Setting up home network

[Guest]

Why, when I go to configure home network, does it default to setting my main
PC, the one that has a wired connection to the router, as a shared Internet
Connection?

I want all connections via the linksys router but I do not seem to be able
to do so. I am running XP Professional SP2 on all computers and all but the
main PC are wireless.

 

[Malke]

Why, when I go to configure home network, does it default to setting my main
PC, the one that has a wired connection to the router, as a shared Internet
Connection?

I want all connections via the linksys router but I do not seem to be able
to do so. I am running XP Professional SP2 on all computers and all but the
main PC are wireless.

I can't answer your question except to say that you are doing something
wrong. Possibly you are choosing the wrong option when you run the
Network Setup Wizard. Since you have a Linksys router, you connect with
a Residential Gateway. Here are standard networking steps which should
take you through this.

Run the Network Setup Wizard on all computers, making sure to enable
File & Printer Sharing, and reboot. The only "gotcha" is that this will
turn on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you aren't running a third-party
firewall or have an antivirus with "Internet Worm Protection" (like
Norton 2005/06) which acts as a firewall, then you're fine. If you have
third-party firewall software, configure it to allow the Local Area
Network traffic as trusted. I usually do this with my firewalls with an
IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would
substitute your correct subnet.

If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center:

a. If you need Pro's ability to set fine-grained permissions, turn off
Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab) and create identical user
accounts/passwords on all computers.

b. If you don't care about using Pro's advanced features, leave the
Simple File Sharing enabled.

Simple File Sharing means that Guest (network) is enabled. This means
that anyone without a user account on the target system can use its
resources. This is a security hole but only you can decide if it matters
in your situation.

Then create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users'
home directories (My Documents) or Program Files, but you can share
folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the
Shared Documents folder.

If that doesn't work for you, here is an excellent network
troubleshooter by MVP Hans-Georg Michna. Take the time to go through it
and it will usually pinpoint the problem area(s) -
http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm


Malke

 

[Jerry]

Reading material that may help now and in the future: "Home Networking The
Missing Manual" ISBN 0-596-00558-X and/or "Home Networking Annoyances" ISBN
0-596-00808-2

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Why, when I go to configure home network, does it default to setting my main
PC, the one that has a wired connection to the router, as a shared Internet
Connection?

I want all connections via the linksys router but I do not seem to be able
to do so. I am running XP Professional SP2 on all computers and all but the
main PC are wireless.

Open the Network Connections folder on your main PC. Do you see a
connection called "Internet Gateway" or "Internet Connection"? If so,
that connection represents you Linksys router. That connection
doesn't mean that the main PC is set up as a shared Internet
connection.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

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