workgroup tutorial from scratch

[Guest]

i got thrown into a network that was a total mess.
it was only a 6 computer win2000 pro network (workgroup? domain? i dont
know) that got about 200 worms/viruses/bad things a day. all the hardware
was junk (pII, 64mb ram, 10yrs old, etc) so i got to buy/build 3 new machines
(its what i'm good at). the original router/hub disaster is still here as is
the network wiring. it seems like a t1 line comes into a 1 port router and
then goes to this 24 port switch/hub thing from the late 80s. each computer
has an IP assigned to it. 2 comps are in pieces waiting to be rebuilt this
week. 1 is a win2000 pro that just needs internet. the other 3 (all new xp
sp2 now) are part of the existing workgroup. i shared a folder on my
computer(right click, share this folder, simple file sharing...) so everyone
here could use/change work things in it. the 2 printers are also on my
computer and shared. everyone here is stupid and changes/deletes/opens
whatever all the time so things were nice for about a week. now our ip
addresses are getting shut off by the isp because my shared folder is now
viewable online, printers de-network here and there, worms are invading, and
my shared folder is shared about 50% of the time when it wants to. none of
the computers usualy see each other and when they do they deny access to each
other. dont get me wrong, i do kind of have a clue with what i'm doing and
we do have norton 05 as well as xpsp2 firewalls, but people turn them off
because they say it slows things down and then they open all this email from
their friends. i cant monitor/clean/fix all this as i am here for only 4 hrs
a day doing other work things. this admin stuff isnt my main job here. i
just want to start from scratch.
soooo....
i need a tutorial on making a 5 computer workgroup with the following:
1. all computers can see each other to the point of me being able to look
at/chage everything on each computer no matter what computer i am on.
roaming profiles?
2. all can print to shared printers
3. all can read and change shared files on each other. each computer will
have a shared folder on it.
4. the shared folders can not be accessed from the interent (as is the
problem now)
5 it would be nice if this tutorial was as basic as possible. ex: install
windows xp sp2, enter users names 1, 2, 3,... login is as ?, install
drivers, go to start, network, etc...

sorry if this has been asked/posted before. i'm also very sorry for the
long answer i might get, as i know this is what network admins get paid to
do. i might get about 1 hour a day if im lucky to maintain this network here
so i dont get a lot of time to search/learn. i've only taken
hardware/science classes in college.

for naming, i'd like a theme, like the workgroup name is "solarsystem" and
each computer is a planet name. i dont think we will ever need more than 10
comps here. each user (5 of them) can be called A, B, C, D, and E. either
that or whatever is easiest.

thanks for any help.
k1

 

[GTS]

Is this for a small business? It seriously sounds like they need to bring
in a professional to get these computers cleaned up and the network
configured properly. Use policies also need to be set up, explained to
staff and enforced.

These two links point to some basic tutorials and information about Windows
networks.
http://www.ezlan.net/
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/
--

 

[Hans-Georg Michna]

k1,

you can find links to tutorials on http://winhlp.com/ .

Hans-Georg

 

[Tony]

i got thrown into a network that was a total mess.
it was only a 6 computer win2000 pro network (workgroup? domain? i dont
know) that got about 200 worms/viruses/bad things a day. all the hardware
was junk (pII, 64mb ram, 10yrs old, etc) so i got to buy/build 3 new
machines
(its what i'm good at). the original router/hub disaster is still here as
is
the network wiring. it seems like a t1 line comes into a 1 port router
and
then goes to this 24 port switch/hub thing from the late 80s. each
computer
has an IP assigned to it. 2 comps are in pieces waiting to be rebuilt
this
week. 1 is a win2000 pro that just needs internet. the other 3 (all new
xp
sp2 now) are part of the existing workgroup. i shared a folder on my
computer(right click, share this folder, simple file sharing...) so
everyone
here could use/change work things in it. the 2 printers are also on my
computer and shared. everyone here is stupid and changes/deletes/opens
whatever all the time so things were nice for about a week. now our ip
addresses are getting shut off by the isp because my shared folder is now
viewable online, printers de-network here and there, worms are invading,
and
my shared folder is shared about 50% of the time when it wants to. none
of
the computers usualy see each other and when they do they deny access to
each
other. dont get me wrong, i do kind of have a clue with what i'm doing
and
we do have norton 05 as well as xpsp2 firewalls, but people turn them off
because they say it slows things down and then they open all this email
from
their friends. i cant monitor/clean/fix all this as i am here for only 4
hrs
a day doing other work things. this admin stuff isnt my main job here. i
just want to start from scratch.
soooo....
i need a tutorial on making a 5 computer workgroup with the following:
1. all computers can see each other to the point of me being able to look
at/chage everything on each computer no matter what computer i am on.
roaming profiles?
2. all can print to shared printers
3. all can read and change shared files on each other. each computer will
have a shared folder on it.
4. the shared folders can not be accessed from the interent (as is the
problem now)
5 it would be nice if this tutorial was as basic as possible. ex:
install
windows xp sp2, enter users names 1, 2, 3,... login is as ?, install
drivers, go to start, network, etc...

sorry if this has been asked/posted before. i'm also very sorry for the
long answer i might get, as i know this is what network admins get paid to
do. i might get about 1 hour a day if im lucky to maintain this network
here
so i dont get a lot of time to search/learn. i've only taken
hardware/science classes in college.

for naming, i'd like a theme, like the workgroup name is "solarsystem" and
each computer is a planet name. i dont think we will ever need more than
10
comps here. each user (5 of them) can be called A, B, C, D, and E.
either
that or whatever is easiest.

thanks for any help.
k1

Sounds like the router doesn't have a built in firewall. First thing I
would do is install a hardware firewall. Use one of the old pcs and install
something like Smoothwall from http://www.smoothwall.org/ and put between
the router and network hub. It will also allow you to monitor and block
IP's as well as provide a proxy which might speed up internet access if the
same sites are used regularly.

To get this network running properly, you will have to do some research and
studying. One hour a day will not be enough to get it up and running.

You should also ensure that none of the users have administrator privileges.
Change them to limited access instead of administrator. This will prevent
them from installing programs and help stop viruses and worms from getting
installed.

Finally, it is not wise to store work files on individual PC's. By the
sounds of it, it won't be long before one or more is totally disabled by a
virus or trojan. I also assume that you don't do back ups of individual
PC's. It would be a good idea to set up a server where documents are
shared. http://www.clarkconnect.com/developer/overview/ is a free and
relatively easy to set up one. Also being Linux based, will have less
chance of getting infected by a virus.