Sharing Files &/or Printers over Multiple Workgroups

[Kevin.Gilnack]

I manage an office with multiple organizations on one Workgroup that
all share one printer.

Two of our organizations share files off a computer that acts as a
"server" for our shared documents. Most of the computers, including
the "server" are operating on Windows XP Home Edition, and since we
took on more staff, those of us using those shared documents find
that
at least one of us will get an error saying "No more connections can
be made to this remote computer at this time because there are already
as many connections as the computer can accept. "


Will putting the two organizations sharing the files on a separate
workgroup help alleviate this (do the computers that do NOT access
files on the "server," but that are on the workgroup count as
connections to the "server?"


If separating workgroups will help, will we still be able to share a
printer?


Finally, does an upgrade from XP Home to XP Professional require a
reformat; if I need to upgrade the "server" computer, can I do so
without losing all of our files?


Thanks so much for your help!
Kevin.

 

[Malke]

I manage an office with multiple organizations on one Workgroup that
all share one printer.

Two of our organizations share files off a computer that acts as a
"server" for our shared documents. Most of the computers, including
the "server" are operating on Windows XP Home Edition, and since we
took on more staff, those of us using those shared documents find
that
at least one of us will get an error saying "No more connections can
be made to this remote computer at this time because there are already
as many connections as the computer can accept. "


Will putting the two organizations sharing the files on a separate
workgroup help alleviate this (do the computers that do NOT access
files on the "server," but that are on the workgroup count as
connections to the "server?"


If separating workgroups will help, will we still be able to share a
printer?


Finally, does an upgrade from XP Home to XP Professional require a
reformat; if I need to upgrade the "server" computer, can I do so
without losing all of our files?

Having differently named Workgroups will not help. Workgroups are merely
a cosmetic/organizational device. They provide no security or networking
abilities. Computers in different Workgroups can share files/printers.

You are having difficulties because you are exceeding the number of
concurrent inbound connections that can be made. Please note that
"connections" does not mean "computers" and one computer can make more
than one connection to another machine.

It is time to replace your pseudo-server with a real server running a
real server operating system. MS Small Business Server is good for
smaller organizations. The alternative is to install Linux on the
pseudo-server if you are only using it as a file/backup server and don't
need to run Windows machines on it.

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=314882 - Inbound connections limit in XP

concurrent connections:

5 for XP Home
10 for XP Pro/Tablet/MCE
49 for SBS 2000
74 for SBS 2003
Unlimited for full Server O/Ses

To answer your last question, an upgrade from XP Home to XP Pro usually
goes very smoothly. However, it would be extremely foolish to neglect to
back up your files first.

Based on the questions you asked in your post, I would suggest that you
have a reputable local computer professional come on-site to do an
analysis of your business needs and to give you an idea of what the cost
would be. I do not mean to offend you in any way, but my clients are
small businesses and home users and trust me when I tell you that if you
spend the time and money on the right equipment and setup you will save
time and money in the end. This little article I wrote about the most
common mistakes made by small businesses may be helpful to you. I wrote
it in 2006 so I would change the antivirus information to "current
version (not earlier than 2006)" now but the rest of it is still applicable.

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page3.html#4-28-06


Malke