I am about to buy a laptop and I guess it will have Vista. Sorry if this is

a dumb question, but will it be easy to link the two PCs to get the internet

on each and transfer files between them (the PC is only 768MB RAM - so not

really big enough to upgrade to Vista). The internet obviously comes into

the PC and in the past I had another laptop with XP and with a cable could

easily get the internet on each.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

See Windows Help, File Sharing.

 

RichardH wrote:

> I am about to buy a laptop and I guess it will have Vista. Sorry if this is

> a dumb question, but will it be easy to link the two PCs to get the internet

> on each and transfer files between them (the PC is only 768MB RAM - so not

> really big enough to upgrade to Vista). The internet obviously comes into

> the PC and in the past I had another laptop with XP and with a cable could

> easily get the internet on each.

>

> Any help would be appreciated.

>

> Thanks.

Bob,

 

Thanks for the reply, but I don't really understand. I know it works if

both PCs are XP - but if I get a Vista one will it still work (I don't have

access to Vista Help - and obviously, XP doesn't mention Vista). Also, if

the internet comes through my Vista PC, can I get it working so there is

internet on the Vista laptop through it.

 

I am aware that although I use PCs all the time, I am not that savvy on

techy stuff - again any help would be appreciated.

 

"Bob I" wrote:

> See Windows Help, File Sharing.

>

> RichardH wrote:

>

> > I am about to buy a laptop and I guess it will have Vista. Sorry if this is

> > a dumb question, but will it be easy to link the two PCs to get the internet

> > on each and transfer files between them (the PC is only 768MB RAM - so not

> > really big enough to upgrade to Vista). The internet obviously comes into

> > the PC and in the past I had another laptop with XP and with a cable could

> > easily get the internet on each.

> >

> > Any help would be appreciated.

> >

> > Thanks.

>

>

You give access to the the locations in question. It really doesn't

matter if the boxes are Windows XP, Windows 98, Apply OSx or Vista. If

you have a specific question about Vista, you would be better served

asking in the Vista groups instead of this Windows XP group.

 

RichardH wrote:

> Bob,

>

> Thanks for the reply, but I don't really understand. I know it works if

> both PCs are XP - but if I get a Vista one will it still work (I don't have

> access to Vista Help - and obviously, XP doesn't mention Vista). Also, if

> the internet comes through my Vista PC, can I get it working so there is

> internet on the Vista laptop through it.

>

> I am aware that although I use PCs all the time, I am not that savvy on

> techy stuff - again any help would be appreciated.

>

> "Bob I" wrote:

>

>

>>See Windows Help, File Sharing.

>>

>>RichardH wrote:

>>

>>

>>>I am about to buy a laptop and I guess it will have Vista. Sorry if this is

>>>a dumb question, but will it be easy to link the two PCs to get the internet

>>>on each and transfer files between them (the PC is only 768MB RAM - so not

>>>really big enough to upgrade to Vista). The internet obviously comes into

>>>the PC and in the past I had another laptop with XP and with a cable could

>>>easily get the internet on each.

>>>

>>>Any help would be appreciated.

>>>

>>>Thanks.

>>

>>

"RichardH" <RichardH@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:6B7B02FF-2D9A-40DC-AEDE-C3ACF753B026@microsoft.com...

>I am about to buy a laptop and I guess it will have Vista. Sorry if this

>is

> a dumb question, but will it be easy to link the two PCs to get the

> internet

> on each and transfer files between them (the PC is only 768MB RAM - so not

> really big enough to upgrade to Vista). The internet obviously comes into

> the PC and in the past I had another laptop with XP and with a cable could

> easily get the internet on each.

>

> Any help would be appreciated.

>

> Thanks.

 

First, if you are going to have two systems, get a router. These are cheap

and trivial to set up, and provide a good first layer of protection. And,

it removes any interdependence between the systems for internet access.

Just plug the router into the modem, plug the computers into the router.

Configure the router, and you're in business. Should take under 15

minutes.

 

If you get Internet via a cable company, you probably won't have to do much

beyond take the router out of the box and plug it in correctly. You might

have to turn off the cable modem's power for a minute, then turn it back on

again. In an extreme case, you'd have to call the cable company and have

them reset the cable modem, but most modern systems won't require anything

more than a power cycle.

