Hi Fritz2,
The good news is that creating a network with XP is actually quite
easy. Obviously though you'll need to have the appropriate network
hardware. Sharing the printer is no problem but sharing the scanner
is actually quite difficult. Unless your scanner was specifically
built for network use it's probably more trouble than it's worth to
try to network it, since you'd need to purchase software that would
allow you to do this. Even then I'm not sure how reliable or user
friendly that software is. So I would suggest that you continue using
the scanner on the desktop and transfer what you scan via the network
to the laptop.
As I mentioned you'll need to make sure you have the right hardware to
build the network. First, both machines will need network cards.
They may have them built in already or they may need to have them
installed. If you're unsure check the back of the machine for a port
that looks like a large phone jack. This is your network port. If
you don't have network cards you'll need to buy one for each machine.
The easiest to use are those that connect to your USB port. They are
available from most computer stores.
The physical connection between the machines can be done in a number
of ways. The simplest method is to connect the two machines together
directly via a network cable. If you intend to do this you need to
purchase a crossover cable, which is just a network cable with
slightly different wiring than the usual ones. Alternatively you can
purchase a hub and then plug each machine into it. This gives you the
ability to add other machines to the network in the future. A small
hub can be had for $30 or so.
Getting a little more complicated you can connect the two machines via
a router. This is essentially a hub that also allows the machines to
share a high speed internet connection. If you've already got high
speed running on the desktop then this is the way you'll want to go.
You'll free up the network card that is currently being used for the
DSL connection which means you won't need to buy another one. You'll
also be able to have Internet access from the laptop even when the
desktop is turned off (which you can't do if you share the connection
without a router). A basic router is probably around $50 or so. I've
had mixed luck with D-Link and Linksys, but quite good experiences
with SMC. Still, they all do the same thing and you shouldn't worry
too much about the brand. If you want to connect the laptop to the
network via a wireless connection you could purchase a wireless router
and a wireless network card for the laptop. Newer laptops usually
have wireless built in to them, so check for this before you go out
and spend the money on a wireless card.
Okay, so once you have the hardware you'll need to connect the
machines. If you're going with a hub then you just plug in an
ethernet cable from each machine into the hub. Same goes for a
router, except in that case you'd also plug the DSL or cable modem
into the WAN port on the back of the router.
Now, once both machines have their network cards installed and
connected to the hub or router you need to run the Network Setup
Wizard. Click Start -> Control Panel -> Network and Internet
Connections then choose Setup Or Change Your Home Or Small Office
Network. Follow the instructions step by step, clicking Next to go
through each of them. If you're using a router you'll want to select
the optin "This computer coonnects to the Internet through another
computer on my netowork or through a residential gateway". If you
don't have Internet access then you should select "Other". Or,
finally, if you have Internet access through the desktop and want to
share it with the laptop (which means that the desktop must have two
network cards, one for the DSL and one for the local network) then
choose "This computer connects directly to the Internet" on the
desktop and "This computer connects through a another computer..." on
the laptop.
If your machine has more than one network card (for instance a wired
and a wireless card) the wizard will ask you to specify which
connection to use for establishing the network. Both machines must
have the same workgroup name but should have different computer names.
The computer names can be anything you want, though Desktop and
Laptop might be simplest.
After you've entered all this information the wizard will show a
summary of the changes it's going to make to your configuration. Make
sure that it's right (especially that the workgroup names are the same
on both machines). The final page of the wizard will give you the
option to create a network setup disk for systems running older
versions of Windows, but you don't need this since you're running XP,
so you can just click Finish.
Now you may need to reboot the systems. Once you do you *should* be
able to see the systems on the network. Double click on My Network
Places and click 'View Workgroup Computers'. This should show you the
machines on your network. If not there's something wrong. There are
a whole host of possibilities, so you should run through some
troubleshooting. Microsoft Supports network troubleshooting guide is
available here: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308007
If you've got the network seeing the machines then you're almost done.
If you're using a router you'll need to configure it for internet
access. Every router is different, so you should read the manual on
how to do this. Usually it involves using a web browser to browse to
the address of the router.
To share files between the machines you'll need to set up shared
folders. This is quite simple. Open My Computer and right click on
the drive or folder you want to share over the network. Select
'Sharing and Security'. If you try to share the entire disk Windows
will warn you that it's safer to share only a specific folder. Wndows
will offer you the option to share the folder using the Network Setup
Wizard or share the folder without running the wizard. If you're
running the network through a router then don't use the wizard,
otherwise go ahead and use it. Using it enables a software firewall
which increases security on your network, but your router is already
set up to handle that job and it just causes problems to have them
both doing it.
Whatever method you use for setting up the sharing you'll eventualy be
asked for a share name. The name you give the share is what you'll
see when you browse the network. Click OK and you're done. That
folder will be shared and accessible across the network via My Network
Places.
Sharing your printer is also pretty easy. Open Printers and Faxes in
the control panel and right-click on the printer you want to share.
Select 'Sharing', then select 'Share this printer' and give it a name.
Click OK and your printer is now shared. To add it to the laptop
just go to the same Printers and Faxes in the the control panel and
click 'Add a printer'. Choose to add a network printer and follow the
instructions. If all has been configured properly it will find the
printer on the desktop and let you install it.
That should pretty much be it. There are pitfalls that you might run
into along the way, but I don't want to go in to any unnecessary
detail about things that may not happen. You're welcome to ask for
clarification if you have trouble. But first you may want to check
out some of these resources to see if they help you:
Windows XP Simple File sharing:
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/filesharing.htm
Setting up XP Internet Connection Sharing:
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp_ics/serverwiz.htm
XP Network trouble shooting:
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/troubleshoot/
Step by step guide to setting up an XP network using wizards:
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,9282,00.asp
Hopefully that'll get you all hooked up. It may seem a bit daunting
but it's not actually all that hard. If you're unsure about it you
might want to find a friend with experience in these things to give
you a hand.
Best of luck with your networking,
Hibiscus |
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