my network wont share files its running on xp home (main) and xp pro (slave) i have tryed to set it up different its on a cheap router share the net (cable) would it help i ran the network through i switch instead of the router
A router generally is just a special switch....So would a basic switch help? no.. Dont have any firewalls running do you? Escecially the one built into XP.... Also not sure if its just an error, but do you have the XP Pro (slave) connected to the XP Home (main) box or are both connected to the router itself...
Not much description but some basic things to check are: Do you have matching account names/passwords on both machines? Do both machines get internet access? Have you actually shared any folders out? Do both systemrs have ips on the same subnet (start->run->cmd->ipconfig)? Can you browse to the systems ip address? (start->run->\\###.###.###)
Sometimes you just have to wait before you can share files, a funny bug. Use the XP home network setup to make sure settings on both computers are the same. Then set static IP addresses, in the same range. If each computer can ping each other, then you should be able to share files. Make sure all firewalls are off, especially the windows one if you have SP2, as dakind said, they block computers without telling you. In SP1 make sure that the network firewall is off - in network connections, right click the LAN connection, properties, advanced and make the appropiate settings. View workgroup computers, and wait for the computers to appear, make take a while. For future ease, it is wise to map network drives.
If your router has a dhcp server built in, set both machines to get their ip's automatically. Also, look at the range of ip's that the dhcp server is dealing out and add that ip range to your firewall. Run the Network setup wizard and make sure you have the same workgroup name on each computer you set up. I find that after you run the network setup wizard and click YES to allow file and printer sharing, XP for some reason then sets the built-in firewall ON for that network connection, regardless, so that's something worth checking if you're using a 3rd party firewall. Zonealarm generally gives the most grief when setting a network up for sharing files - the best way to get round it, as I say, is to go into the Firewall > Zones config and add a new ip range.
