XP Home Edition and networking

[wizard8873 8]

I was wondering if anyone knew of a way to network xp home to xp pro and 2000 pro?

[DosFreak 2]

Network?

 

XP Home is only capable of workgroup mode, if you want Domain mode I think there is a hack for it but I am unaware of how to activate it.

 

You should be able to stick XP Home and 2000 Pro in the same workgroup and share files that way. You may need to turn off simple file sharing in XP. Go to My Computer, Tools, Folder Options, View, Scroll down to the bottom and unselect simple file-sharing.

[Sampson 0]

As Dosfreak pointed out, XP home is only capable of workgroup mode out of the box. Putting all of your computers into the same workgroup is a start, but it also depends on how you connect them physically - through a switcher or through a router, etc., or as some people try to do - to one another through an intermediate computer with two cards.

If all you want is file sharing, all you need is a switcher. If you want to connect them all to the internet you will need a router. As small a network of three computers as you have (3) you could do it using a router alone.

Simple file sharing in a workgroup means that you can access files on each computer. Therefore, you will have to designate the folders on each computer where the shared files are resident. It is best to use Windows Explorer for this task and by-pass Windows wizard. Just right click on the folder you want to share on that particular computer, choose share and just do a simple share. Keep in mind that workgroup sharing was intended only to access files on each others computers or printers on each other computers. You are not limited to one folder to be shared. You can share multiple folders per computer, but it is best not to make your root directory or your \windows directory shareable. The software that reads and writes to the shared files must be installed on all the local computers. Files that you want to share must always be saved to the shared folders. There are always ways around some of these things, but it gets more complex.

In any event, once connected to a router or switcher, designate a folder to be shared on each computer, usually \shareddocs. Put all documents and files that you want to share in that folder. While database files can be used simultaneously by all computers, most wordprocessing documents cannot be accessed at the same time by all computers generally.