Hi all:

I am having an issue networking my media server to the other computers in the house so that they can see and manipulate HDs etc.

The server is connected via ethernet to the back of the router and thus gets net connection kind of directly from the virgin line. The rest of the house use laptops and they gain access to the net through the wifi also connected to the Virgin line (cable not ADSL). Every computer is therefore operating off of the same WiFi network.

I have shared the HD on the server I have tried detecting other computers on the network using Windows add network places etc yet all of them can clearly see the router but not the HDs.

Oh the laptop is using Vista and I am using XP pro.

The annoying thing is that my friend came round with her Powerbook by accident.

Can anyone tell me how to do this or if there is a better program I can use to get this to work - Freeware hopefully?

Thanks

Graham

The annoying thing is that my friend came round with her Powerbook by accident.

...And detected the drive and the server without even realising or doing anything.

You are not saying what operating system you are using on the media server.

If it is windows one guees is that the computeres are not setup to be in the same workgroup.

Another possibility is that your router is having to different subnets. One on wireless and on on the wired ports. Maybe there is a setting in the router for bridging between the wired and the wireless. If you know how to you can check up on which IP adresses the computeres have and if they are in the same segment (192.168.1.xxx for example). If they are operation in different IP segments it can be difficult to see other computers.

Have you tried if you can see the laptops from the media server? 

Are you saying you've done this -

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308582

and it hasn't worked?

Hi:

To be honest I thought I did but clearly don't know what  I am doing under my network places there is a shared folder which I created which is basicaly the whole of the C drive on the server. There are no further options for me to map this in the sub-menus. 

The laptop is using vista and the server xp pro.

When I checked the network map on the laptop it clearly shows the server but only as connecting directly to the virgin and not an exchange of traffic between the machines.

At least this is a start and they are visable I guess? 

Any further ideas - thanks?

Hi:

Do I need a hub other than the wireless router that I am attempting to use as such?

Hit Start, Run, type \\servername and hit enter. 

The fact that it doesn't show in network places isn't really big news.  If your friend with a mac could see and access it, then it's working fine.

Hi:

It says it can't detect the server name I put in, would one of you guys be able to do this through remote desktop?

Thanks

Graham

Hi all:

This problem is still haunting me and as it is half term I would really like to get this sorted so I can use the server as I intended.

There has been no joy from doing the above so I think I am missing something basic. I have spoken to a number of people about it and they have hypothesised the following:

1. There is an IP conflict 

2. Perhaps the router needs to be setup to allow internal instead of direct outbound internet traffic.

A network engineer told me about point 1 (a real one, not a mate who messes about with PCs and thereby certifies himself). If this is the case, how do I go about resolving this - I am aware of a program through dos that can ping all computers on a network telling you if they can communicate with one another.

Is point 2 valid?

Point 1 isn't likely given that the addresses will be dynamically assigned, and it's not valid if all clients can use the internet without issue.

Point 2 is very unlikely for home user kit - the router has a simple unmanaged switch.

And neither is valid for the simple reason that it's worked with a Macbook.

If just typing \\servername hasn't worked, then my next guess would be a firewall - have you got one installed and enabled?  Disable it, and try again.

If you get an error message, let us know it.

Graham1982:

The annoying thing is that my friend came round with her Powerbook by accident.

...And detected the drive and the server without even realising or doing anything.

This does not surprise me ... my MacBook detected the router attached printer and used it perfectly with no downloads, no definitions, etc

On the other hand, every Window's system (NT or Vista) has struggled and needed configuring.

And Ubuntu has not succeeded to date.

As an aside it does alarm me when I open up my MacBook in public and "see" lots of systems including iTunes libraries around me - I just hope they can't see me !

Hi:

Problem solved - I worked out that it was likely a Vista - XP comms issue and it was. I booted my old P4 machine in my room and found my internet dongle (this machine runs XP family). I then booted the server which runs XP pro and as I had done all the drive sharing things before it worked automatically.

This really, really annoys me, I knew I had done everything right and was literally sweating over this problem earlier in the summer, doubting myself etc. However, it now works fine.

My next question is this - if I connect a non-network enabled printer to the server by standard USB and share this printer, should I be able to print from this remotely from the computer in my room or do I need to have a printer plugged by ethernet into the router directly.

My next project is to get my slingbox setup which is hopefully going to be very easy.

Thanks everyone for your help

Graham

Graham1982:

My next question is this - if I connect a non-network enabled printer to the server by standard USB and share this printer, should I be able to print from this remotely from the computer in my room or do I need to have a printer plugged by ethernet into the router directly.

Should not be an issue, but you may need to install the printer's drivers on the remote PC as well... while "adding" the printer to same.

Thanks, I have connected the printer and it works really well. I know I am using a sledge hammer to crack a walnut as I have a full tower case sitting in my dining room with a printer on top of it (I could have bought a net drive and a printer for a neater solution) but I built this with some spare parts and 100 pounds or less, and I think it will have so much more functionality than if I were just to do that.

Despite all the headaches it was fun building it, and useful.

Does anyone know if there is an easy and cheap way to access the server that I have built remotely from another computer with internet connection in a different city - would I have to make a VPN or is it straightforward?

Another question, I want to get a pair of powered Pentas at some point (the original ones with amps inside) would I need a decent PC soundcard to do them justice or would a bog standard one do the job - I just want to use it to channel music.