I am trying to network two computers together so that they can share an application. The appliccation has two modes, standalone and Client/Server, which I was told by the helpdesk would allow up to three machines to share the license which was purchased. The problem is I cannot get the two computers to see each other.
Details:
-We have two PCs, one running both running XP (I think SP2).
-I have tried putting both machines on the same workgroup but that did not work.
-I have tried running through the XP Network sharing wizard but that did not work.
-I have run through steps to ensure that each PC has a unique name but that makes no difference.
Both PCs are connected to a D-Link router sharing a DSL connection but no matter what I try, I just cannot get them to see each other.
The first PC is running XP Home and the second may be XP Pro, but I am not certain about the second PC.
I have tried searching on various networking sites and I have lots of steps to try, but nothing seems to work and sometimes when they tell me to look at a screen or dialog box it looks totally different on the PCs here than what they are displaying (even though they say it is for XP).
If anyone can give me any advice or point me in the direction of a guide for networking two PCs together, I would appreciate it.
One of those ten minute jobs that takes two weeks and then just falls into place.
You appear to be doing the right things.
Have you tried World Of Windows Networking? I found this very useful a few years ago.
Have you tried the pen drive part…save the network setup wizard file it generates and execute the same on each machine?
Sniff…do I smell Norton on one of those machines? Check for firewall software. Either one or both could be killing the connection if they have firewalls up.
Use the wizard like you were told, and use the setup disk from that on computer two. Did you actually share any directories yet? You do need to share directories to see them on the other computer. The firewall is often the problem, but the set up wizard routine will take care of the firewall if you use Window’s firewall. Disable the firewall on both computers for a test to see if they see each other. Be sure to turn on the firewalls after the check.
Re-reading my post I realized this part was incorrect.
Both PCs are connected to a D-Link router sharing a DSL connection but no matter what I try, I just cannot get them to connect to each other. When I click on “View Workgroup Computers” I can see the other computer but when I click on it I get an error message which says
“\<computernsme> is not accessible. You might not have permission to use tihs network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions. The network path was not found.”
Don’t know if this is going to make any difference.
drachillix, the other machine (I am sitting in front of one of them right now), may have Norton on it. It was just purchased a few months ago and I think it came with some AV software. I will have to check that out.
As suggested, be sure all firewalls (including Windows), anti-virus and anti-spyware programs are shut down (check you system tray at the bottom).
Have you right clicked on the folders you want to see on the other computer, and done the “Share and security” process on both computers?
Have you lo looked in Win Explorer at the bottom of the tree for the folder titled “My Network Places?” Expand that and see if the folders you have previously “shared” are listed there, on each computer. If so, look for the other computer on one, and you should see the files in the folder/folders you shared.
4.It is not needed, but I was surprised at what a really good program Network Magic is and what a great help it is in making things easier. One of the few such programs I was actually willing to buy and was glad I did.
Oh, yeah, did you name each computer when propted in the Wizard? Such as “desktop” and “laptop (if it is)” or “computer2” or whatever?
This is a banging-head-on-desk process, but if it is any consolation, XP is easier than Win98.
Something askew there then - try plugging the thumbdrive in before you start the network wizard but it should offer a thumbdrive as a default option. Systems with XP I normally get this as first option.
I have a friend with - or had, died recently, a Dell laptop that had two versions of XP on it that absolutely refused to be networked. I actually bought a thumbdrive specifically to network his machines as one had no floppy drive. His daughter’s desktop could see his laptop but the laptop was blind to the network. I put it down to a corrupt XP but he wouldn’t let me reload it as it had too much important data on it (which was why he wanted the network in the first place, to back up his data on a reserve computer.
Assuming you didn’t get solved already, here is one more thing to check.
I’ve had problems with Win XP not recognizing allowing any other boxes to access their shares unless there is a password for the user on the box that is trying to access the shared folder, even if the share is setup for public access and shouldn’t require a password to access it. It seems like setting the folder to allow public access doesn’t mean that no password is required, but rather that no particular password is required.
So if you don’t have passwords setup for the users on one or both boxes, try adding one.