Computer networking.

[Richard Hole]

Hi Robert and those interested,

I have an old computer with Windows 2000 that is networked to my other 3 computers with Windows XP, 2000 and 98. The networking was done by a technician some years ago and he taught me how to do it. However, I have forgotten how to do it. I have bought a computer with Windows XP Home and I want to network that to my other computers and replace the old computer with Windows 2000 described above. Do you know of any simple instructions that I can easily follow so I can find the network settings and addresses on my old Windows 2000 computer and put the network settings on my new Windows XP computer?

Is there any risk if I do it myself that I could upset the network settings on my other computers that I do not want to change apart from the other Win XP computer where I will have to network to the new Win XP computer? The other computers on my network do not have to be networked to the new Win XP computer. In other words I do not need to be able to view the files on the new Win XP computer from these other computers. However, I want to be able to see and modify the files on these other computers from the new XP computer. I may use Windows 2000 on my Windows 98 computer soon if I can get my data logging software to work on Win 2000.

I have also heard of software or network wizards that can do the networking easily and save manual setting up. However, I am concerned they could pose a risk of putting unwanted settings on the computer and making the task more difficult for me or another technician to do the networking if the software did not work. Could that be the case?

I have a modem router and hub with about 8 ports that connect all the computers.

If I turn off my old Windows 2000 computer there is no affect on the rest of the network, so I assume my old Windows 2000 machine does not act as a file server.

I sometimes save files on the old Win 2000 machine and open them on my existing XP machine that is networked. I also edit and resave the files stored on my old Win 2000 machine using my existing XP machine. On my old Win 2000 machine I can also edit files saved on my other computers apart from on the XP computer that I cannot access for some reason. Perhaps it is due to the security settings.

Your help is appreciated.     
Regards Richard

[Bentree]

Hello Richard.
Networking computers can be a real pain in the bottom. I am pretty sure that all you would have to do is connect you new xp computer to the modem and then run the Network Setup Wizard on the computer. The Network Setup Wizard can be found in the control panel under Network and Internet Connections or if you use the classic view of the control panel it will be on the control panel homepage.
Good Luck!
Bentree.