How do I network my home computer (XP) to my laptop (Vista) and share the printer thats hooked to the XP?

Wireless Networks What I know Begin with the high speed DSL or cable service. As far as I know, wireless networks would need one of these, although it is not certain that a simple wireless network needs a dedicated line; it might work with a dial-up but configuring the wireless router might be impossible since it seems to depend of internet access to do so. Assuming broadband is available, the next step would be to install a wireless router, such as a Linksys WRT54G, a device capable of speeds up to 54 Mbs. The device itself has an internet-like address of 192.168.1.1 and each device attached to or accessing it has an address which converts the last digit to the form 100 or 101 and so forth. Thus, a laptop with a wireless card might be address 192.168.1.101. One can access and configure a Linksys router by entering the address 192.168.1.1 into a web browser and is immediately presented the configuration screen. The person doing the configuration change must have the user name and password originally entered at the time the device was installed, assuming the person installing it changed the default factory user name and password. The Linksys router is installed by first attaching your main computer to the DSL or cable modem, then using the supplied software on the CD accompanying the router, following the steps as directed on the installation CD. It directs you to attach an Ethernet cable from your computer to the modem, either DSL or cable, then arranging the wires from wall outlet or TV cable to the modem, then from the modem to the router, plugging cables into the jacks as shown. If one follows this set of instructions, internet access is immediately available through the router. A simple wireless network need not be entirely wireless. One or more computers can be wired to the router, usually up to a limit of four, plus other wireless devices. The Linksys routers are limited to 253 devices and defaulted to 50 total devices, but realistically it is not likely anyone would attach that many to a network. My original configuration had the desktop wired to the router via Cat 5 ethernet cable and the laptop using a wireless card. Later I installed a Netgear USB adapter to the desktop and converted it to wireless. The advantage of attaching the “main” computer by cable is that the speed is much faster, around 100 Mbs compared to 54 using wireless, although Netgear makes a wireless router capable of 100 Mbs. This higher speed would be an advantage when two devices on the network are exchanging files or accessing a shared printer. Having installed the router, the next step is installing or inserting a wireless adapter in each computer. This usually implies installing drivers and/or utilities supplied with the device on a CD. If the main computer is wired to the router, it is only necessary to attach the Cat 5 cable from the back of the computer to one of the available ports on the router. The computer must have an Ethernet (RJ45) port built in or a network card installed to do this. At this point, no network exists, but internet access at each computer, wireless or wired, normally comes on automatically with little trouble by the user. Now for setting up a true network. Assuming each computer is running Windows XP, the next step is allowing Windows to create the network. On each computer it is necessary to go to the Control Panel and select Network Connections, then select Network Setup Wizard. Windows will construct the network using the names of the computers involved and the name of the network which you gave the wireless router. Simply follow the windows presented making sure you know the name you have given to that computer and the name you gave the network when you installed the router. Where are the names to be found? The computer name is located internally and is accessed by going to the Control Panel and selecting System. A tab is labeled Computer Name and it also has the workgroup name. The workgroup name is not necessarily the same as the network name. In fact it is not clear to me what purpose the workgroup name plays. Once you have run the network setup on all computers in the net, then it is essentially created. Shared folders and printers If you expect to move data back and forth from one computer in the network to another one, it is necessary to define shared folders in each computer. Suppose you have a folder containing WordPerfect documents in computer A and you intend to access those from computer B. On computer A, using Windows Explorer, drag the folder containing those documents to the folder named Shared Folders. Doing so tells that computer that you want that folder to be a shared folder, that is, open to use by other computers in your network. Now you must go to computer B and define that folder (on A) as a Network Drive. To do this, go to Control Panel, Network Connections and click on Tools. Then click on Map Network Drive. You will see that the Drive Z is displayed, but you can define any unused drive from E to Z. Click on Browse and follow the path to the other computer and the shared folder(s). The computers both know that any document on computer A can be accessed from any other computer which has defined a Network Drive. It is admittedly cumbersome and there is no doubt that Windows could have made it much more friendly and understandable. But you have to work with what is available and that is what Microsoft gave us. Defining a network drive is probably a carry-over from a decade old software called LAN Server marketed by Microsoft and IBM. Defining a shared printer on another computer is somewhat easier. Start by going to the Control Panel on the computer which has no printer and selecting Printers and Faxes, then Add Printer. You will be presented with a Wizard for installing it. Make sure you select Network printer when presented with that option and if you don’t know the printer name (on the computer which connects to the printer), then click on Browse. You should have written down the printer name from the other computer, however. On the computer which has the printer, right click on the printer and click on Properties. Make sure the option to share this printer is selected by going to the Share tab. Since both computers now know that you want to share the printer, it is ready for printing. One caution however. The computer and printer and must remain on in order for others to use it. If turned off, the network assumes you have no printer. The same holds true for sharing documents or other objects. The computer housing them has to be ON in order for others to access them. So what happens if you sell that printer, or install another one on the computer housing the shared printer? Then you have to go through that printer definition again, making sure you define that printer as a shared printer when you install it. Security When you install the router, you will probably want to get it up and running to see if you can access the internet as quickly as possible. Nothing wrong with that. But eventually you will want to go back and define stringent security on the network and you will do so by configuring security on your wireless router. My experience is with a Linksys device and it is this which I will use as an example. MAC addresses You should enable Media Access Control (MAC) filtering. Media Access Control is an address assigned to each wireless card. All wireless devices have unique MAC addresses. The address includes six sets of paired characters and is usually printed on the back of your wireless card. MAC filtering tells your router/access point to grant access only to MAC addresses you enter. This will help keep out unwanted users who might otherwise gain access to your network, through the router. WEP You should always use encryption. There are two standards of encryption. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is an older and less secure method. It uses a non-changing 64- or 128-bit key. Although it's not the best encryption, it is better than nothing. Defining WEP is done on the router, using the software supplied with the router. On the Linksys router this is done by entering the web address 192.168.1.1 in any browser such as Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer, which takes you to the router itself and a screen requiring you to enter your user name and password (hopefully you remember them or wrote them down). Then you click on the Wireless tab and select Wireless Security. You will then be required to select either 64 or 128 bit option and enter a passphrase, then click on Generate. Doing so generates four keys which are then displayed. Write the passphrase and the keys down and go to each computer and make sure that the network adapter has picked this up, or enter them through the supplied software which came with the adapter. The Netgear adapter picked it up without having to enter, as did the Dell (Broadcom) adapter on the notebook computer. Broadcasting the SSID (Service Set Identifier)1. Stop broadcasting to the world. By default, most access points send a short message repeating the network's name. The network's name is called the SSID. Anybody who lives (or drives) nearby can easily detect that you have a wireless network, find its name and jump onto it. By disabling the SSID broadcast, you are no longer telling the world around you that you have a wireless network. Additionally, rename the SSID. Don't use your name or something easily identifiable. Doing so only makes it easier for someone to hack into it. The wireless router you use comes with no security, a generic SSID, and other factory settings. This is done to make it easier to install without confounding the purchaser. These default settings should be changed immediately for your own protection.