 

If you have a DSL service, you'll also need to connect to the router, follow

the instructions for logging into it, enter the DSL username and password.

Choose OK or Connect, and check the status page. When there is a WAN

address, you're done.

 

Both machines will automatically get IP addresses and have internet access.

If not, either reboot or use this pair of commands at a command prompt:

 

ipconfig /release

ipconfig /renew

 

Your new laptop will very likely have wireless. So, get a router that also

has wireless access. Do, however, set up the wireless while connected to

the router via a cable.

 

First thing, CHANGE the default SSID on the router! One of your neighbors

probably has the same router, has left the SSID at the default, and Windows

will become confused over which router and network to connect to. This

will cause all kinds of problems, like an inability to send mail or print to

network printers. Don't set the SSID to blank as this can also cause

problems with some wireless clients.

 

Do not leave encryption disabled for any longer than it takes to just verify

that the hardware works. If you have connected the laptop to the router via

cable, you can just copy and paste the key from the router's wireless setup

page into your laptop's wireless setup.

 

I have run into one Netgear router with a bug in the encryption keys. Most

routers provide for four sets of keys. On that router, filling in any more

than *one* prevented any of the keys from working, so nobody could connect.

 

 

Set up matching user accounts on both the XP and Vista machines. Set up

file sharing on both systems. Set the firewalls to allow traffic from the

local network, using the address range the router provides. Specify the

folders you want to share, as shared. Then, you should be able to share

files locally.

 

HTH

-pk

On Mon, 2 Jul 2007 11:42:01 -0700, RichardH

<RichardH@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> Bob,

>

> Thanks for the reply, but I don't really understand. I know it works if

> both PCs are XP - but if I get a Vista one will it still work

 

 

Yes.

 

> (I don't have

> access to Vista Help - and obviously, XP doesn't mention Vista). Also, if

> the internet comes through my Vista PC,

 

 

A much better plan is to have the internet come into a router and have

both computers connected to the router (you might want a router that

also supports wireless if the laptop has wireless capability)

 

That's not only a more reliable setup, but establishes the network for

file sharing, and lets each computer have internet access even if the

other isn't on.

 

> can I get it working so there is

> internet on the Vista laptop through it.

>

> I am aware that although I use PCs all the time, I am not that savvy on

> techy stuff - again any help would be appreciated.

>

> "Bob I" wrote:

>

> > See Windows Help, File Sharing.

> >

> > RichardH wrote:

> >

> > > I am about to buy a laptop and I guess it will have Vista. Sorry if this is

> > > a dumb question, but will it be easy to link the two PCs to get the internet

> > > on each and transfer files between them (the PC is only 768MB RAM - so not

> > > really big enough to upgrade to Vista). The internet obviously comes into

> > > the PC and in the past I had another laptop with XP and with a cable could

> > > easily get the internet on each.

> > >

> > > Any help would be appreciated.

> > >

> > > Thanks.

> >

> >

 

--

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User

Please Reply to the Newsgroup

Thanks for that Patrick and the others who have replied, I am now a lot more

confident about getting a Vista laptop (I was quite worried about them

working together).

 

All the best

 

Richard.

 

"Patrick Keenan" wrote:

> "RichardH" <RichardH@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:6B7B02FF-2D9A-40DC-AEDE-C3ACF753B026@microsoft.com...

> >I am about to buy a laptop and I guess it will have Vista. Sorry if this

> >is

> > a dumb question, but will it be easy to link the two PCs to get the

> > internet

> > on each and transfer files between them (the PC is only 768MB RAM - so not

> > really big enough to upgrade to Vista). The internet obviously comes into

> > the PC and in the past I had another laptop with XP and with a cable could

> > easily get the internet on each.

> >

> > Any help would be appreciated.

> >

> > Thanks.

>

> First, if you are going to have two systems, get a router. These are cheap

> and trivial to set up, and provide a good first layer of protection. And,

> it removes any interdependence between the systems for internet access.

> Just plug the router into the modem, plug the computers into the router.

> Configure the router, and you're in business. Should take under 15

> minutes.

>

> If you get Internet via a cable company, you probably won't have to do much

> beyond take the router out of the box and plug it in correctly. You might

> have to turn off the cable modem's power for a minute, then turn it back on

> again. In an extreme case, you'd have to call the cable company and have

> them reset the cable modem, but most modern systems won't require anything

> more than a power cycle.

