Printer Sharing XP Home w/ SP2

[Guest]

I have 3 computers in a small office that I am attempting to finish

networking together. All three are connected to a small hub that allows them
to access the same DSL connection. I have assigned each computer a static IP
address(192.168.254.1 and up), also assigned each computer to the same workgroup. Here is where I get hung up. Each computer has a user account for the other two users. I did not set up the users, so am I to assume that each computer can see the other two, and therefore created a user account? If you look at each of the user accounts at the login screen, it shows the correct information as far as how many programs are running, unopened emails, etc. Looks to me that they can communicate with each other. However, I have a local printer that is hooked to machine 2, machine 1 needs to access it. I have enabled sharing, and assigned a name, but when you try to install it as a network printer, you cannot see any of the computers on the network. Nor can you see the workgroup in Network Neighborhood. Thanks in advance for any help, I am getting very frustrated!

Bree

 

[Chuck]

Bree

Bree,

Are the computers running XP Home or Pro? SP2, or pre-SP2?

Please first provide ipconfig information for each computer.
Start - Run - "cmd". Type "ipconfig /all >c:\ipconfig.txt" into the command
window - Open c:\ipconfig.txt in Notepad, make sure that Format - Word Wrap is
NOT checked!, copy and paste entire contents into your next post.

The Microsoft Browstat program will show us what browsers (I'm not talking about
Internet Explorer here) you have in your domain / workgroup, at any time. The
browser is the subsystem that lets you "see" each computer from the others.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305

You can download Browstat from either:
<http://www.dynawell.com/reskit/microsoft/win2000/browstat.zip>
<http://rescomp.stanford.edu/staff/manual/rcc/tools/browstat.zip>

Browstat is very small (40K), and needs no install. Just unzip the downloaded
file, copy browstat.exe to any folder in the Path, and run it from a command
window, by "browstat status". Make sure all computers give the same result.

For more information about the browser subsystem (very intricate), see:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188001
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305
<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winntas/deploy/prodspecs/ntbrowse.mspx>

Please provide browstat information for each computer.
Start - Run - "cmd". Type "browstat status >c:\browstat.txt" into the command
window - Open c:\browstat.txt in Notepad, make sure that Format - Word Wrap is
NOT checked!, copy and paste into your next post. Identify each computer by
name and operating system.

 

[Nepatsfan]

If this is your business, save yourself a lot of time and
aggravation and buy a router and ditch the hub. A good wired
network router from Linksys or Netgear costs less than $50. If
it's not your business, tell the boss that this setup is
inefficient and not very secure.

If there's a hub in place that's providing shared internet access
(even though I don't know how that's possible) then you probably
want to check the settings in Windows Firewall. Go to Start ->
Control Panel -> Windows Firewall. On the Exceptions page, see if
the box next to File and Printer Sharing is checked. If there are
any third party firewall or internet security programs running on
these machines then they are going to have to be configured
appropriately. Do this for each machine.

I did a little research and from what I could gather, if the
person setting up the network uses the Network Connection wizard
and chooses "This computer connects directly to the Internet or
through a hub" then Windows automatically turns off File and
Printer sharing in the Firewall, and with good reason. If you
have File and Printer sharing enabled on a computer with a direct
connection to the internet then your files are not very secure.

If you were to substitute a router for the hub and follow the
manufacturer's instructions on how to set up your network I think
you'd be well on your way to getting this problem solved.

Nepatsfan