Help with wireless networking

charlieheard

We've recently bought a laptop, so I changed my broadband modem for a wireless ADSL router. Both the Vista laptop and the XP desktop can access the internet, but I have been unable to make them talk to each other successfully.

I have setup the network in both using the Vista and XP wizards, setup some shared rersources on the desktop, have enabled ports through their firewalls, and even turned on the guest account on the desktop. When I browse the network on the lpatop, I can see the shared directories and printers that I setup, but when I try to access them I get a weird error, usually "not enough disk space".

Help please - I've read some online guides and troubleshooting tips, without any new suggestions. I guess I am missing something obvious as many people must do this, but I've run out of ideas to try :wall:

TonyLisaP

Vista network = Workgroup
XP network = mshome

Change one or the other so they match.

arealbasketcase

TonyLisaP wrote: »

Vista network = Workgroup
XP network = mshome

Change one or the other so they match.

TonlyLisaP, question, does it offer more security if you change them both to something else, so they both read, for example, tonlylisapgroup?

TonyLisaP

arealbasketcase wrote: »

TonlyLisaP, question, does it offer more security if you change them both to something else, so they both read, for example, tonlylisapgroup?

Not really no. If you browse an entire windows network you will still be able to see it. Permissioning will have to be done the old fashioned way.

charlieheard

TonyLisaP wrote: »

Vista network = Workgroup
XP network = mshome

Change one or the other so they match.

Thanks for the reply. I should have mentioned that they're both changed to the same domain name, which is different to the defaults. (I don't think I'd be able to see them in "My Network Places" if they weren't the same, would I?)

Any other suggestions, Please

[Deleted User]

http://willsit.com/XP_Vista.aspx

Try working through that to see if it helps

jamie112233

When you say they cant talk to each other, can they ping (just type ping then the other computers IP or name).

Post back with your reply.

PROLIANT

Also allow file and printer sharing on both firewalls and create a network share on each machine as well.

charlieheard

Thanks again for all your replies.

@be_alright - that site looks interesting at first look. I'll go through it today when I have the laptop and see if it sorts it out.

@jamie112233 - when I open the "My Network Places" in XP (or the equivalent on Vista), the shared folders and printers on the other PC are shown, but when I try to open them, I get the strange error message. I've set them up with static IP addresses on the network, but I haven't tried pinging them - I'll try it when I get my hands on the laptop again.

@PROLIANT - I've allowed the sharing ports (UDP and TCP) through each firewall , and allowed sharing on the Vista Norton firewall. The desktop PC runs Online Armor Free, which prompts you for program access, but doesn't have a specific option for file-sharing. I've specifically allowed it to access the laptop and the wireless network on the firewall options. By "network share", do you mean a shared folder or printer (which I've setup), or am I missing something?

charlieheard

Well I followed the suggestion in be_alright's link, and I've finally managed to get the XP desktop to be able to mount directories on the Vista laptop, so thanks for the suggestion. I'm not sure what I changed from my original setup, but I've proved they can talk. It isn't perfect, as the Document folder layout is different between XP and Vista, so XP seems to create a hidden set of virtual directories under the Vista Documents folder for "My Music", etc, but clicking on them just comes up with a "directory missing" error message. However, I can transfer files between the two.

The only problem is that I still can't connect the Vista laptop to the desktop, so I can't print anything from it, and I can't access any of my existing stuff from the laptop. When I try to open or access the shared folders, I get the error message below - I'm wondering if it's an XP Home thing, as I can't find any permissions tabs to allow/deny access to users or groups:



Although I've managed to connect them one way, it's not very useful as I have to pull things up to the laptop to print them. So - any suggestions on how I can get them to talk the other way?