Hi all. First post here and I'm asking for help already I'm setting up a wireless network in my house. At the moment, there's a PC and a laptop both running XP pro. I've ordered a wireless router (D-link Air Plus Xtreme GDI-624) and a wireless PCI card (D-link Air Plus XtremeG DWL-G520). The laptop already has build in 802.11. There won't be a computer cabled to the router. All the systems will be attached wirelessly. In a couple of weeks, I then intend to buy a network hard drive (something like the Ximeta NetDisk), which will be plugged into the router. My questions are: a. What are the best types of network hard drive? b. Is it possible / how would I go about setting it up so that all the windows xp user documents and settings are stored on the network hard disk, in such a way that no matter how many more systems were added to the network wirelessly - each can log in to any of the windows xp user accounts, access/amend their files and use programs with their settings remembered. Edit: Here's a rough diagram if it helps.
Im sure you do have a PC with a NIC card in it already but you will have to connect to the router atleast once with a CAT5 cable directly to configure it. Other than that on to the questions: Not sure about keeping desktop settings and such on the network drive but this is how I do it for data. On my server I have a drive that has three folders on it - Desktop Data, Laptop Data and Ripper Data. Then on each respective machine I have second mouse button clicked on My Documents and went to properties, then move and pointed to the corresponding folder on the server. Then Win XP will move all data from the machine to that location and set ALL reference to My Documents to that folder. Works like a charm. I dont know anything about network attached storage devices. I had an old PC given to me (P3 733 MHz, 256 MB RAM) so I tossed Win XP Corp on it and started off with 3 200 GB hard drives. This way I have storage and computer functionality if needed - plus I added another folding rig to my network. This PC has NO problems keeping up with a HTPC, a machine ripping DVDs to the network and my main PC all at the same time. I also have wired connections between these machine, wireless will kill your bandwidth when moving that much data.
Yeah, I'll just be plugging the laptop into the router to set it up. I won't be moving a whole lot of data across the network at any one time, anyway. So that's not really an issue. Regarding the user account / document stuff, are you sure that's the only/best way to do things? I dunno, seems a bit scrappy, although it would still work.
I believe you could use Windows 2000 and setup a domain - that way everyone can log in and have their own setup......check that info out I dont know shat about domain servers and the like. All the networking that Im required to know for work just involves mapping a drive - our stuff is fairly lame.
