In an earlier post, I described a small network with three computers. One of the computers was running Win 2000 and the other two were running Windows ME. The network was set up to be a peer-to-peer network.

The owner was having trouble browsing Network Neighborhood (or My Network Places) to find files, folders, printers.

This is not uncommon — lots of networks don’t work the way they should. It’s not your fault — this stuff can be confusing even when (because?) Microsoft tries to make it easy for you.

What are some of the common mistakes you can make in this situation?

1. One common mistake is to have different protocols on different computers.

2. Another common mistake is for the different computers to belong to different workgroups.
3. A third common mistake is to overlook common user names and passwords on all the PCs.

Let’s look at the first common mistake: protocols.
Continue reading ‘My computers can’t understand each other’

In an earlier post, I talked about a basic hardware error that can end your attempt at networking: not plugging your network cable properly.

There is a related problem to this and it involves your network card or adapter. In short: make sure your computer’s operating system recognizes that your adapter is there.
Continue reading ‘What’s the matter with my network adapter?’

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