If you have two PC's in the house connected on a network router so each has net access.... How can you get the PC's to recgnise each other?

In as afar as, if I'm upstairs on one PC and type up a document and want to print it, how can I send it to the downstairs PC (which is connected to the printer)

Or just send one file from one PC (say an MP3 or picture etc) to the other so I don't have to burn a data disc everytime I want to move something that is too big for floppy?

I will get one of them USB memory sticks at some point but interested to know how to do this

 

If you only have a "broadband router" the only way to share stuff is via email.

You will need a network card or a motherboard with an onboard network card on both PC's to share data as far as I know. Also Windows XP home edition does not support networking if I have been told right and you will need XP Pro or 2000/'98.

Mark

 

Similar to RS2300 4x4 post.

You will either need a network card which just plugs into the PCI slot at the back or one with your motherboard. Mine has a wireless motherboard so is done that way.

XP Home, was looking at this yesterday for someone at work and yes as RS2300 4x4 it contains less networking features than Pro amongst a couple of other things as well. Pro is geared for networking which is why it is used in offices.

Does you internet connection run from your router or each PC? I assume the router. Do you know the cable you are using to connect to the router i.e. CAT 5?

If so there is no reason from there why you cannot set a network up. Are the PC's in the same workgroup or domain etc. If so then try mapping to opposite drives. If the printer is running locally off the downstairs PC then it will most likely need to be on to recognise it however if it is networked off the router then it shouldnt matter.

Let me know how you get on

HTH

 

The downstairs PC is a Dell with XP (Home) SP2, the upstairs PC is an old Aries PC running Win98SE. The Dell has a LAN port on the back of it but for the Aries we needed to slot in a PCI card with a LAN port....

The router is connected to the net using normal phone cable then each PC is fed a connection from the router using cat5 cable, yes.

The Router does also have a USB port on it, and I had been told at some point this could be for connecting the printer too so both PC's would print via the router....

 

I havent seen a home router used for print sharing but it does make sense as its done that way in an office environment.

Are the computers in the same domain or workgroup and can you map to the drives of the other through Tools, Map Network Drive?

Having said all of the above, my neighbour had some problems networking 98 and XP and was going to let me know if he succeeded. I dont think he did and instead upgraded to XP on both.

I would try Windows XP Pro as I dont know of anyone who has networked Home. It may be possible but I havent seen it done.

The rest of the set up sounds fine with the router and the LAN though.

 

For the time being, Just email it to yourself, close prog down. run downstairs and then read emails from other PC.

See if you can beat it

 

Go into control panel (on XP machine), and run the setup home networking wizard, you can make a disc that you'll then put into the W98 machine, once you've done the XP machine.

 

not necesarilly, if the router has a switch element built in you can network via the router

I have a BT Voyager 1250 which allows 10 concurrent networked connections via 1 x CAT5 ethernet, 1 x USB, n x wireless and n x phoneline connections internally!

 

I got 3 pc's connected to my router and they work fine LOL and see each other on the net.

Use Netbeui as the protocal on a home network as its the fastest one.

 

you really wouldnt notice the difference between netbeui and tcpip

 

okay so if I plug the printer into the USB bit on me router - what do I do then?

 

XP Home can be networked easily. It isn't meant to be used in an office enviroment to log onto a domain but you can use it in a peer to peer network with no problem.

Share the drives on both PC's, make sure that both machines are on the same workgroup, enable DHCP on both and once the router assigns each machine an address, they will both be on the network and the Internet

Some routers do have a built in print server, I have one of these, works very well and you can print from any machine in the house

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=44088

 

The easiest way to print, is to share the printer on the pc it's installed on, and then simply install it on your pc upstairs, and voila, you can print to it.

I'm thinking that in SE you can still install it as a networked printer, will probably need the printer installation disk, and the windows 98 second edition cd

 

also.....

The USB port on the router is more than likely used to configure the router if you don't want to use the RJ45 ports and the web interface (why anyone would want to do this though is beyond me)

As Dan said, attaching the printer to one of the PC's and then sharing it is the easiest way. Or you can use a printserver but this is probably overkill for the average home setup

What make is the router?

 

This is the router;

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=48449

So how do I make the printer "shared" ? I can install the printer driver disk on this machine easy - got the CD for it somewhere, but how do I make it shared on the PC it is connected to (OS: XP Home SP2) and how will the printer know this PC is talking through the the main PC to it (the printer) - I don't get it