Three pc's that refuse to communicate! Please Help

I'm new here. I'm sure that this type of question has been asked man
times, but here goes... I've got three computers connected to a dlin
router. two of them are windows xp (sp3) desktop machines that ar
connected by ethernet, and the other is a windows vista laptop which i
connected by wireless. the whole purpose of this network is so that on
desktop has my printer and has been dedicated to my magicjack phone.
want to be able to print from my laptop or the newer desktop and use th
same printer, also be able to share files. the desktop that has th
printer and phone is an older pc that only has 256mb ram, but runs fine
it can see and view files, folders and other hardware on the laptop an
the newer desktop, but my laptop cant see it or the new desktop, th
same goes for the newer desktop, it can't see the other two! I hav
gone through all kinds of settings over and over again. all three ar
set to "MSHOME" workgroup, the firewalls have been disabled. I also hav
tried manually setting the ip address for each instead of letting th
router automatically doing that. on the laptop I can open "network an
sharing center" and click on "view full map" I see the laptop and th
older pc, but when click "view computers and devices" I only see th
laptop and the router! on the newer pc, I can open "my network places
and click on "view workgroup computers" it waits for a moment and the
displays a message "MSHOME is not accessible.... contact networ
administrator... Network path not found". as for the older pc,
click "view workgroup computers" and I see all three pc's and I can als
click on each pc and view files and other shared folders from them.

What am I doing wrong? all three connect to the router and to th
internet which is connected at the router. I think I'm going to pull m
hair out before this is all over with

--
dbrannon7
Posted via http://www.vistaheads.co

Hi
Make sure that the Software Firewall on each computer allows free local
traffic. If you use 3rd party Firewall On, Vista/XP Native Firewall should
be Off, and the active Firewall has to adjusted to your Network IP numbers
on what is some time called the Trusted Zone (consult your 3rd Party
Firewall instructions.
General example, http://www.ezlan.net/faq#trusted
Vista File and Printer Sharing-
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l.../bb727037.aspx
Windows XP File Sharing -
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;304040
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;304040
Printer Sharing XP -
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...utt_july2.mspx
Windows Native Firewall setting for Sharing XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875357
Windows XP patch for Sharing with Vista (Not need for XP-SP3) -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922120
Sharing between Windows XP and Mac -
http://www.realifewebdesigns.com/web...file-share.asp
Jack (MVP-Networking).

"dbrannon79" <> wrote in
message news:...
>
> I'm new here. I'm sure that this type of question has been asked many
> times, but here goes... I've got three computers connected to a dlink
> router. two of them are windows xp (sp3) desktop machines that are
> connected by ethernet, and the other is a windows vista laptop which is
> connected by wireless. the whole purpose of this network is so that one
> desktop has my printer and has been dedicated to my magicjack phone. I
> want to be able to print from my laptop or the newer desktop and use the
> same printer, also be able to share files. the desktop that has the
> printer and phone is an older pc that only has 256mb ram, but runs fine.
> it can see and view files, folders and other hardware on the laptop and
> the newer desktop, but my laptop cant see it or the new desktop, the
> same goes for the newer desktop, it can't see the other two! I have
> gone through all kinds of settings over and over again. all three are
> set to "MSHOME" workgroup, the firewalls have been disabled. I also have
> tried manually setting the ip address for each instead of letting the
> router automatically doing that. on the laptop I can open "network and
> sharing center" and click on "view full map" I see the laptop and the
> older pc, but when click "view computers and devices" I only see the
> laptop and the router! on the newer pc, I can open "my network places"
> and click on "view workgroup computers" it waits for a moment and then
> displays a message "MSHOME is not accessible.... contact network
> administrator... Network path not found". as for the older pc, I
> click "view workgroup computers" and I see all three pc's and I can also
> click on each pc and view files and other shared folders from them.
>
> What am I doing wrong? all three connect to the router and to the
> internet which is connected at the router. I think I'm going to pull my
> hair out before this is all over with!
>
>
> --
> dbrannon79
> Posted via http://www.vistaheads.com
>

First off - In your next post, can you PLEASE not make your paragraphs
look like LEGALESE IN A CONTRACT???? It would make your posts A LOT
easier to read.

As it is now, I'm having to dissect the paragraph below & add additional
> characters when & where needed in my reply.

With that, here it goes.....

dbrannon79 wrote:
> I'm new here. I'm sure that this type of question has been asked many
> times, but here goes... I've got three computers connected to a dlink
> router. two of them are windows xp (sp3) desktop machines that are
> connected by ethernet, and the other is a windows vista laptop which is
> connected by wireless.

Can you connect BOTH desktop machines to your router? If so, that would
bethe simplest way to go I would think.

> the whole purpose of this network is so that one
> desktop has my printer and has been dedicated to my magicjack phone.

On my network, all my desktop PC will be doing is running all the
software for my Ham Radio station & serving as additional Hard Drive
space (My laptop doesn't see any of the hardware of the desktop beyond
that). It'll also be where the printer is plugged into.

> I have gone through all kinds of settings over and over again. all three are
> set to "MSHOME" workgroup, the firewalls have been disabled.

You need to ENABLE them & give each firewall permission to allow each
computer to talk to one another. Disabling your firewalls leaves you
open to attacks from the Internet. You should **NEVER** be on the
Internet without a firewall of some sort enabled. That's just like
putting up a virtual neon sign saying "ATTACK ME!! I AM ALL YOURS!! I
AM AT YOUR MERCY!!".

Sounds silly I know, ut in this day & age (And with this sick world), IT
IS ALSO TRUE.

> I also have tried manually setting the ip address for each instead of letting the
> router automatically doing that.

Umm.....WHY????? Is there some reason for this?

I have a LinkSys router & I let it set the IP address for both of my
computers automatically.

> on the laptop I can open "network and
> sharing center" and click on "view full map" I see the laptop and the
> older pc, but when click "view computers and devices" I only see the
> laptop and the router! on the newer pc, I can open "my network places"
> and click on "view workgroup computers" it waits for a moment and then
> displays a message "MSHOME is not accessible.... contact network
> administrator... Network path not found". as for the older pc, I
> click "view workgroup computers" and I see all three pc's and I can also
> click on each pc and view files and other shared folders from them.
>
> What am I doing wrong? all three connect to the router and to the
> internet which is connected at the router. I think I'm going to pull my
> hair out before this is all over with!

See everything I have posted above & then do what Jack suggested as you
screwed up somewhere. Question is WHERE??

I wish I could be of better help, but I'm still something of a newbie
when it comes to this stuff too, but I'm learning (And yes, I've made
mistakes too. We all have or we wouldn't be here. *LOL!*)

Best of luck in getting things fixed....

Cheers

Pat Cook
Denver, CO