sharing files through LAN

i just set up a wireless connection and i was wonder how i can share my files. right now there are three notebooks (2 wifi, 1 on wire) and a desktop on wire. i want to be able to access all my files among them. what will i need to do?

one more thing, i created a network, which doesn't seem to be working, on one of the notebooks. how can i delete this?

 

update: i can now share files between my two notebooks. the only one left i want to have access to is the server desktop, especially the printer. whenever i try to open it on the workgroup it says that access is denied. "you may not have permission to use this network resource. i already enabled the share function on the folders that i want. also, i'm trying to enable the printer for the notebooks from the desktop but that too doesn't work.

any help would be appreciated.

 

For XP machines, you should disable simple file sharing. Set up identical users on all machines. All users need to have passwords (especially if you have XP Home and XP Pro on the same workgroup). Give your users permissions on everything you want to share (printers, directories, etc). Also, you may have to disable the Windows firewall, which isn't a problem since you have a router.

Once you do that, you should have no problems sharing anything.

 

when you say identical users, you mean identical names? the thing i'm having trouble with is giving permission. the server computer won't give access to the other notebooks. whenever i try to access it from the notebooks (or give permission from the server) it denies the request.

 

Yes, create users on all machines with the same name and same password. Are you using a mix of XP Home and XP Pro and/or XP MCE?

If you haven't, follow my previous suggestions.

 

cant you just set up a workgroup? thats what i did and it works fine

 

You say "server", but do you actually run a server or do you just have one computer you keep files on and have a printer connected to?

@kidA: Even if you set up a workgroup, you can still have these problems if you mix Pro and Home.

 

I have a workgroup and they are times when my laptop says it access deny or server cant no prefrom the task. Laptop is XP MCE and desktop is XP Pro.Sharing files from desktop to laptop, no server involed

 

what i mean by server is the main computer that is connected to the printer, modem, etc.
another problem i have is that they are not all the same kind of windows xp. haven't checked all, but im pretty sure they are not all the same. and uh, my brother's notebook is a Mac.
i'm pretty new at this, so please try to explain things as simple as possible.

 

Ok, here's what everyone needs to try.

1. Make sure all comptuers belong to the same workgroup. Do not use the Windows wizard to set up the workgroup, just right click on the My Computer icon, select Properties, and under the Computer Name tab click the Change... button. Enter the workgroup name in the appropriate box.

2. Create identical users on all machines, with the same passwords. (For example, on computer #1 you create "john" with the password "johnson". On computer #2, you create "john" with the password "johnson".)

3. On every machine you need to disable simple file sharing. Open up Windows Explorer, go to Tools -> Folder Options -> View -> and uncheck Use simple file sharing (Recommended).

4. Turn off the Windows firewall.

5. On non-XP Pro machines, enable the guest account.

6. Set up shares for your files/folders/printers/etc. On XP Pro machines, give access to the Everyone group. On Home/MCE, tick Share this folder on the network and give it a share name.

Make sure to restart each computer after making the changes. Catherine, I have no idea how to join the Mac to the Windows workgroup. If you visit a Mac specific forum, you should get assistance on how to configure the Mac to work with Windows.

 

thanks for the quick and simple reply, will try that when i go home in a few days.

 

Ok let me just get this straight.
I think I will be in a similar boat in a coupel weeks.

I will have my sons Desktop connected wirelessly using Windows XP Home.
My Desktop will be the main PC and connected wired with the router and cable internet router using Windows XP Home or MCE.
My laptop will be connected wirelessly using Windows XP MCE.

I just need to follow the above guide to have all 3 systems be able to share, copy/cut/paste/delete files?
I should be able to have my 3 systems use the 1 printer I have connected to the Main PC to print off of?

Could I be able to make the DVD Burner in my laptop copy the CD/DVD in my DVD -ROM drive in my desktop/Main PC?

Thanks in advance from someone that is totally new to networking.

 

Kilim, that's correct. Regarding the DVD burner: you can share the drive, but I do not know if you can install burner software on other machines and burn/copy from a drive on a different computer. Give it a shot, the worst that will happen is that it won't work.

 

Thanks alot.
I was about to make my own thread about this question until I saw this thread.
Now I just need 1 more question I posted in the Software forums in this site andswered and I am set

 

update

i can now share files between my 2 notebooks
i can access the files from my 2 notebooks with the main desktop (where the router, scanner, printer, etc are connected to)
i can also use the printer from all PCs
however, i can't access the main desktop from my notebooks.
when i try to do it, it still has the same response, access is denied and that i would have to call the server administrator for access.

 

have you checked to make sure the firewall allows sharing within your "trusted zone" for which you'd have to set an ip address range which would be 192.168.2.1-192.168.2.5 or whatever...

 

Usually it's difficult to share files that are located inside of a user's profile, like My Documents and the desktop. That is especially true when the profile is an administrator's. I would move or copy the files to another directory or to another partition/drive and then share out that new directory.