Please Help - Setting up a wireless LAN

[Howard Neill]

I have a two year old laptop, with Vista pre-installed. I have recently acquired a new Acer AO531H Netbook, with Windows XP pre-installed. I am trying to set up a wireless LAN.

I used the Windows Connection Wizard on the new Acer. I went through all the motions but the two machines won't detect each other. I have tried various searches on Google to find a solution, without success.

My computer knowledge is fairly limited. Any suggestions, please?

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[Mrs. Wildthing]

Wish I could help Howard. But my knowledge is limited to Macs.

[Exzim]

Howie, if I understand you correctly are trying to connect the two machines together?

If so, place both machines in ADHOC mode

http://compnetworking.about.com/cs/wirelessfaqs/f/adhocwireless.htm



for XP http://www.home-network-help.com/ad-hoc-wireless-network.html



for VISTA http://www.home-network-help.com/ad-hoc-wireless.html

[jiggs]

Hi Howard if it is with Telkom they have a toll free number and will talk you throught the proceedure.

[Howard Neill]

Hi Howard if it is with Telkom they have a toll free number and will talk you throught the proceedure.

Thanks Jiggs. I have managed to connect the new computer to the internet. The current challenge is to enable file sharing between the two computers.

Cheers

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[Howard Neill]

Howie, if I understand you correctly are trying to connect the two machines together?

If so, place both machines in ADHOC mode

http://compnetworking.about.com/cs/wirelessfaqs/f/adhocwireless.htm



for XP http://www.home-network-help.com/ad-hoc-wireless-network.html



for VISTA http://www.home-network-help.com/ad-hoc-wireless.html

Thanks EXZIM - that is right. I want to share files between the two machines. I have looked at ADHOC mode. The two machines don't want to recognise each other.

I could save myself some time and transfer the files using external drives. It would be nice to be able to do it wirelessly on an "as required" basis.

Cheers

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[yarrumsg]

howard they need to be on the same "network" make sure their workgroups are the same. by default u get std sharing mode in windows you need to go advanced. in xp if you open the explorer and then go to tools folder view and drop to the bottom remove the simple folder option. at least you can view one machine from both, so you can drop files off or pull them back either or.

as for the vista machine with the whole big shake up god only knows where anything is, so what you do here is create another account on this pc and call it exactly the same as the other account so if you have an account called xp or howard on ur xp pc, create the same account with the same password, it's a little back door in the security ;) and hey presto, however u do need ur laptops talking to eachother first, personally i'd just get a wireless router instead of going adhoc, adhoc's a pain in the ass...

[Howard Neill]

Thanks YARRUMSG I have printed your reply and will try it later, today.

Cheers


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[Howard Neill]

Wish I could help Howard. But my knowledge is limited to Macs.

Thanks, Lisa. Please mind your eyebrows with that cigarette lighter. :smiley36:

Last Saturday's second shooter is a Mac lover. He is a great friend and colleague

Cheers

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[gertrude]

Any luck yet, Howard?

Your best bet, I think, would be to get a wireless router. I just had to buy a new one here in Zim and it cost me US$250 from my provider. Should be much cheaper down there. Or be old-fashioned and just get a hub and plug the machines in using the LAN cable.

Having said that, which version of Vista are you using? There is a lot of security crap built into Vista and it won't let you do things that you've been able to do for years on other operating systems, whether you are using an Admin account or not. (like dropping to DOS from inside a program! Personal peeve there.)

On our network, we have one machine running NT4 (our server), 5 running various versions of XP, and one (mine) running Vista Home Premium. I can see everyone else's machines, but they have to ask to see mine!:smiley20:

[Howard Neill]

Thanks Gertrude

No luck -the two laptops won't acknowledge each other. I only need to link them to share files and, initially, use the DVD drive of the older one to install software onto the new one, which has no optical drive.

I will leave that for a while. In the mean time, I have bought an 8GB flash drive for transferring files. I can also use my external drives for the same job.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. :smiley20:

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[gertrude]

That should work just as well for now. Good luck!

[igundwane]

Sensible option,

1) - Get rid of Vista and put both machines onto XP Pro.
2) - Buy a Wireless Router or Hub, Wireless is preferable, if you are concerned about space and tidyness.
3) - http://compnetworking.about.com/od/homenetworking/Home_Networking_Setting_Up_a_Home_Network.htm

Ps, I am assuming you have shut down your firewall and anti virus before trying to link things together ? As this can be a stumbling block and will create headaches !

[Howard Neill]

Thanks Gundi

I would love to have all machines running XP. The two year old Fujitsu Siemens came with Vista pre loaded. I believe that it doesn't have the drivers for XP?

Cheers

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[igundwane]

If it is 2 years old, then you shouldnt have a problem putting XP onto it. Its the new / newer machines that have the issue with software and drivers.

If you google the make and model vs XP compatibility, I am pretty sure that the drivers etc are out there for it. Bear in mind you would be doing a complete format and fresh install.

You might end up looking through " Driver Sites " etc, but I dont see any major stumbling blocks if you were to " Downgrade ".

Ps, Whats the Make and Model number of your Fuji Siemans Laptop ?

[Howard Neill]

The Fujitsu Siemens laptop is a Amilo Pro V3515 Edition, but I really don't want to spend the time installing XP on that machine, bearing in mind that I would also have to reinstall all the software.

Thanks for the suggestion but I would rather let things be and not go down that road.

Cheers

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[igundwane]

Just to let you know it is XP Pro compatible :) Some of the drivers you would have to source off the net, but the majority are available from the Fuji Site.

Granted a fresh install and reload about 3hrs of your time, but it will be well worth it in the long run. Plus it wont do your comp any harm either, if you use it heavily as i do with mine, about every 6months I wipe it clean and fresh install everything. Consider it a full service and MOT.

[Howard Neill]

Thanks. I will keep that in mind. 3 hours of your time might become 6 hours of head scratching, on my part. :smiley5:

It isn't used much at the moment but the "Vista machine" is going to become my main admin computer. Let us see when that happens.

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