How to "network" 2 PC's

Sorry for being green but, never really had much to do with networking in
over 25 years.
I have tried reading through a couple of home networking primers but, they
immediately raised so many questions, I though I'd better plead for help in
here :-)

A friend has hardware similar to mine, and he has :-
2 PC's connected to a Linksys WAG354G adsl modem/router which also feeds
wireless internet to his two son's laptops.

I've just built him a new system box, (gorgeous though I say it myself -
Antec Sonata III case | Asrock AlivNF6G | Athlon 64 x2 6000 | 2gb Crucial
Ballstix | 2 x 160gb Seagate hd's | DVD ROM & DVD rewriter | 3 1/2" card
reader. XP Home ed. SP3 in it, all up to date and hardware and software
performing very well.

His "old" PC he's moved over to the other side of his office, and he would
like for his wife to be able to work on spreadsheets that are located on his
new "main" PC. ...so I clapped my hands to my face and cried, ..."Where do
I start ?"

Do I have to connect the two PC's with a crossover cable, or because they're
both already connected to that WAG354G router - the answer is "No" ?

Does the "main" PC somehow get a drive letter like H:\ , and that's how his
wife will access those spreadsheet files on that PC ? It must be
aroundabout 20 years since I fiddled with "Assign.exe" and "Subst.exe" and
that sort of stuff. I did dabble with networking at that time but, can't
remember any of it.

....any links to good home networking primers would be much appreciated.

TIA

regards, Richard

On Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:11:20 +0100, RJK wrote:

> Sorry for being green but, never really had much to do with networking
> in over 25 years.
> I have tried reading through a couple of home networking primers but,
> they immediately raised so many questions, I though I'd better plead for
> help in here :-)
>
> A friend has hardware similar to mine, and he has :- 2 PC's connected to
> a Linksys WAG354G adsl modem/router which also feeds wireless internet
> to his two son's laptops.
>
> I've just built him a new system box, (gorgeous though I say it myself -
> Antec Sonata III case | Asrock AlivNF6G | Athlon 64 x2 6000 | 2gb
> Crucial Ballstix | 2 x 160gb Seagate hd's | DVD ROM & DVD rewriter | 3
> 1/2" card reader. XP Home ed. SP3 in it, all up to date and hardware
> and software performing very well.
>
> His "old" PC he's moved over to the other side of his office, and he
> would like for his wife to be able to work on spreadsheets that are
> located on his new "main" PC. ...so I clapped my hands to my face and
> cried, ..."Where do I start ?"
>
> Do I have to connect the two PC's with a crossover cable, or because
> they're both already connected to that WAG354G router - the answer is
> "No" ?
>
> Does the "main" PC somehow get a drive letter like H:\ , and that's how
> his wife will access those spreadsheet files on that PC ? It must be
> aroundabout 20 years since I fiddled with "Assign.exe" and "Subst.exe"
> and that sort of stuff. I did dabble with networking at that time but,
> can't remember any of it.
>
> ...any links to good home networking primers would be much appreciated.
>
> TIA
>
> regards, Richard

This series of articles from MSFT is a good place to start...

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/813936/

--
Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows - Desktop User Experience)

Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the
mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights...
How to ask a question
http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375

If they can lay ethernet cable there, it would be the best option
to connect non-portable desktops -
especially if these are used for serious things.
Then you can make a "private" network between these PCs,
and connect them to internet over wi-fi.

Regards,
--PA


RJK wrote:
> Sorry for being green but, never really had much to do with networking in
> over 25 years.
> I have tried reading through a couple of home networking primers but, they
> immediately raised so many questions, I though I'd better plead for help in
> here :-)
>
> A friend has hardware similar to mine, and he has :-
> 2 PC's connected to a Linksys WAG354G adsl modem/router which also feeds
> wireless internet to his two son's laptops.
>
> I've just built him a new system box, (gorgeous though I say it myself -
> Antec Sonata III case | Asrock AlivNF6G | Athlon 64 x2 6000 | 2gb Crucial
> Ballstix | 2 x 160gb Seagate hd's | DVD ROM & DVD rewriter | 3 1/2" card
> reader. XP Home ed. SP3 in it, all up to date and hardware and software
> performing very well.
>
> His "old" PC he's moved over to the other side of his office, and he would
> like for his wife to be able to work on spreadsheets that are located on his
> new "main" PC. ...so I clapped my hands to my face and cried, ..."Where do
> I start ?"
>
> Do I have to connect the two PC's with a crossover cable, or because they're
> both already connected to that WAG354G router - the answer is "No" ?
>
> Does the "main" PC somehow get a drive letter like H:\ , and that's how his
> wife will access those spreadsheet files on that PC ? It must be
> aroundabout 20 years since I fiddled with "Assign.exe" and "Subst.exe" and
> that sort of stuff. I did dabble with networking at that time but, can't
> remember any of it.
>
> ...any links to good home networking primers would be much appreciated.
>
> TIA
>
> regards, Richard
>
>
>
>