>

> If you have a DSL service, you'll also need to connect to the router, follow

> the instructions for logging into it, enter the DSL username and password.

> Choose OK or Connect, and check the status page. When there is a WAN

> address, you're done.

>

> Both machines will automatically get IP addresses and have internet access.

> If not, either reboot or use this pair of commands at a command prompt:

>

> ipconfig /release

> ipconfig /renew

>

> Your new laptop will very likely have wireless. So, get a router that also

> has wireless access. Do, however, set up the wireless while connected to

> the router via a cable.

>

> First thing, CHANGE the default SSID on the router! One of your neighbors

> probably has the same router, has left the SSID at the default, and Windows

> will become confused over which router and network to connect to. This

> will cause all kinds of problems, like an inability to send mail or print to

> network printers. Don't set the SSID to blank as this can also cause

> problems with some wireless clients.

>

> Do not leave encryption disabled for any longer than it takes to just verify

> that the hardware works. If you have connected the laptop to the router via

> cable, you can just copy and paste the key from the router's wireless setup

> page into your laptop's wireless setup.

>

> I have run into one Netgear router with a bug in the encryption keys. Most

> routers provide for four sets of keys. On that router, filling in any more

> than *one* prevented any of the keys from working, so nobody could connect.

>

>

> Set up matching user accounts on both the XP and Vista machines. Set up

> file sharing on both systems. Set the firewalls to allow traffic from the

> local network, using the address range the router provides. Specify the

> folders you want to share, as shared. Then, you should be able to share

> files locally.

>

> HTH

> -pk

>

>

>

"RichardH" <RichardH@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote

>I am about to buy a laptop and I guess it will have Vista. Sorry if this

>is

> a dumb question, but will it be easy to link the two PCs to get the

> internet

> on each and transfer files between them (the PC is only 768MB RAM - so not

> really big enough to upgrade to Vista). The internet obviously comes into

> the PC and in the past I had another laptop with XP and with a cable could

> easily get the internet on each.

>

> Any help would be appreciated.

 

In addition to the other good posts FYI there are Vista newsgroups. For

networking involving Vista this would be a good one:

microsoft.public.windows.vista.networking_sharing

 

Here is a list of all the Vista newsgroups:

microsoft.public.windows.vista.administration_accounts_password

microsoft.public.windows.vista.file_management

microsoft.public.windows.vista.games

microsoft.public.windows.vista.general

microsoft.public.windows.vista.hardware_assessment

microsoft.public.windows.vista.hardware_devices

microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup

microsoft.public.windows.vista.mail

microsoft.public.windows.vista.music_pictures_video

microsoft.public.windows.vista.networking_sharing

microsoft.public.windows.vista.performance_maintenance

microsoft.public.windows.vista.print_fax_scan

 

--

Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

"RichardH" <RichardH@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:6B7B02FF-2D9A-40DC-AEDE-C3ACF753B026@microsoft.com...

>I am about to buy a laptop and I guess it will have Vista. Sorry if this

>is

> a dumb question, but will it be easy to link the two PCs to get the

> internet

> on each and transfer files between them (the PC is only 768MB RAM - so not

> really big enough to upgrade to Vista). The internet obviously comes into

> the PC and in the past I had another laptop with XP and with a cable could

> easily get the internet on each.

>

> Any help would be appreciated.

>

> Thanks.

 

 

I meant to include this in the first post. Vista is a much different OS.

There are many aspects that are similar to or the same as in XP, but much

that is radically different. There is a learning curve, and you need to

change your way of thinking about how you do things. I suggest to start

with you do some reading on User Access Control (UAC) in Vista.

 

Why is Windows Vista always asking for my permission: An explanation of UAC

(User Account Control) by

MVP Jimmy Brush

http://www.jimmah.com/vista/security/uac.aspx

 

Jesper Johansson's Blog

http://msinfluentials.com/blogs/jesper/archive/2007/03/01/confusion-about-vista-features-what-uac-really-is.aspx

 

Windows Vista User Account Control Step by Step Guide (TechNet)

http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsVista/en/library/0d75f774-8514-4c9e-ac08-4c21f5c6c2d91033.mspx?mfr=true

 

Inside Windows Vista User Account Control (Mark Russinovich)

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2007/06/UAC/default.aspx

 

Another topic that greatly confuses new Vista users coming from XP is

junction points. Certain folders used in XP, such as Documents and

Settings, and the "My" folders, were brought into Vista for compatibility

for legacy apps, but they are not used to store data in Vista.

