XP wrote:
> Well, I recently got a laptop. I have had a wireless router for about
> a year now so when I got the laptop I set up the connection.
> Everything works fine with the internet, but I'm a bit confused on
> what I have to do to get file and printer sharing. It's an inconvience
> having to put files on my USB drive and move over to my desktop just
> to print. So could anyone tell me which network setup option I have to
> go to, to set up file and printer sharing for a wireless network? I
> have tried a few different ones but I don't know if they're meant for
> wireless and when it seems like I find the right one, it never works.
>
The fact that you have a wireless connection is irrelevant. You need to
set up your local area network.
Run the Network Setup Wizard on both 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:
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.
Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"