Home networking XP, 2000 and 98

I have 3 pc's, each having different o.s.'s, which are XP, 2000 and 98. I would like to network the 3 of these and have been unsuccessful up to this point. I am able to see the 2000 machine from the Xp machine but I can't access the files which are shared. The firewall protection has also been unchecked. The pc's with 98 and 2000 have Netbeui on them but since Windows does not support it anymore, I was trying to steer away from using it on the XP machine.

My questions are; Is it possible to network these, with the 98 and 2000 machines having Netbeui and XP not? My next question is, can I network these without me assigning IP's?

Depending on the answers to these, can someone give me some pointers as to how to network these pc's so they can access each other?

Thank you very much for your help. I really appreciate it.

To start off with, if the computers are networked with NICs, they must have IP addresses. To get them networking, you want the Internet Protocol TCP/IP installed on each machine, and use this rather than Netbeui.

OK, to network them, you want to do something like this:

Make sure that all of the computers are set to the same workgroup. THe default of MSHOME would work fine.

On each computer, set the IP addresses correctly. In XP and 2000, open up Network (& Dialup) Connections from the Control Panel, right-click the Local Area Connection and select Properties. Double-click Internet Protocol TCP/IP and enter an IP address like 192.168.0.x. Replace x with any number less than 255 - like 192.168.0.x. Make sure that no computer has the same Ip address as another computer. Also, enter the subnet mask of 255.255.255.0.

On the 98 computer, open the Control Panel and open the Network applet (I think). In there, you should find options to change the IP address. Set it in a similar way to the XP and 2000 machines.

Also, check that firewall software is disable. You say that you have already disabled Internet Connection Firewall (built into Windows XP), but also check that neither of the other computers are using firewalls. Also, some antivirus programs install firewalls - check that none of these are enabled.

Then try pinging from one computer to the next. On the XP machine, click Start, Run and type cmd. In the Command Prompt, type 'ping 192.168.0.x' (without the quotes), replacing x with the numbers of the other computers. Check that it can ping all the other computers. Repeat this from the other two computers.

Once everything can ping, then try your file sharing again. If it doesn't work, post back with details of the problem and we'll try to get it sorted

Thank you very much for your response. From my original question, I was not as clear as I should have been. What I was trying to do was to have the machine assign the ip's instead of me assigning them. I know that is more challenging but that is what I wanted and intended to do. If you would still recommend I follow your original instructions then I'll take your advice but can you tell me if it's possible for me to network these pc's with the system assigning the ip's instead of me doing it? If it is possible, can you give me some guidence as to how to proceed?

Thank you again!

If you want your computers to have IP addresses assigned to them, you need some sort of DHCP server. Windows 2003 Server includes a DHCP server, but you aren't running this on your network.

There are, however, other solutions. I don't think you say whether or not you are using a router. A router will almost certainly include a DHCP server, which you should be able to activate through the web-based interface. You could then use this to assign IP addresses.

Alternatively, XP does include a cut-down version of the DHCP server featured in Windows 2003 Server. If you plug your Internet connection into the XP computer and enable Internet Connection Sharing, the computer will function as a DHCP server. There won't actually be anything on the computer through which you can configure it (it's very basic), but as long as ICS is enabled, a DHCP server should be running to assign IP addresses.

Finally, you could get additional software to install which would make one computer function as a DHCP server. A search of Google will find some. However, I don't know how expensive these solutions would be.

Personally, if you have a router, then use the DHCP function on this. This is by far the easiest solution.

Thank you again for your response. I assigned the ip's as you suggested. I can ping them successfully, both from the XP to 2000 and vice versa, however I still can't access the files on the shared drive of my 2000 pc. I have removed (unchecked) the firewall protection from my XP machine (in the advanced tab within the Network Connections). I also see a Internet Connection Firewall (in Control Panel \ Internet Properties \ Advanced Tab). I believe I would leave this latter one alone since this is my connection to the internet. I am correct in thinking that, right?

I have checked my 2000 for any firewall protection but have not found any sign of it.

Do you have any other suggestions as to what else to try to get my network running?

Thanks again for your time and help. I appreciate it!

As long as you can ping the 2000 computer and any firewalls are off, check these things:

Are the computers on the same workgroup?

Have you shared the folder Win 2000 by right-clicking, selecting Properties, clicking the Sharing tab and made sure that sharing is enabled?

What happens when you type \\computername into the address bar of windows explorer in the Win XP machine? Also try \\ipaddress and see if this is any difference.

Do you have the correct permissions? On both computers, try using identical user accounts. What I mean is that they both have exactly the same username and password and then use these accounts to access the shared folder. This way, you should authenticated ok and be able to browse the folder.

If you get any error messages with any of this, could you just tell me what they are?

I tried to map a drive using the same name and password but that was still unsuccessful however I am able to ping each machine. I was successful in mapping using the ip address but I would still like to map the drives using the computer name (path to the shared drive) instead and it's driving me crazy because I feel like I am so close. Would you have any ideas on how to map them by using the computer name?
Thanks again for all your help!

Could you check that NetBIOS is enabled on the network connections on both computers?

Yes, the following Netbios listings/settings are on both machines:

-NWLink Netbios
-NWLink IPX/SPX Netbios Compatible Transport Protocal

Each machine has a different internal networking number and each is set for Auto Detect in the "Properties" area.

I'm not really sure then I'm afraid. Can you ping the computer name, or only the IP address?

Hey, I've been following this thread, And I followed all the the naming Ip steps. It work thanks,

I don't have a router, I have a Switch and a DSL Connection.
I use zoneAlarm to protect my stuff, and I got I was able to keep the firewall up and still share files, but I can't connect to my DSL without setting my xp connection to auto-Obtain IP... Any help there with would be appreciated?
I read somewhere that I could just add an IP Address to make it work but I lost the Details.

You should connect your DSL connection directly into one NIC on one computer. This NIC should be set to automatically obtain its settings from your ISP (using DHCP). This connection needs to be shared, so make sure that Internet Connection Sharing is enabled. ZoneAlarm should be installed on this computer.

On the same computer, you also need a second NIC. Set the IP address stuff manually. Give it the IP address 192.168.0.1 and the subnet mask 255.255.255.0. Leave the default gateway blank. For the DNS servers, enter the IP addresses of the two DNS servers provided to you by your ISP (you'll need to check their website for the actual addresses).

Then, on the second computer, it should have one NIC connected to the switch. This should be given the IP address 192.168.0.2 and the subnet mask 255.255.255.0. The default gateway should be 192.168.0.1. The DNS servers should be the same as the first computer.