Networking XP Pro and XP Home

[Guest]

I have a network setup using three computers, one with Win98, one with XP
Home, and one with XP Pro. I have some directories mapped for backing up and
printer and file sharing. I have TCP/IP and NETBEUI protocols installed on
all three machines and do not use a software firewall. The computers are
networked together using a linksys router to enable utilizing a Road Runner
Internet connection. The shared files are stored on the XP Home computer.
When I start up in the morning, the XP Home machine sees the Win 98 machine
OK, but shows the drives to the XP Pro machines as disconnected. The Win98
machine sees the XP Home machine OK. I have to manually click on the mapped
drives in order for them to connect, then they seem to be OK. I still have
to go to the XP Pro machine and try to connect to a file and wait a
considerable time for it to be able to access the Home machine. Even once
it's connected the speed of loading Word and Excel files is slower than with
the Win 98 machine. The whole problem seems to be a compatibility issue of
XP Home to XP Pro since the Win98 machine never seems to have any problem.
All theree machines are Gaeway, and of course, they don't have a clue. If
anyone has any ideas, I would sure appreciate some input.

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

I have a network setup using three computers, one with Win98, one with XP
Home, and one with XP Pro. I have some directories mapped for backing up and
printer and file sharing. I have TCP/IP and NETBEUI protocols installed on
all three machines and do not use a software firewall. The computers are
networked together using a linksys router to enable utilizing a Road Runner
Internet connection. The shared files are stored on the XP Home computer.
When I start up in the morning, the XP Home machine sees the Win 98 machine
OK, but shows the drives to the XP Pro machines as disconnected. The Win98
machine sees the XP Home machine OK. I have to manually click on the mapped
drives in order for them to connect, then they seem to be OK. I still have
to go to the XP Pro machine and try to connect to a file and wait a
considerable time for it to be able to access the Home machine. Even once
it's connected the speed of loading Word and Excel files is slower than with
the Win 98 machine. The whole problem seems to be a compatibility issue of
XP Home to XP Pro since the Win98 machine never seems to have any problem.
All theree machines are Gaeway, and of course, they don't have a clue. If
anyone has any ideas, I would sure appreciate some input.

Dick, there's no inherent compatibility issue between XP Home and XP
Pro. All versions of Windows can network with each other.

Using more than one protocol can make a Windows network slow and
unreliable, especially when XP is involved. Remove NetBEUI from all
computers. NetBEUI serves no useful purpose on your network. TCP/IP,
by itself, is sufficient for all networking functions.

It's OK to use TCP/IP for file sharing, because your Linksys router
acts as a firewall and blocks access by other people on the Internet.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

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