Ahem ...<cough> ...approx. 287 words is REALLY, REALLY good going for me :-)
e.g. it take me three or four hours to reduce a first draft "letter" for
Western Dail Press "Readers Letters" page,
to 500 words or less :-)
....however, point taken.

regards, Richard


"Runtime Error" <bsod@nospam> wrote in message
news:it-(E-Mail Removed)...
> "RJK" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Sorry for being green but, never really had much to do with networking in
>> over 25 years.
>> I have tried reading through a couple of home networking primers but,
>> they immediately raised so many questions, I though I'd better plead for
>> help in here :-)
>>
>> A friend has hardware similar to mine, and he has :-
>> 2 PC's connected to a Linksys WAG354G adsl modem/router which also feeds
>> wireless internet to his two son's laptops.
>>
>> I've just built him a new system box, (gorgeous though I say it myself -
>> Antec Sonata III case | Asrock AlivNF6G | Athlon 64 x2 6000 | 2gb Crucial
>> Ballstix | 2 x 160gb Seagate hd's | DVD ROM & DVD rewriter | 3 1/2" card
>> reader. XP Home ed. SP3 in it, all up to date and hardware and software
>> performing very well.
>>
>> His "old" PC he's moved over to the other side of his office, and he
>> would like for his wife to be able to work on spreadsheets that are
>> located on his new "main" PC. ...so I clapped my hands to my face and
>> cried, ..."Where do I start ?"
>>
>> Do I have to connect the two PC's with a crossover cable, or because
>> they're both already connected to that WAG354G router - the answer is
>> "No" ?
>>
>> Does the "main" PC somehow get a drive letter like H:\ , and that's how
>> his wife will access those spreadsheet files on that PC ? It must be
>> aroundabout 20 years since I fiddled with "Assign.exe" and "Subst.exe"
>> and that sort of stuff. I did dabble with networking at that time but,
>> can't remember any of it.
>>
>> ...any links to good home networking primers would be much appreciated.
>>
>> TIA
>>
>> regards, Richard
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
> Dickie, next time: Clarity, Brevity, Conciseness.....
>

many thanks, ...I've already perused those, and
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/813936/ is in my IE7 Favourites\Networking
directory awaiting a more thorough read.

regards, Richard


"Sooner Al [MVP]" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> On Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:11:20 +0100, RJK wrote:
>
>> Sorry for being green but, never really had much to do with networking
>> in over 25 years.

Thanks for your response, there is already an rj45 cable from the Linksys
WAG354G, (located right beside the "main" PC), which goes around the office
to the "2nd" PC.

So the WAG354G has a 1.5 metre rj45 to the main PC, and a longer one off to
the 2nd PC.
In other words that modem/router is just feeding internet into 2 PC's. (and
via wifi - to two laptops)
(2nd older PC's motherboard had no LAN port, so its' rj45 plug goes into a
PCI LAN card.)

Having glanced through some web tutorials and primers, I just ended up more
confused, as to how to connect things up, and am wondering if I'll need a
"switch" so that the router feeds internet into that, and then there'll be
enough rj45 plug holes to go from the switch to both PC's ?

regards, Richard


"Pavel A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> If they can lay ethernet cable there, it would be the best option
> to connect non-portable desktops -
> especially if these are used for serious things.
> Then you can make a "private" network between these PCs,
> and connect them to internet over wi-fi.
>
> Regards,
> --PA
>
>
> RJK wrote:
>> Sorry for being green but, never really had much to do with networking in
>> over 25 years.
>> I have tried reading through a couple of home networking primers but,
>> they immediately raised so many questions, I though I'd better plead for
>> help in here :-)
>>
>> A friend has hardware similar to mine, and he has :-
>> 2 PC's connected to a Linksys WAG354G adsl modem/router which also feeds
>> wireless internet to his two son's laptops.
>>
>> I've just built him a new system box, (gorgeous though I say it myself -
>> Antec Sonata III case | Asrock AlivNF6G | Athlon 64 x2 6000 | 2gb Crucial
>> Ballstix | 2 x 160gb Seagate hd's | DVD ROM & DVD rewriter | 3 1/2" card
>> reader. XP Home ed. SP3 in it, all up to date and hardware and software
>> performing very well.
>>
>> His "old" PC he's moved over to the other side of his office, and he
>> would like for his wife to be able to work on spreadsheets that are
>> located on his new "main" PC. ...so I clapped my hands to my face and
>> cried, ..."Where do I start ?"
>>
>> Do I have to connect the two PC's with a crossover cable, or because
>> they're both already connected to that WAG354G router - the answer is
>> "No" ?
>>
>> Does the "main" PC somehow get a drive letter like H:\ , and that's how
>> his wife will access those spreadsheet files on that PC ? It must be
>> aroundabout 20 years since I fiddled with "Assign.exe" and "Subst.exe"
>> and that sort of stuff. I did dabble with networking at that time but,
>> can't remember any of it.
>>
>> ...any links to good home networking primers would be much appreciated.
>>
>> TIA
>>
>> regards, Richard
>>
>>
>>