 

In Vista they are actually junction points, and all they contain is a

pointer to the actual folder in Vista where the data is kept. For example

the Documents and Settings folder actually points to the \Users folder. You

only see them in Windows Explorer if you have the View settings set to show

hidden files and folders. They appear dimmed with the shortcut arrow and

give access denied.

 

You don't need to access them nor should you change the permissions on them.

 

If you want to see what folder it points to, open a elevated command prompt,

navigate to the folder that contains the folder in question and give the

command:

dir /al

 

Junction points are designated by <Junction> and the folder to which it

points is at the end of the line in square brackets. Do not change the

permissions on these junction points. It can cause problems for the same

legacy apps they are they for in the first place.

 

From a post by Jimmy Brush here is a list of the these XP folders and their

corresponding locations in Vista:

Windows XP Location Windows Vista Location

\Documents and Settings \Users

\Documents and Settings\$USER$\My Documents \Users\$USER$\Documents

\Documents and Settings\$USER$\My Documents\My Music \Users\$USER$\Music

\Documents and Settings \$USER$\My Documents\My Pictures

\Users\$USER$\Pictures

\Documents and Settings\$USER$\My Documents\My Videos

\Users\$USER$\Videos

\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Application Data

\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming

\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Cookies

\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies

\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Local Settings

\Users\$USER$\AppData\Local

\Documents and Settings\$USER$\NetHood

\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Network Shortcuts

\Documents and Settings\$USER$\PrintHood

\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Printer Shortcuts

\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Recent

\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent

\Documents and Settings\$USER$\SendTo

\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo

\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Start Menu

\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Templates

\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Templates

\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Local Settings\Application Data

\Users\$USER$\AppData\Local

\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Local Settings\History

\Users\$USER$\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\History

\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files

\Users\$USER$\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files

\Documents and Settings\All Users \ProgramData

\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data \ProgramData

\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop \Users\Public\Desktop

\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents \Users\Public\Documents

\Documents and Settings\All Users\Favorites \Users\Public\Favorites

\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu

\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

\Documents and Settings\All Users\Templates

\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Templates

\Documents and Settings\Default User \Users\Default "

 

Have fun with Vista.

 

--

Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

=?Utf-8?B?UmljaGFyZEg=?= wrote:

>

> I am about to buy a laptop and I guess it will have Vista. Sorry if this is

> a dumb question, but will it be easy to link the two PCs to get the internet

> on each and transfer files between them (the PC is only 768MB RAM - so not

> really big enough to upgrade to Vista). The internet obviously comes into

> the PC and in the past I had another laptop with XP and with a cable could

> easily get the internet on each.

 

 

Networking

 

http://www.howstuffworks.com/home-network.htm

http://www.homenethelp.com/home-network.asp

http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/

http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/category04

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/default.mspx

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/windowsxpnetworking/Windows_XP_Networking_Microsoft_Windows_XP.htm

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=813936

http://www.onecomputerguy.com/networking/xp_network.htm

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/getstarted/default.mspx

 

--

http://www.bootdisk.com/

=?Utf-8?B?UmljaGFyZEg=?= wrote:

>

> I am about to buy a laptop and I guess it will have Vista. Sorry if this is

> a dumb question, but will it be easy to link the two PCs to get the internet

> on each and transfer files between them (the PC is only 768MB RAM - so not

> really big enough to upgrade to Vista). The internet obviously comes into

> the PC and in the past I had another laptop with XP and with a cable could

> easily get the internet on each.

 

 

Networking

 

http://www.howstuffworks.com/home-network.htm

http://www.homenethelp.com/home-network.asp

http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/

http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/category04

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/default.mspx

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/windowsxpnetworking/Windows_XP_Networking_Microsoft_Windows_XP.htm

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=813936

http://www.onecomputerguy.com/networking/xp_network.htm

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/getstarted/default.mspx

 

 

--

http://www.bootdisk.com/