2 machines on 1 network?

[Spyrus]

I say skip the wizard for right now, if you right click on My Computer and you get the properties then click on the Computer name tab what does it say as far as the Workgroup there? Also please make sure that the computer names are not the same other wise you will have name conflicts and nothing will work properly.

Once this is done, I am assuming you are using a router to connect the computers and using dhcp if not do this go to start run type in cmd hit enter
then type in ipconfig make sure that the subnet masks are the same on every computer and that the ip ranges are close as in 192.168.1.XXX or whatever range it uses.

Now I have never been a big fan of network neighborhood. so for example lets choose a folder on your desktop called share right click that folder and choose Sharing and Security.
in the middle there should be a tab that says Share this folder on the network. check that and the box below it that states Allow Network users to change my files. If you want to set security which we all recommend there should be a security spot unless your on windows xp home edition then you have to boot into safe mode to do it.

now to access this folder from another computer you would go to start run and type this

\\IP.Address.here\share <-- This will take you directly to that folder

\\IP.Address.here\ <-- will take you to the computer and show you all nonhidden shares

I know this all seems basic but i tend to forget the basics when I get excited


Edit: PS: When you setup sharing you wil know if both computers are setup for sharing or not. if not there should be a spot there that says enable file sharing on this computer click that and then follow the instructions

[jinxy]

Start from the begining. Delete all connections and remove from the router. Re-boot both the desktop and laptop.
Re connect laptop to router re establish a connection to the router and make sure all is working correctly check the settings in the router using your browser.
When this is all ok reconnect the desk top get that sorted when both are working ok, pen my computer click tools>> map network drive and follow the instructions you will nead to do this for both.

[scriptkiddie18]

god u know what...screw it for now lol, i got hw to do i might do it tomorow or whenever...i know its all fine, but the thing is my desktop has good connection to my laptop, i can access it and everything but my laptop cant access my desktop i dunno why...same gateway and subnet mask and ip is very close (.103 and .106) but i just cant access it.....

[Faqt]

What are the current (not working) settings on both computers (go to Local network connections, right click>properties>Internet Protocol TCP/IP>Properties)

just out of curiosity, have you tried setting it up as modem>router>LAN (network of desktop and laptop) so that both computers are on same network/subnet?


<edit>sorry...I gotta start posting my replies quicker so somebody else hasn't already posted the same thing by the time I hit submit.

One last thing to check....how about the permissions on the shared folders, does the laptop have permission to access the shared folders?</edit>

[scriptkiddie18]

how do i check those permissions?

btw...do all my connections have to be bridged or not?

[annihilator_god]

I've had problems like this before... what i found is that the network places didn't refesh automatically. In fact, i'll open it right now and see what's showing... lol... it say's my laptop's sharing a music and a c++ folder (which i think i accessed about 2 weeks ago). It's giving me the "no access" message you are talking about. Of course you can't get access stupid machine... the laptop is sitting in it's carrying bag!

Anywho... here's what i always do, i just open up my network places and in the address line i enter \\laptop and that gets me to the viewable shared files on my laptop (which is named "laptop").

That's probably the problem, your network places has not refreshed... and i don't know enough about it to say when it might refresh (right clicking and selecting "refresh" from the menu doesn't help). If you just stick to using \\-computer- in the address field you'll get to the files on your computer.

BTW: you said your computers' were currently in seperate workgroups... i'm guessing that at one time they were both part of the same workgroup.

Also... don't use the network wizard, just set the workgroup and computer names manually like spyrus said earlier.

Hope this helps you.

[Lansing_Banda]

I had a problem like this, you can't see the computer's shares, but if you know them, you can access them.

If this doesn't work in explorer

\\&lt;computer name&gt;\

Then try this

\\&lt;computer name&gt;\share\

If that doesn't work, go to does and type in

net view &lt;computer name&gt;

If you get a system error, then your permissions are set too low or you don't have your ip/subnet set correctly. Tell me your hardware and operating systems if none of this works.

<afterthought>
Make sure that you are logged in as a user with admin rights otherwise you might not be able to access the other computer or run certain commands!

[Tedob1]

if one is fat32 and the other is ntfs the fat32 will not be able to see the ntfs files

[cheyenne1212]

true true tedob.

Also, SK I would not use bridging. Just leave your 1394 and LAN connection separate. S

1394 is for firewire devices.

[Faqt]

to check permissions on a folder, log in as administrator, right click on folder you want to view permisions for, click properties, select the security tab. (note -this only works if drive is formatted NTFS, and only on XP Perfessional not XP Home)

A couple other things to check, are the folders marked as read only? Are the folders hidden folders? If you place both computers into same workgroup does anything change? Can you use the ping command to reach each computer from the other?