I have Windows XP Home SP 3, and I am a neophyte at setting up a home network
(as you will soon discover!)
Wags will tell you that computer networking isn't "rocket science". What the
wags won't tell you is that most rocket scientists have to hire the services
of a network guru to set up a network!
As I do my research, I often come across terminology like this: You can see
other computers on the network, and they can see your computer.
Exactly what does it mean to "see" a computer on a network?
There are some windows which display different aspects of your network. The
following is what I can see in a Windows XP MCE 2005; SP3 system:
"View workgroup computers" (if you have set up workgroups) will display the
computers available in a network workgroup.
"My Network Places" will display configured network resources.
"My Computer" will display any network drives mounted in the local computer;
labeled as higher letters in the local computer drive lettering scheme.
I haven't learned to configure "Lisa" yet, so I can't see shared resources
under Knoppix 5.0 from Windows XP. However, under Knoppix 5.0 (a Linux
"distro"), with the SAMBA server active, I can pull up a window labeled,
'smb:/ - Konqueror', and it displays my Windows Workgroup. When I click on
the workgroup icon, the location changes from, 'smb:/', to,
'smb://workgroup/'. As a side note, Linux, like Unix, uses forward slashes
('/') where Windows uses backslashes ('\'). So, when I click on a computer
in the Knoppix window, say, 'Megumi', I see:
'smb://megumi/'
The same computer, seen from the Windows XP MCE 2005 computer shows:
'\\Megumi\'
So I can "see" a computer with the NetBIOS name of, 'Megumi' from either a
Windows computer (Windows XP MCE 2005; SP3), or a Linux computer (Knoppix
5.0).
In particular, does it mean that other computers on the network can access
(view, change) files on my computer?
That will depend upon the share permissions. From the Knoppix computer, I
can see several resources on the Windows XP MCE computer (smb://Kozue/),
where the resources are labled: 'Anime', 'C$', 'D$', 'G$', 'Pmail', and
'SharedDocs'. However, on Kozue, I have only shared some of the resources.
Kozue will deny access to the files on her C:\ drive ('C$' in the Knoppix
view). I am allowed access to documents in the 'SharedDocs' folder;
location, 'smb://kozue/SharedDocs' in Knoppix.
A second, possibly related question: What is the difference between My
Network Places (on the Start menu) and Network Connections (in Control
Panel)?
"My Network Places" shows configured, shared resources. "Network
Connections" shows the network adapters you have set up.
Thanks for your help. We were all newbies at one time.
You're welcome. But, if I am doing your classwork for you, I hope your
instructor does an online search, and finds this assistance.
This knowledge is easily worth the $75 an hour I could get from a rocket
scientist to set up his network!
