Hello All,

I need a how to or something to make Win XP wireless networking simple.

Here is my problem:

Until now I've had a wireless network based on my D-Link Wireless Router yet I never needed file sharing. Yesterday I wanted to run an application that needed this so I decided to run the set-up. So I ran the Wireless Network app on Win XP on three computers and configured my Wifi router. So I can get online perfectly. After that I ran the home network wizard as suggested on a post i found online.

Thus followed everything to the t. The problem is that I can't see the network on any of the set-up computers. I've looked all over the Network Places and nothing. I've pinged the computers and they seem to all be working fine. Also when I run \\IPADDYOFOTHER COMPUTER - ok I can look into the computers but they aren't all part of a network, which is what I need. What am I doing wrong.

My setup is as follows
2 Notebook computers with WinXP Home
1 Desktop w/ wifi card with WinXP Pro
1 DLink Router

Any ideas? Need Extra info.. let me knowI suggest you treat your problem as two separate issues. The first is configuring a Local Area Network (LAN) with file sharing. The second is configuring the wireless communication links.

If possible, set up a "wired" LAN that performs as desired before trying to integrate the wireless links into your LAN. HOPEFULLY you could do this with the desktop computer, one or both of the notebooks, and the wireless router. Does the wireless router have four hard wired LAN ports that function as a switch?

While they don't address the wireless component of your problem, The following Microsoft DOCUMENTS (downloads) are excellent resources for understanding and troubleshooting Windows XP file and printer sharing:
File and Printer Sharing with Microsoft Windows
Troubleshooting File and Printer Sharing in Microsoft Windows XP

There's quite a bit of redundant information, so you may want to start with the second document.

Basically, I'm not a fan of "wizards". When they work, you're very happy. When they don't work, you're very unhappy (and don't have a clue how to proceed). Setup the file sharing manually. The documents above essentially provide a tutorial to do that.Quote from: lefloresg80 on March 25, 2008, 09:57:23 PM

The problem is that I can't see the network on any of the set-up computers. I've looked all over the Network Places and nothing. I've pinged the computers and they seem to all be working fine. Also when I run \\IPADDYOFOTHER COMPUTER - ok I can look into the computers but they aren't all part of a network, which is what I need. What am I doing wrong.

Cannot See All of the Server Computers on the Network (Successful Network Connectivity)

When you cannot see all of the server computers on the network in My Network Places or Network Neighborhood, the solution depends on whether you have successful network connectivity.

To check whether you have basic network connectivity from the BROWSE client to the missing server computer, do the following:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.

2. In Open, type \\ComputerName (in which ComputerName is the name of the missing server computer), and then press ENTER.

If you get a window that displays the SHARED resources of the missing server computer, then you have basic network connectivity to the missing server computer. If you get an error message stating that the network path was not found, then there is a problem with basic network connectivity to the missing server computer.

If you have successful network connectivity to the missing server computer but you do not see it in the workgroup window, then it could be due to one of the following:

o The missing computers are configured with a different workgroup name
o The browse servers do not yet have all the computers in their browse lists
o The missing computers are not on the same physical network segment