new to network-share files with router

hi, this is my first network.it is a wireless g network.3 computers 2 with xp 1 with me.the network is up & running.internet access is very good on all.my question is can i share files & get access to all the computers on the net? if so how is this done?

As long as the computers are communicating OK, you should be able to right-click the folder that you want to share, and click Properties. Select the Sharing tab and make sure that it is shared on the network. On the other computers, type in \\computername into the address bar in windows explorer, where computername is the name of the other computer.



You say you have Internet access working OK. What else do you want to do?

thanks , i'll try it.i' looking to share progams , files printers and to play games on to of the computers. they both use xp.

As long as you've got the computers communicating OK with good IP addresses etc (and it sounds like you have because the Internet works), doing what you want should be pretty easy, since XP is quite network friendly. Play games should just be a case of installing the game on each computer and entering in the other IP address etc. TO share a printer, right-click it, select Properties and click the Sharing tab. I'm not sure what you mean about share programs. You should share a folder which could have installation programs in it, but that's about all.

well i did what u said. and put \\computer name in ie and came up with this error message"window cann't find compuetr name check the spelling. same message on both computers.

Have you set the IP addresses correctly on each computer? Can you try pinging from one computer to the other. Click Start, Run and type cmd. In the Command Prompt type "ping xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx" (without the quotes), replacing the x for the actual Ip address of the other computer.

thanks i think i have it now. i need to make sure both computers have the same ip.

If you're unsure, I can check it for you. Click Start, Run and type "ipconfig /all > C:\ipconfig.txt" (without the quotes). Do this on both computers, then copy the contents from the ipconfig.txt files into a new post.

thanks for the help. i have the computers talking and sharin files now.i reran the network wizzard on one of them. but i'm still not sure how to plays games. if u could explain in very simple terms it would be appeciated.i real don't now what i'm doin!

It will depend on what game you have. I've played Call of Duty across a network recently and the setup goes something like this: on the first computer, there's an option to create a server. You do this and setup the computer as a games server. Then, from that computer, you play within you own game server. On the other computer, there's an option to browse the local network and it should find the first computer. You select this computer and you should be able to play together. The exact process is going to vary depending on what game you have, but now that you've got the computers talking it should be OK.

well thanks for all the help. if it wasn't for sites like this one i would be lost. very helpful

No problem I hope you get your game working OK