I see many posts related to Vista problems and XP (Pro) but have not
seen anytrhing related to 2000.
Is it possible to make this two OSs talk via network without having to
buy some third-party software? Both 2000 PCs neetwork fine. Only the
Vista has issues seeing the 2000 PCs. Also 2000 PCs can not see the Vista.
(snippage)
Your network is fine since everything is on the same subnet
(192.168.1.xxx). It is completely possible to network Win2k and Vista.
The trick is to make sure you've correctly configured any firewalls (see
Item A below) and to create matching user accounts/passwords on all
machines (Item C). Here is my usual networking boilerplate. You can't
run a network configuration wizard on Win2k but you don't need to. The
firewall and user configuration is enough to do it. Manually set
file/printer sharing and share out whatever resources you want. If you
run into trouble, Hans-Georg's small network troubleshooter will work
for Win2k, also.
*****
Here are general network troubleshooting steps. Not everything may be
applicable to your situation, so just take the bits that are. It may
look daunting, but if you follow the steps at the links and suggestions
below systematically and calmly, you will have no difficulty in setting
up your sharing.
Excellent, thorough, yet easy to understand article about File/Printer
Sharing in Vista. Includes details about sharing printers as well as
files and folders:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727037.aspx
Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally
caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall; or 2) inadvertently running two
firewalls such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party
firewall; and/or 3) not having identical user accounts and passwords on
all Workgroup machines; 4) trying to create shares where the operating
system does not permit it.
For XP and Windows 2003 Server, MVP Hans-Georg Michna has an excellent
small network troubleshooter. It may also be useful with Vista.
http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm
Here are some general networking tips for home/small networks:
A. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network
(LAN) traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, this means allowing
File/Printer Sharing on the Exceptions tab. Normally running the Network
Setup Wizard on XP will take care of this for those machines.The only
"gotcha" is that this will turn on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you
aren't running a third-party firewall or have an antivirus with
"Internet Worm Protection" (like Norton 2006/07) which acts as a
firewall, then you're fine. With third-party firewalls, I usually
configure the LAN allowance with an IP range. Ex. would be
192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would substitute your correct
subnet. Do not run more than one firewall.
B. For ease or organization, put all computers in the same Workgroup.
This is done from the System applet in Control Panel, Computer Name tab.
C. Create matching user accounts and passwords on all machines. You do
not need to be logged into the same account on all machines and the
passwords assigned to each user account can be different; the
accounts/passwords just need to exist and match on all machines. If you
wish a machine to boot directly to the Desktop (into one particular
user's account) for convenience, you can do this. The instructions at
this link work for both XP and Vista:
Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) -
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm
D. Create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users'
home directories (My Documents) or Program Files, but you can share
folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the
Shared Documents folder. See the first link above for details about
Vista sharing.
E. After you have file sharing working (and have tested this by
exchanging a file between all machines), if you want to share a printer
connected locally to one of your computers, share it out from that
machine. Then go to the printer mftr.'s website and download the latest
drivers for the correct operating system(s). Install them on the target
machine(s). The printer should be seen during the installation routine.
If it is not, install the drivers and then use the Add Printer Wizard.
*****
Malke
