Lost Network

I work with three networked computers. The central one is an XP Pro, the other two were 98SEs. All equipped with ethernet cards, central computer with Linksys for DSL. I formatted one of the 98s to start over with a fresh XP Pro install. Upon completing that installation I ran into a couple problems - the internet connection would not work and the computer did not show up on the network nor did it see the other two. I ran the XP Network Wizard with no luck, it was as if it did nothing.

A friend fooled around with it and did even more damage. The central computer now doesn't have anything in it's Network Places. The one computer that could see it before now cannot. None of the computers have internet access (I think that's just a matter of mixed up IPs), and none of the computers can see each other on the network. I once again ran the XP Network Wizard on all computers, tried tech support for the Linksys, the computer's manufacturer, and the ISP - no luck.

Since all that happened I've reformatted the recently formatted computer again, and formatted the other 98. All computers are now XP Pro. I haven't been back to the office to hook those other two up to the central, though (did the formatting at home - hopefully can do that Saturday or Sunday). I feel the central computer needs a good formatting, but without the network working I can't back up important files.

So my final question/plea, other than HELP, is how can I get this network straightened out? At least two of the computers need to be networked so I can backup the files long enough to format and completely reinstall the entire network to get things running smoothly again.

And yes, first time working with a network.

 

Have you tried reseting the router? Sometimes I have to turn off all computers then unplug my router wait a few seconds then plug back in then turn computers back on and it all works.

 

Yep, I've tried it. No luck.

 

networking problem

nocorama,

i know what your going through.

it seems to be common when connecting xp to 9x machines.

you need to down load or make sure all pc's have file and printer sharing enabled, have internet access through the router, and that they all have netbuei installed and enabled.

that should do it.

 

Log to this page it has a lot of links to instructions to Windows Network Settings, and Sharing.

Link to: Windows Network - Installing & Sharing.