How to connect computers using lan?

Hi neo,

1. You have to give IP-Adresses to your computers to put them in a common logical net. Unless you have a DHCP server (that is a server which automatically gives network adresses to your computers) you have to do this manually. If you have a internet-connection, your router box might have one DHCP-server included.

If you don’t have that, you need to give them private IP-Adresses. And each computer needs a different one. Then they need a common subnet-mask. Best is to make the 3 computers 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.3. and the subnet-mask 255.255.255.0. If you don’t know where to change the IP-adress of your syste, google a tutorial. This will be to long to do here.

If you own a router box but it does not do DHCP, find out what adress it has in the instructions, and make that address the “standard gateway. Each address has to be unique in your LAN. So do not use the router-box address for any computer.

2. Then, you have to put your computers in a common group. Do that in the same place where you can change the computers name. There’s a group field. Don’t use ‘domain’, because you don’t have a server.

3. Then you have to right click the folders or the printers you want to share on the network, and permit the other computers to access them.

hope I could help. Google for ‘howto’ or ‘tutorial’, ‘simple network setup’ and ‘windows xp’ if you have any trouble. The first few hits are quite useful.

bye the sheep