreach Team.

[hughv]

Would someone please tell me what the "Windows Outreach Team"
is?
They seem to be posting a lot, and often with bad advice.

[MidiMagic]

I have XP pro.

OK, I now have at least three solutions (plus one that won't work). Which one?

The router costs twice as much as the switch.

What is the difference between using a switch, a hub, and a router?

Do any of these require that I install additional software on the computers?

How can I isolate one of the computers from the network when I need to (when I need to run the software that is latency-critical)?

[jbennet]

A switch is simply a switch. Its a piece of dumb electronics whereas a Router is smart lets you do stuff like setup port forwarding (essential for gaming, setting up servers etc..) , firewalling, and most importantly NAT and DHCP. That way you can just add clients to it in a plug n play fashion and they can all share the one internet connection and have a nice web management interface.

Hubs are slow and if you are very paranoid, i suppose you could consider them a security risk. Theres no reason to get a hub when a switch is virtually the same price.

No software needed. Its all plug and play

Go for the router. Expect to pay ay £30 to £50 for a wireless one.

Note: get a decent brand. I reccomend linksys.

[MidiMagic]

A switch is simply a switch. Its a piece of dumb electronics whereas a Router is smart lets you do stuff like

setup port forwarding (essential for gaming, setting up servers etc..),

Do I need this for my purposes?

firewalling,

Do I need this for my purposes? The computers already have them.

and most importantly NAT

Do I need this for my purposes?

and DHCP.

Do I need this for my purposes?

Go for the router. Expect to pay ay £30 to £50 for a wireless one.

Dollars? I'm in the US.

What about my need to remove a computer from the network. How is this done in a way that makes the network software stop running?

[hughv]

Listen to jbennet, as he's got it right. A router makes this exercise a piece of cake. I agree with the Linksys recommendation as well.
Forget the switch-you won't need it.
NAT routers have a hardware firewall that's better than any software firewall, but you probably want both.
Yes, to NAT and DHCP.
I'm sorry, but you must pay in pounds or Euros.
To remove a computer from the network, just unplug the ethernet cable, or disable the adapter in Control Panel/Device Manager. You may wish to look into "Hardware profiles" for this.

[jbennet]

Basically NAT handles all the translation, and DHCP handles IP adressing.

Just plug the modem into the WAN port on the router and then set it up. Then its prettymuch plug and play for your clients.d

Get the router. It will save you many many headaches later on. A switch is bad because your modem generally isnt set up in such a way that it can simply be shared like that. Its just a dumb gateway.

It will be $60 to $80 USD

[MidiMagic]

I got a Linksys BEFSR41 for $50 at about 1 pm (but then had some work done on the car, so I didn't get home until about 5). The network is up and running by 10 pm.

The hardest part was getting the printer to work. It took a while to realize that I had to remove all of the printer definitions on the computer without the printer (I had been moving the USB cable), and then add the network printer.

One strange thing is that the file sharing folders appear in different places on the two computers. On one, the shared folder appears in the "My Network Places" folder. On the other, it appears in a subfolder of a subfolder of that folder.

Another strange thing is that the Internet light on the Siemens DSL modem never lights now. But there is an Internet light on the router that does light.

Is there a way to share a USB drive among the computers?

This is the first post made through the network.

[jbennet]

Yeah to share the usb drive turn on file sharing (if youve got printer sharing set up, and its xp, this should be on already)

just right click the drive in my computer and go into sharing and security (may be its own menu or under properties i cant remember) and share it. If you want, you can map the drive as a network drive on the other PC so when it boots up, it will automatically find it and assign it a drive letter.

I got a linksys WRT54G myself

[kayeri]

I have XP pro.

OK, I now have at least three solutions (plus one that won't work). Which one?

The router costs twice as much as the switch.

What is the difference between using a switch, a hub, and a router?

Do any of these require that I install additional software on the computers?

How can I isolate one of the computers from the network when I need to (when I need to run the software that is latency-critical)?

to isolate your comp from the network: go to the system tray right click on the network icon then select disable. to enable just right click the network icon from the system tray and select enable.

or just unplug the network cable

if u r not aware the sytem tray is where u find the clock "dwanzi"

[uthman4u2nv]

That Depends on How you want to network it, if you want to network it using ethernet cables then you will need to run cable from 1 PC to the other either via a switch or hub, or directly through the use of what is called a crossover cable, depending on the distance from Computer A to Computer B, this may not be the best solution unless you want to run Ethernet cables throughout your house, in the case that Computer A is far away from Computer B then you will want to pick up a wireless router from Best Buy. if you are going with option A, the direct cabling, I would recommend a switch as it will allow you to connect more computers later on if you expand the network, the way you would configure it
A) Take the Ethernet cable from your DSL Box plug 1 end into the DSL box, the other into a port on the switch
B) take another Ethernet cable, plug it into Computer A, plug the other end into a port on the switch
C) take yet another Ethernet cable, plug it into Computer B, plug the other end into a port on the switch
D) Enable Print Sharing on the computer your printer is connected to (this link tells you how to do so)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/maintain/printers.mspx
E) Enable File Sharing on Both Computers
(this link tells you how to do so)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304040

If you are going the wireless route
A)Buy a Wireless Router from BestBuy or computer shop, and 2 wireless PCI or USB adapters depending on whether or not you have a wireless adapter on your PC
(check this by going to start>my computer>advanced system settings>hardware>device manager, and looking under network adapters, or by going to start>run and typing devmgmt.msc), also get one that is Vista Compatible in case you decide to upgrade to Vista/Windows 7 in the future!

B) Take the Ethernet cable from your DSL Box plug 1 end into the DSL box, the other into the port on the router that says either WAN or INTERNET
C) Install any PCI or USB adapter you have purchased

D) Enable Print Sharing on the computer your printer is connected to (this link tells you how to do so)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/maintain/printers.mspx
E) Enable File Sharing on Both Computers
(this link tells you how to do so)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304040
F) SECURE YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK! go to the windows command prompt type ipconfig and hit enter go to where it says default gateway, write this number down go to Internet Explorer or Firefox and type this number in the address bar at the top and hit enter, the default username and password should be something like admin for the user name and password for the password, go to wireless settings and enable WPA or WPA2 and type the password you want to use

hope this guide helps,
Mike

i agree with Mike. its a good way to go about it