New to Windows 8.1 - thread 2 - networking

I had two networked computers, one XP Home, one XP Pro. The network had a name - MSHOME.

On trying to get the new computer on the network, I wasn't given the option of giving it a name, it just created "Homegroup".

It searched the network, found the connected XP Pro machine, and it has access to the files which are marked for networking.

However, the XP machine doesn't see the Windows 8.1 machine.

What do I have to do to make the Windows 8.1. machine visible to and accessible from the XP machine?

 

Is the XP a fat32 drive. Older systems can't read ntfs and some other file systems. In the past I have had to install a utility to get this to function.

 

Disregard the last post. I was thinking of 2 drives on the same computer. Over a network it does work. Are all computers now on the "Homegroup"? Try the info at MS

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/...uters-running-different-windows=windows-vista

 

XP computers cannot join a Homegroup. For a mix of systems you can use password protected sharing as described in Imandy Mann's link or, if privacy is not an issue, you can even dispense with passwords. It's how we network here and works a treat.

 

Very strange, see below.

Yes - in a manner of speaking.

The windows 8.1 computer sees and has access to the shared items on the XP one, but the latter doesn't even see those on Windows 8.1.

Furthermore, I can't print from the XP one now. When I try to print from it I am told that "The print spooler service is not running". But it is according to the list of services.

Any way of overcoming these two problems?

 

Homegroup is a sharing protocol that first appeared in Win 7. Computers running 7 or later can join a Homegroup. XP computers cannot. I suspect the poster confused Homegroup with Workgroup, which is a name commonly given to home networks using file and printer sharing. The answer to your problem is contained in the MS article you were linked to in #3. That is the only way you will be able to access 8.1 from XP.

Is your printer attached to one of the two computers or is it a network computer?

 

Here's a link to a Microsoft tutorial that specifically applies to 8.1 when networked with XP. The previous link in #3 did not mention 8.1.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/...1&v2h=win7tab1&v3h=winvistatab1&v4h=winxptab1

Hope this helps.

 

That link is potentially more useful, thank you. The one in #3, being written for Vista, uses names which don't coincide with 8.1. I had gone through it several times, without success.

The new link sounds fine, but on this page http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/sharing-files-printers-help#sharing-files-and-printers=windows-81&v1h=win81tab3&v2h=win7tab1&v3h=winvistatab1&v4h=winxptab1
Step 2. Nothing happens. "Turn sharing on or off" doesn't appear.

This is all very frustrating.

 

Don't be surprised if, even having studiously followed all the steps on both systems, access one way or the other is still denied. The only XP system I have access to is in a virtual machine running in Win 7, and it took a number of runs through the settings on both that and on 8.1 on my laptop before full access was gained both ways. Running the network setup wizard in XP helped, even though networking was already working,

What about your printer?

 

Oh yes, I overlooked the printer.

My original set-up was this: main computer XP Pro downstairs, secondary computer XP Home upstairs, router upstairs, printer connected to upstairs computer. The upstairs computer serving mainly to drive the printer, with rare visits to the internet.

On receipt of the new computer with Windows 8.1, I wanted to get familiar with it before using it as my main one, so it has temporarily replaced the upstairs one.

In anticipation of the eventual role-change, I have copied important files from the main, downstairs, machine to an external hard drive.

What I am now thinking is that if the Windows 8.1 machine, once it's downstairs, can print to the printer via an XP machine (either XP Home or Pro) upstairs, I would settle for that. Since the 8.1 machine has access to the XP Pro files, does it follow that access to the printer would also be available?

 

The printer is going to be a suck it and see situation. 8.1 will see the printer once it has been shared but it will also need a printer driver and I can't be sure it will find one. In my case my 8.1 is also downstairs, and my old HP Officejet is upstairs hooked up to my Win 7 system. Win 8.1 did find a driver and the setup works fine, but if it doesn't you might need a printer that attaches to the router as a network device.

 

After a long and productive talk with a local IT/computer company I have decided to replace the printer with one which has wireless capability.
It will live upstairs with the router and one of the XP machines - probably the XP Home one, since it has very little installed on it - and the Win 8 one down here.

As the Win 8 machine had access to files on the XP one during my initial tests, that should still be true. There's unlikely to be much need to transfer files from XP to Win 8 anyway, and I can do this by running up and down stairs with a USB stick.

 

It's up to you but I would have tried it with the existing printer first as that may well work, as has mine.