networking at work

ok basically.. i have 3 separate computers with 3 seperate OS's
one of them is windows xp pro
other is windows 2k
other is windows 98..

basicalyl.. i want to share a printer with all of them... the printer is connected to the windows 98 machine..

i also want to run a automatic backup program that runs every friday... (i have the program "retrospect")

two of the computers( windows 98 and 2000) are in the same workgroup...

my question is... how do i get the windows xp machine to the same workgroup and what else will i need to perform these tasks?

i think the computers are under one big domain, but i was wondering if i could do all this under one workgroup...?

 

They don't have to be in the same domain. It's a little easier (actually if it's the same workgroup windows XP should auto detect and install any shared network printers) if they are but not required.

You set the workgroup in windows XP by right clicking my computer select properties and then go to the computer name tab and press the change button. Then at the bottom of that screen you can set the workgroup.

If they are on separate workgroups all you've got to do is navigate the network and double click on the printer to install it. If you're having trouble navigating to diffrent workgroups then simply type it in directly. Typing \\compname in the address bar makes it go directly to any computer on the network with the name compname. The workgroup wouldn't matter when typing in the computer name directly.

 

the computer can't be found or something...

like it doesnt even show up... even after doing the
\\computername

thing...

 

That would mean there is an issue with the topology (wiring) or you haven't correctly setup sharing on the windows 98 machine. Although since you have it working with the other one I'm going to have to say its wired incorrectly. Or possibly you've setup the router/switch incorrectly and you put them on diffrent subnets.

 

moreover:

when i ran ipconfig on the (white) windows 98 comp. it showed 2 ethernet adapters

0 ethernet adapter
ipaddress.... 0.0.0.0
subnet....... 0.0.0.0
default..

1 ethernet adapter
ipaddress.... 132.239.85.***
subnet ..... 255.255.255.*
default... 132.239.85.*


running ipconfig on the other two machines
the windows xp machine had the same network address but a different host address, and the same exact subnet address but with a slightly different default gateway address


the black windows 2k machine has a different subnet from the other two machines, with the same network address with a different host address. the default gateway is also different.

why does the white computer show as having 2 ethernet adapters? there is a big microscope attached to it, so maybe tahts the other one?





and i can successfully \\computer-name the two computers taht are in the same room, but i cant do that to the xp machine thats in a different room





i hope this helps in you guys trying to find a solution. thanks a lot

 

OK, this does help a little. Although I'm goign to assume by network address you mean the gateway and host address you mean the ipaddress.

Anyways, first off. The 98 computer shows two because by default windows 98 installs a modem. It ALWAYS installs a modem, regardless of if one exsists or not. It shows as all zero's because no connection is currently made or because no modem exsists. Either way you can actually delete the card if you like you don't need it. Leaving it there doesn't matter though.

As for the rest of your problems it sems pretty clear. You've got the network setup all wrong for this sort of thing. The fact that two computers can see each other is actually kinda a fluke in your case.

What's happened is you went and connected your computers all directly to the internet. Which leds me to believe you have a switch instead of a router. Or you have a router and you disabled DHCP. So to fix this you need to get yourself a router and turn on DHCP so that each computer is on the same network. Right now as it is you're letting your ISP assign each computer a real internet address. WHich is kinda nice in some ways, but it causes problems here because now the ip's that are assigned could be anything, and there is no way to make sure you get all three computers which are on the same subnet.

So in short, you need a router with DHCP enabled or you can't really fix this. Or alternativly you could rewire the network so that all the computers plug into one computer and you share the net out with that computer and only it plugs into the internet directly. Of course one computer needs two NICS for this to work and it has the downside of requiring the server to be on all the time for the others to work.