Need help creating my network

[delvin.friends]

Hello,

I have a windows vista hp based desktop pc (about which i have complained many times about ).

but recently i bought a new sony vaio laptop (with built in wlan) for my official work and using the desktop to download and play media.

i also bought a belkin F5D7632-4 wireless router to connect my laptop to the internet, (which i managed to connect to the internet without any problems).

so currently my network status is like this: my laptop and also my desktop are connected to the internet using the belkin wireless router.

but the problem is that i am unable to see the other computer in my network and sharing centre.

i think that since both computers are connected to the internet using the same router, they should be connected with each other, so then i can use this connection to transfer files.

but i am unable to do so.

i've tried navigating the Network and Sharing Centre in Vista's control panel.

Can anyone help me with this so that i can create a home network which i can use to transfer and share files with the other computer?

[Makaveli213]

Did you go thru the Network Setup Wizard on all PC's? That has to be done first.

[kairozamorro]

Make sure that the computers are in the same workgroup and that they do not have identical hostnames. Also make sure that in network and sharing center on both computers that file and printer sharing are enabled. They may be disabled by default.

[delvin.friends]

sorry about my ignorance but can you please show me the exact steps.

i think i should edit the workgroup details of both the computers to be the same workgroup. i thik i should do it using the computer properties.

also when i go to the network setup qizard, i am faced with the following options:

Connect to the internet

Setup a wireless router or access point

Setup a dial-up connection

Connect to a workplace

By logic, i clicked on connect to a workplace.

But in the next step i am faced with "Use my Internet connection", when i click that, it asks for "Type the internet address to connect to "

Addendum:

Originally Posted by Makaveli213

Did you go thru the Network Setup Wizard on all PC's? That has to be done first.

what options do i have to use in Setting up a network connection.

[Makaveli213]

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...9265e1033.mspx
http://www.windvis.com/how-to-create...-windows-vista

Just to many to post.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...a+home+network

There are plenty of step by step guides out there.

[delvin.friends]

Just one question. In the network map, i can see the other laptop (thanks to all the members who posted).

But i cannot click on that laptop. i have made the laptop discoverable and have also disabled password sharing. i also have made the network private. but how can i access the other computer. i can see it in the network map, but i cannot see it in the Network.

Please please can somebody tell me how to do that. I dont want to read any long guides to networking.

[Makaveli213]

Well those Long guides will be of more use than us trying to guess what you have done and have not done with your network.

I would guess that by making it Private you did not allow access to the PC. Cant share anything with a PC that is PRIVATE compared to that which is PUBLIC.

[kairozamorro]

Originally Posted by delvin.friends

But i cannot click on that laptop. i have made the laptop discoverable and have also disabled password sharing. i also have made the network private. but how can i access the other computer. i can see it in the network map, but i cannot see it in the Network.

Just because the computer may appear to the other doesn't mean you can just start connecting to it. You must supply a valid username/password if it prompts you for one. And any user account you want to connect with must have a password. Windows won't allow you to login with accounts remotely if thier passwords are blank.

If both computers belong to you, I would create identical accounts on both computers with the same username/password. When share permissions are set correctly, Windows well use the current account's username and password for the login by default when connecting to the share on the other computer and avoid having to ask you for one.

Firewalls on the computer(s) may also be to blame. Make sure that IP addresses on your local network are trusted if it is blocking connection.

Even when you do manage to access the computer, you won't initally be able to access files from it until you set up shares with the appropriate permissions for the user account you want to use to access remotely.

[delvin.friends]

Originally Posted by Makaveli213

I would guess that by making it Private you did not allow access to the PC. Cant share anything with a PC that is PRIVATE compared to that which is PUBLIC.

n the "netwotk and sharing centre" it says quite the opposite. In the there, it says that by making it private, you can make it discoverable and if you make it public connection will be limited.

[kairozamorro]

The public/private option is to give you a quick way to harden a laptops security if you are using it on a public hotspot. Other then that, the firewall on the computer and the fact that your network should be encrypted at home should be good enough to leave it set to private.