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Need instructions to set up home network w/Actiontec DSL Gateway (wireless/Ethernet/USB) with three XP (1 XP Home, 1 XP Professional and one XP Home laptop) computers that can get to Internet through the Gateway now, but need to share files, printer and scanner between all computers.

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gave the right starting points (unique names, same workgroup). The XP Home wrinkle is Simple File Sharing: to get explicit control over shares and NTFS permissions, Simple File Sharing must be turned off on each XP Home machine. While logged on as an Administrator, open any Explorer window -> Tools -> Folder Options -> View tab -> uncheck "Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended)" and apply. On NTFS volumes the Security tab will then appear so per-user ACLs can be set; the Sharing tab in XP Home still offers the simple "share" checkbox and the "allow network users to change my files" option.

Printer sharing has two practical routes: attach the USB printer to one PC and share it (Control Panel -> Printers and Faxes -> right‑click the printer -> Sharing), then install the shared printer on each client; or, if the Actiontec gateway’s USB port supports a print server (check the gateway manual / web UI), plug the printer into the gateway and add it as a network printer on each PC. In either case, ensure printer drivers are installed on clients and that any host-based firewall allows File and Printer Sharing.

Scanners are normally local devices. The usual, reliable options are: attach the scanner to a single host and configure the scanner software to save scans to a shared folder; remote-control the host (Remote Desktop / VNC) and run the scanning app there; or use scanner-specific network/server software if the model supports it. That avoids TWAIN/WIA driver limitations on client machines.

Troubleshooting checklist:

  • Confirm "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks" is enabled on each NIC and the PCs are in the same workgroup.
  • If XP SP2 is installed, add the File and Printer Sharing exception in Windows Firewall.
  • Test connectivity with ping and access shares by entering \ComputerName\ShareName in Explorer.
  • Make sure the Server service is running and that identical user/password pairs exist on hosts if authentication prompts occur.

This set of steps resolves most XP-era home sharing issues for the Actiontec gateway setup.

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Member Avatar for Catweazle

Hi,

You can't share a scanner. It'd be useless if you could anyway, because you'd still have to walk from one machine to another to load in the document to be scanned!

I'll move this to the networking section so you can receive further advice.

Member Avatar for Member #15636

Hi,

You can't share a scanner. It'd be useless if you could anyway, because you'd still have to walk from one machine to another to load in the document to be scanned!

I'll move this to the networking section so you can receive further advice.

OK, Thanks.

Member Avatar for DMR

To set up sharing, you basically want to:

1. Give each computer a unique name.
2. Put all of the computers in the same workgroup.
3. Activate sharing for whatever folders or printers you want.

For #1 & #2, on each computer:

- Right-click on the My Computer icon and choose Properties.
- Click on the Computer Name tab and then the Change button.
- Type in a unique name for each computer.
- In the "Member of" section, choose Workgroup and type in a workgroup
name. The workgroup name should be the same on all computers.
- Click OK to close the name change box, and then click OK in the main
System Properties box.
- You will need to reboot for the changes to take effect.

File/print sharing works (or at least looks) a little differently between XP Home and XP Pro, but you should be able to figure it out. You'll find instructions and info in the following links:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=share+folder+printer+%22windows+XP%22&btnG=Search

Member Avatar for Member #15636

To set up sharing, you basically want to:

1. Give each computer a unique name.
2. Put all of the computers in the same workgroup.
3. Activate sharing for whatever folders or printers you want.

For #1 & #2, on each computer:

- Right-click on the My Computer icon and choose Properties.
- Click on the Computer Name tab and then the Change button.
- Type in a unique name for each computer.
- In the "Member of" section, choose Workgroup and type in a workgroup
name. The workgroup name should be the same on all computers.
- Click OK to close the name change box, and then click OK in the main
System Properties box.
- You will need to reboot for the changes to take effect.

File/print sharing works (or at least looks) a little differently between XP Home and XP Pro, but you should be able to figure it out. You'll find instructions and info in the following links:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=share+folder+printer+%22windows+XP%22&btnG=Search

I went through most of the instructions on the URL above, and the basic problem is that most of the instructions there are for "XP Pro". I have "XP Home" and it seems that I must disable Simple File Sharing to enable permissions for other computers on the network to access my files. There were no instructions to do this. Is there a snap-in or something I can't find?

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