Router vs. Hub

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G

Guest

Hi

I have two computers at home which are connected via a router for a common internet connection. Can I use this router as a hub so that I can share a printer and access the hard drives? The main computer which was established as the internet connection is running windows ME and the secondary computer is running XP. Before trying to setup the software for a network I want to make sure I have the adequate hardware. Each computer has an ethernet card. Do I need to upgrade my windows ME software to XP? Is it recommeneded. Advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks

EZ
 
Hi,

I have two computers at home which are connected via a router for a common internet connection. Can I use this router as a hub so that I can share a printer and access the hard drives? The main computer which was established as the internet connection is running windows ME and the secondary computer is running XP. Before trying to setup the software for a network I want to make sure I have the adequate hardware. Each computer has an ethernet card. Do I need to upgrade my windows ME software to XP? Is it recommeneded. Advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,

EZ
Click to expand...

EZ,

The router will work fine as a hub, and allow you to share files / printers.
Ensure that you have a common networking protocol on all computers - NetBIOS
Over TCP/IP (NBT) is recommended. With a common protocol, you can share between
Win9x/ME and WinNT/2K/XP with no problems.

Here are a couple websites with useful tutorials:
http://www.cablesense.com/
http://www.homenethelp.com/

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
 
EZ said:
Hi,

I have two computers at home which are connected via a router for a common internet connection. Can I use this router as a hub so that I can share a printer and access the hard drives? The main computer which was established as the internet connection is running windows ME and the secondary computer is running XP. Before trying to setup the software for a network I want to make sure I have the adequate hardware. Each computer has an ethernet card. Do I need to upgrade my windows ME software to XP? Is it recommeneded. Advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,

EZ
Click to expand...

Most SOHO routers incorporate a switch, which is better than a hub.
Since you are using your router to connect 2 PCs to the 'net, your
router does include a switch. So, you have all the hardware you
need to create a LAN (Local Area Network) and to share files and
printers.

No, you don't need to upgrade from ME to XP to create a LAN. All
flavors of WinWhatever, starting with W3.11, have had network software
built-in. You may want to upgrade to XP due to its better stability,
but don't do it for networking, since ME is good enough.
 
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