Networking with Windows 2000 Pro & Windows XP Pro

[gyoung]

I've just ordered a laptop and put a fileserver down in the basement. I ran CAT5e cable from my office in the attic to the basement.

What I want to do is set up a home network where all my files will be on my fileserver in the basement. The fileserver isn't much but it does have a SCSI tape drive that I can do backups from. This server PC also sits underneath my home entertainment center (just above) and feeds it MP3's with a video interface (4am Music Console).

I bought the WRT54G to act as a switch between my PCs (and eventually the wireless connection with my laptop and maybe my Pocket PC).

The PC in the attic is running Windows XP Professional and is my main PC. The PC in the basement is running Windows 2000 Professional and will perform the role of the file server. The laptop will be running Windows XP Pro.

I am currently not using the function of allowing the router to share broadband but may do so in the future. The problem is that when I bring both PCs up in a workgroup called "HOMENET" I can see them. But when I try to copy data from the XP Pro machine to the 2000 Pro machine the connection is lost and the XP Pro machine can no longer see the other machine on the network.

Is there a problem with these two OS's talking to each other?

I would just like to be able to map drives from one machine to the other and have the tape backup utility do weekly backups of my data.

[VHockey86]

If you're just doing a basic home network, run through the Network Wizard in the XP pro machine and if you leave the workgroup the same it should work out

[gyoung]

That's what I did, but the connection drops after I start to copy files. I then lose the connection to the 2000 Pro machine, I can no longer see it in the workgroup under network neighborhood.

I thought this was going to be really simple, but maybe I was wrong.

[VHockey86]

Do you have each File and Print Sharing enabled on all the PCs in the network?

You might want to try dirrect connnections with a crossover cable temporarily to eliminate the possibliity that the Switch is messing up the connection.

Now you say you just want to map the network drives, but it closes the connection AFTER you start transfering files? You should be able to map them before you transfer anything, just goto My network places --> View workgroup computers, right click on the drive (assuming you have it enabled to share on the other PC) and say map network drive.

The LAN connection stays open once you cant find the other computers correct? I suppose you could also try the "repair connection" feature under Control panel --> network connections

[VHockey86]

Forgot to add this in last post, when you run the XP wizard on the XP Pro machine, when it gets to the end with 4 radio buttons, try the create a network setup disk, and run the wizard utility on the windows 2000 machine

[gyoung]

You might want to try dirrect connnections with a crossover cable temporarily to eliminate the possibliity that the Switch is messing up the connection.

I thought maybe the switch might be messing it up. How does the crossover work? Do I just plug NIC to NIC?

Now you say you just want to map the network drives, but it closes the connection AFTER you start transfering files? You should be able to map them before you transfer anything, just goto My network places --> View workgroup computers, right click on the drive (assuming you have it enabled to share on the other PC) and say map network drive.

I map the drives then try to copy. I also have just tried to copy directly through network neighborhood. Same result either way.

The LAN connection stays open once you cant find the other computers correct? I suppose you could also try the "repair connection" feature under Control panel --> network connections

I can give this a try.

I suspect it is the router configuration though.

[VHockey86]

Yup, crossover = NIC to NIC
I'm not sure if you make your own network cables or not, but a crossover cable is simply an A connection on one end and a B connection on the other end, instead of A-A or B-B.

But it seems like you're configuring the comps right, so I'd suspect its the switch's firewall capability trying to block file transfering

[gyoung]

I'm not home right now, but I'll fuss with it when I get there. I suspect it is the router firewall. Are you supposed to configure it to allow PCs on the network to talk to each other?

Thanks for the input.

[VHockey86]

Having never used a router Im not sure how you'd configure it =(, but im sure theres plenty of people here that can help you with that

[gyoung]

Sure enough... I connect my old 10Mbt hub and it works just fine. Anyone know how to configure this router to allow two networked PCs to talk to each other (1 XP, 1 2k)?