As Hugh suggests, Vista will be the oddball.  There is some code in Vista
which was NOT backward compatible unless you load a special patch on the XP
machines (SP2 and newer only), otherwise the older OS's won't be able to see
the Vista computer.  Make sure they are all on the same work group.  I would
start building with the wired XP Pro system.  If you don't have something
shared on each computer you may overlook that machine by accident.  I
started my network with two computers and have just added and subtracted
from there.

I was working on one network in which there was 1 XP-SP2 pro machine and 2
Vista.  The printers were locally connected to the XP machine.  The only way
I could get all three to see each other was to load the network patch and
then create an administrator level account with the same password on each
machine; access the other machines and "remember" the account and password.
Even then, there are times when the user must enter a password before
accessing shared files or a printer.

The newer the OS, the more likely it is that that machine will force an
election to become the "browse master" (a background service necessary for
peer to peer networking).  Since Vista is the newest and won't work with
your XP-SP1 or 98 machines, I suggest the Vista machine be added to a
different workgroup.  You will also want to try to keep the browse master on
a wired machine or the network may slow down by looking to a wireless
computer for that service.  You can Google "browse master" for more
information.

Ron Jobe



On Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 5:04 PM, Bob Lendrim <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I'd like to make a network at my home. I tried several years ago with W98
> or 95, found it difficult, and quit.
> I imagine it's easier now. I have a cable modem running into a wireless/g
> router with 5 computers.
> I will buy any required/suggested hardware.
> My computers are:
>
> 1 P4 Laptop running up to date Vista wireless
> 1 P4 Laptop running up to date XP Pro wired
> 1 P4 Desktop running XP Pro SP1 wireless
> 1 P3 Desktop running W98 wireless
> 1 P2 Desktop running W98 wired
>
> All are Intel chipsets
> I can run a temporary cable to any 4 of the 5 machines to build the
> network.
> Can/should all 3 OSs be on the same network, or is that a problem?
> Which machine/OS should I use to build the network?
> Should I do it with the Windows OS or use a 3rd party utility ?
> Any suggestions to make it easier would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks for any and all suggestions/input, Bob Lendrim
>
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