RJK wrote:
> Thanks for your response, there is already an rj45 cable from the Linksys
> WAG354G, (located right beside the "main" PC), which goes around the office
> to the "2nd" PC.
>
> So the WAG354G has a 1.5 metre rj45 to the main PC, and a longer one off to
> the 2nd PC.
> In other words that modem/router is just feeding internet into 2 PC's. (and
> via wifi - to two laptops)
> (2nd older PC's motherboard had no LAN port, so its' rj45 plug goes into a
> PCI LAN card.)
>
> Having glanced through some web tutorials and primers, I just ended up more
> confused, as to how to connect things up, and am wondering if I'll need a
> "switch" so that the router feeds internet into that, and then there'll be
> enough rj45 plug holes to go from the switch to both PC's ?
>
> regards, Richard

Then maybe find someone else to setup the network.
This indeed is not so simple, and cost of doing it wrong may be too high.

Regards,
--PA

> "Pavel A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> If they can lay ethernet cable there, it would be the best option
>> to connect non-portable desktops -
>> especially if these are used for serious things.
>> Then you can make a "private" network between these PCs,
>> and connect them to internet over wi-fi.
>>
>> Regards,
>> --PA
>>
>>
>> RJK wrote:
>>> Sorry for being green but, never really had much to do with networking in
>>> over 25 years.
>>> I have tried reading through a couple of home networking primers but,
>>> they immediately raised so many questions, I though I'd better plead for
>>> help in here :-)
>>>
>>> A friend has hardware similar to mine, and he has :-
>>> 2 PC's connected to a Linksys WAG354G adsl modem/router which also feeds
>>> wireless internet to his two son's laptops.
>>>
>>> I've just built him a new system box, (gorgeous though I say it myself -
>>> Antec Sonata III case | Asrock AlivNF6G | Athlon 64 x2 6000 | 2gb Crucial
>>> Ballstix | 2 x 160gb Seagate hd's | DVD ROM & DVD rewriter | 3 1/2" card
>>> reader. XP Home ed. SP3 in it, all up to date and hardware and software
>>> performing very well.
>>>
>>> His "old" PC he's moved over to the other side of his office, and he
>>> would like for his wife to be able to work on spreadsheets that are
>>> located on his new "main" PC. ...so I clapped my hands to my face and
>>> cried, ..."Where do I start ?"
>>>
>>> Do I have to connect the two PC's with a crossover cable, or because
>>> they're both already connected to that WAG354G router - the answer is
>>> "No" ?
>>>
>>> Does the "main" PC somehow get a drive letter like H:\ , and that's how
>>> his wife will access those spreadsheet files on that PC ? It must be
>>> aroundabout 20 years since I fiddled with "Assign.exe" and "Subst.exe"
>>> and that sort of stuff. I did dabble with networking at that time but,
>>> can't remember any of it.
>>>
>>> ...any links to good home networking primers would be much appreciated.
>>>
>>> TIA
>>>
>>> regards, Richard
>>>
>>>
>>>
>

Put it this way then

Can a Linksys WAG354G adsl modem/router supply internet to two PC's, AND
network two PC's at the same time ?
....and will one PC need two NIC's ?

regards, Richard


"RJK" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Sorry for being green but, never really had much to do with networking in
> over 25 years.
> I have tried reading through a couple of home networking primers but, they
> immediately raised so many questions, I though I'd better plead for help
> in here :-)
>
> A friend has hardware similar to mine, and he has :-
> 2 PC's connected to a Linksys WAG354G adsl modem/router which also feeds
> wireless internet to his two son's laptops.
>
> I've just built him a new system box, (gorgeous though I say it myself -
> Antec Sonata III case | Asrock AlivNF6G | Athlon 64 x2 6000 | 2gb Crucial
> Ballstix | 2 x 160gb Seagate hd's | DVD ROM & DVD rewriter | 3 1/2" card
> reader. XP Home ed. SP3 in it, all up to date and hardware and software
> performing very well.
>
> His "old" PC he's moved over to the other side of his office, and he would
> like for his wife to be able to work on spreadsheets that are located on
> his new "main" PC. ...so I clapped my hands to my face and cried,
> ..."Where do I start ?"
>
> Do I have to connect the two PC's with a crossover cable, or because
> they're both already connected to that WAG354G router - the answer is "No"
> ?
>
> Does the "main" PC somehow get a drive letter like H:\ , and that's how
> his wife will access those spreadsheet files on that PC ? It must be
> aroundabout 20 years since I fiddled with "Assign.exe" and "Subst.exe" and
> that sort of stuff. I did dabble with networking at that time but, can't
> remember any of it.
>
> ...any links to good home networking primers would be much appreciated.
>
> TIA
>
> regards, Richard
>
>
>
>