Help with file sharing; XP

[Taem]

Hi Lurkers, I was hoping one of you might know the answer to my dilemma:

I have two computers in my home, both with Windows XP, that I want to share a printer and perhaps a Shared Folder. One of the computers (computer #1) has a wireless Linksys G USB 2.0 peripheral plugged into a USB port and is on my router network I'll call "NETTY". The other computer (computer #2) is also plugged into the router using the same network "NETTY", however computer #2 is plugged in via a LAN line because the router is on-top of the computer. In Windows XP, I've attempted both "Set Up A Home Or Small Office Network," and "Set Up A Wireless Network For A Home Or Small Office," but neither wizard will work because when I click on My Network, I can see my Shared Folder, but not the other computer and no matter what I do, I can't add it either. Apparently, it seems to me that even though both computers are on the same "network", they are not on the same "network" in terms of wireless or LAN.

My question is, is there a way to connect a wireless computer to a LAN-based computer if they are both on the same network? I haven't been very successful yet.

[Sinomin]

Being wireless or hard-wired is irrelevant it both PCs are configured properly.

Is your router acting as a DHCP server or are you running static IP addresses? Are both PCs in the same IP range and do they both have the same subnet?

You can check your IP by going to Start>Run> type "Command", type "ipconfig" at the prompt. If each PC has the proper IP address and subnet then you can test communication by typing "ping <ip address>". IE ping 192.168.1.2, the address being the computer you are trying to reach.

If you can successfully ping the other computer then your "network" is configured properly and you probably have a security/permissions issue within the operating system. If you can’t ping then you have a network configuration problem or a physical connectivity problem between the 2 PCs.

Sorry if you already know and/or have tried these steps. There are way too many conceivable problems to look for without having detailed knowledge of your setup.

[Concillian]

Open a command prompt on each computer and type:

ipconfig

This will tell you the IP address of each
subnet and gateway should show the same for both computers.

As Sinomin noted, the first step is making sure they see each other, so from computer #1 type ping <IP address of computer #2> and you should get good hits and not timeouts.

If you get this, then pick a computer and share a folder (browse with windows explorer, right click a folder and choose 'sharing...') Share it, and make sure permissions are set to "everyone". You should be able to see that folder if you go to the other computer and open windows exploerer, then highlight the address bar and type:
\\<IP address>

You should see the folder you just shared on the other computer. Now you can choose the printer to share and you have a way to establish the connection between the two computers. This is a less "nice" way of sharing compared to names, but in my experience it is a much more reliable way of troubleshooting. I use this method for better being able to tell that two computers are talking to each other. My guess is that at this point yours aren't yet. Once you see things this way, the browsing via names should work fine.

[Taem]

Sorry, I've been exceptionally busy as of late w/out time to check up on this post. I'll try those ideas tomorrow to see if they work out. The funny thing is that I went over my bosses house the day before yesterday and didn't have any trouble setting up his network with the [exact same] configuration as mine - I even did the same wizards and everything! And at work today I set up our computer to the network w/out any trouble also.

I'll try pinging my computers tonight and then... I'll take it from there. What doesn't make any sense to me is that they are both on the internet using the same network, so it seems like they should be able to see each other. If they can't ping each other, what does "that" mean? If they can ping each other, what does "that" also mean? I have full admin privileges on both of my computers.

Minor Update: My wireless laptop and my wireless computer in my kids room can see each other, share a folder and print capabilities, both both still cannot see my main computer on the LAN, nor can my main computer on the LAN see them! :(

[Sinomin]

Being able to "ping" another PC just means they can successfully talk to each other. That the hardware is configured right and there aren’t any physical problems. It’s just the 1st step in diagnosing network problems.

If the ping is successful then you have a problem on the software side, most likely a permissions issue. Like Conc said, you can set the share permissions to "everyone". Being behind a firewall that is generally safe, but I prefer to create User accounts on each PC and assign permissions to each User, rather than giving full permissions to everyone.

Edit: Another permissions issue could be related to Windows Firewall. If you have Windows Firewall enabled on the system that you cant see on your network, check the "Exceptions" tab and make sure that the "File and Printer Sharing" box is checked.