New to networking

I have 2 desk tops with XP media and a new laptop w/Vista. Can I add my
laptop to this network? It has built in network card.
--
Kathy

Kathy wrote:
> I have 2 desk tops with XP media and a new laptop w/Vista. Can I add my
> laptop to this network? It has built in network card.

Yes. It will work best with a router (wired and/or wireless).

Networking advice from MS-MVP Malke:

>
>> Excellent, thorough, yet easy to understand article about File/Printer Sharing in Vista. Includes details about sharing printers as well as files and folders:
>>
>> http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l.../bb727037.aspx
>>
>> For XP, start by running the Network Setup Wizard on all machines (see caveat in Item A below).
>>
>> Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall or overlooked firewall (including a stateful firewall in a VPN); or 2) inadvertently running two firewalls such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party firewall; and/or 3) not having identical user accounts and passwords on all Workgroup machines; 4) trying to create shares where the operating system does not permit it.
>>
>> A. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network (LAN) traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, this means allowing File/Printer Sharing on the Exceptions tab. Normally running the Network Setup Wizard on XP will take care of this for those machines.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/security program with its own firewall component, then you're fine. With third-party firewalls, I usually configure the LAN allowance with an IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would substitute your correct subnet. Refer to any third party security program's Help or user forums for how to properly configure its firewall. Do not run more than one firewall. DO NOT TURN OFF FIREWALLS; CONFIGURE THEM CORRECTLY.
>>
>> B. For ease of organization, put all computers in the same Workgroup. This is done from the System applet in Control Panel, Computer Name tab.
>>
>> C. In Vista, turn Password Protected Sharing ON. Create matching user accounts and passwords on all machines. You do not need to be logged into the same account on all machines and the passwords assigned to each user account can be different; the accounts/passwords just need to exist and match on all machines. DO NOT NEGLECT TO CREATE PASSWORDS, EVEN IF ONLY SIMPLE ONES. If you wish a machine to boot directly to the Desktop (into one particular user's account) for convenience, you can do this:
>>
>> XP - Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) - http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm
>>
>> Vista - Start Orb>Search box>type: netplwiz [enter]
>> Click on Continue (or supply an administrator's password) when prompted by UAC
>>
>> Uncheck the option "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer". Select a user account to automatically log on by clicking on the desired account to highlight it and then hit OK. Enter the correct password for that user account (if there is one) when prompted. Leave it blank if there is no password (null).
>>
>> D. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center, turn off Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab).
>>
>> E. Create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users' home directories or Program Files, but you can share folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the Shared Documents folder. See the first link above for details about Vista sharing.



--
Lem

Apollo 11 - 40 years ago:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ap...0th/index.html

Hi
In most cases you can add a few computers to a regular peer-to-peer Network.
I can not tell you for sure because you did not describe what network means
in your specific case.
To be part of a network a computer has to be plugged to the same network
switch with wire, or communicate to the Network Wireless device if it is
Wireless capable. Once it is plugged into the Network the Files and Printers
Sharing has to be configured.
Sharing Configuration.
Make sure that the Software Firewall on each computer allows free local
traffic. If you use 3rd party Firewall On, Vista/XP Native Firewall should
be Off, and the active Firewall has to adjusted to your Network IP numbers
on what is some time called the Trusted Zone (consult your 3rd Party
Firewall instructions.
General example, http://www.ezlan.net/faq#trusted
Vista File and Printer Sharing-
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l.../bb727037.aspx
Windows XP File Sharing -
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;304040
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;304040
Printer Sharing XP -
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...utt_july2.mspx
Windows Native Firewall setting for Sharing XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875357
Windows XP patch for Sharing with Vista (Not need for XP-SP3) -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922120
Jack (MVP-Networking).

"Kathy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news41A5F32-2AC4-4440-A8DF-(E-Mail Removed)...
>I have 2 desk tops with XP media and a new laptop w/Vista. Can I add my
> laptop to this network? It has built in network card.
> --
> Kathy

Hi Kathy,

Windows Vista can be added to the network. If you have any questions or
problems getting your laptop added to your network we'll be glad to help.
Just provide us with some details about your network and we'll see what we
can do for you.

--
Eric Cross
Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience)
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

"Kathy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news41A5F32-2AC4-4440-A8DF-(E-Mail Removed)...
> I have 2 desk tops with XP media and a new laptop w/Vista. Can I add my
> laptop to this network? It has built in network card.
> --
> Kathy