Media center & XP pro

[Guest]

I'm thinking of buying an XP media center edition computer for home and I was
wondering if I could setup a share on that box and map to it from my work
laptop running xp pro sp2. The work latop is in a domain but I was curious
if I could map to a media center share through unc path. My wife and I both
have latops that are in domains and I want to have a central place to dump
data at home. I know xp pro well but limited experience with home or media
ctr editions. thanks.

 

[Chuck]

I'm thinking of buying an XP media center edition computer for home and I was
wondering if I could setup a share on that box and map to it from my work
laptop running xp pro sp2. The work latop is in a domain but I was curious
if I could map to a media center share through unc path. My wife and I both
have latops that are in domains and I want to have a central place to dump
data at home. I know xp pro well but limited experience with home or media
ctr editions. thanks.

Tim,

Windows XP MCE uses the same kernel as XP Pro. To connect to an XP MCE server
from a laptop that's a domain member, you'll have several issues:
# IP Configuration. Do you have DHCP both at home and at work?
# Name resolution. If you want to connect by name (unc path), will the laptop
be setup for the appropriate name resolution?
# Access. Guest authentication will be simplest, if you want the server to be
accessible to any user on your LAN. Otherwise, you'll need a non-Guest account.

These issues are discussed in a bit more detail in my article:
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/have-laptop-will-travel.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/have-laptop-will-travel.html

 

[Guest]

Chuck,

Thanks for the reply. Dhcp is not a problem, if I create a share on the WMC
machine with guest access what would be the easiest way to access it from the
domain based laptops? Can I map by \\ip address\share name? Is there an
easier way? I won't be able to browse to the share if the machines are not
in the same workgroup, right? Thanks for the time.

 

[Chuck]

Chuck,

Thanks for the reply. Dhcp is not a problem, if I create a share on the WMC
machine with guest access what would be the easiest way to access it from the
domain based laptops? Can I map by \\ip address\share name? Is there an
easier way? I won't be able to browse to the share if the machines are not
in the same workgroup, right? Thanks for the time.

Tim,

How the laptop is setup for name resolution will determine if you can use
"\\servername\share". Run "ipconfig /all" and look at Node Type. You should be
able to use "\\ip address\share name" though.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/address-resolution-on-lan.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/address-resolution-on-lan.html

If the computers are not in the same workgroup, you won't see the other computer
in the ROOT of Network Neighborhood. You may see it under "Entire Network...",
IFF the laptop is running the browser service. Some network admins disable the
browser service on client computers, to cut down on the number of browsers on
the LAN.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/04/nt-browser-or-why-cant-i-always-see.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/04/nt-browser-or-why-cant-i-always-see.html