Need help with home LAN

I'm having big problems getting my home LAN to work. All devices connect to the internet, but computers seeing each other is random at best. I have a variety of Windows platforms, including Vista, Win 7 Home Premium, Win 7 Starter and occasionally XP Home. I'm running through a Belkin wireless router with 4-port ethernet switch. I tried following the instructions for mixed platform networking on one of the Win 7 machines, but got nowhere fast.

I have a Win 7 Acer and a Vista Acer connected via ethernet, a Compaq Vista on wireless, all desktops. I have a Toshiba Vista notebook, HP Win 7 notebook and an Acer Win 7 Starter netbook, as well as occasionally a Dell XP desktop wired. The XP and the Vistas usually see each other, but with unpredictable sharing. The Win 7 machines may or may not be visible and may or may not see other machines and don't see each other. I tried to set up a homegroup connection between them, but couldn't get that to work either.

I'd like to have sharing capability between all machines on the LAN, as well as sharing the printer on one of the Win 7s.

 

Getting all your different OS machines to share files among each other will be a challenge, as you have already found out. I feel that having static addresses and HOSTS files on each machine would be your best bet for success.

Question: What is your reason for doing all that multi machine file sharing? You may be best served with a NAS device on your network to store all of the files you wish to share among all machines. In that way, only one device (NAS) is the sharer.

 

Firewall software would be the reason. Also suggest getting a Network capable printer that either uses Wifi or Ethernet, instead of trying to share through a workstation.

jconstan, it is possible that they really do not see the need for a NAS. My NAS, is my could accounts, and if needed, we have a USB 1TB pocket drive to place files on. I think that their main concern is regarding to get the machines to be able to all see each other shares, and sharing the printer off of the one workstation.

 

Yes understand. Just trying to offer alternatives. Getting 4 machines with various operating systems to share files seamlessly in a home network setting is challenging.

 

Actually not challenging at all. A lot is how you had it setup to begin with, the firewall software, etc. A lot of good info at http://www.ezlan.net Suggest the OP go there and go through the info. Also making sure Simple Sharing is on, that with the mix of Win7/8/Vista/XP, that Homegroup not be used, and make sure that the Workgroup is the same on all.

But yes, it will take some work to get it done, but I see maybe a hour or two tops to get this fixed.

 

Hmmmm....
I almost posted here yesterday and now wish I had; because networking is really very simple! Here are the rules:
1) Go to the computer name in the system properties on all of the PC's and make sure the workgroup name is the same on all of them (while you're at it, make sure the computer names make sense and are all unique i.e. Susan-Dell-530)
2) Make sure all of the PC's think they are on a WORK network (not an isuue on XP; but, on 7 a Home network can't see anything not running 7)
3) In the Network and Sharing Center, set the options to Enable Public File and Folder Sharing so anyone with network access can change files, disable password protected file sharing (except on laptops that may travel), and change the option to allow 40 or 56 bit encryption.
4) Don't even try to share a printer in a mixed O/S environment! Unless the version of available 32 AND 64 bit drivers match to the ending decimal place, you are scr*ed.
5) On Vista+, don't try to share the root of any drive. Folders work fine; root drive letters mess with your head!

Poof; your network will work and be (almost) problem free!