setting up a home network - advice please
Discussion
...as I don't know where to start
I have a home PC and now a work Laptop. I have a USB printer,camera, mobile HD and shortly a graphics tablet and at the moment BT Broadband modem, again using USB (which I assume would be redundent with most routers?)
Whats the best way so that eithe of the computers can use any of these items and connect to Internet, without swapping plugs all the time. The laptop has wireless connection (well it appears!)
Had a look at some routers and wireless routers and just managed to confuse myself. If wireless works, then thats even better.
Laptop is a HP running XP and my home computer is a Dell running 2000, although I'll have a new HP running Xp within the month. Prepared to wait until the new machine if that makes it easier.
any help and suggestions would be very much appreciated
Ta!
I have a home PC and now a work Laptop. I have a USB printer,camera, mobile HD and shortly a graphics tablet and at the moment BT Broadband modem, again using USB (which I assume would be redundent with most routers?)
Whats the best way so that eithe of the computers can use any of these items and connect to Internet, without swapping plugs all the time. The laptop has wireless connection (well it appears!)
Had a look at some routers and wireless routers and just managed to confuse myself. If wireless works, then thats even better.
Laptop is a HP running XP and my home computer is a Dell running 2000, although I'll have a new HP running Xp within the month. Prepared to wait until the new machine if that makes it easier.
any help and suggestions would be very much appreciated
Ta!
I'd guess (and it is a guess) that the best arrangement would be to have all the USB stuff plugged into the workstation and use a peer-to-peer workgroup to share it with the laptop. You probably don't need a router for that, just a wireless network card for the workstation and config the workstation's sharing options.
Do you plug your laptop into an office network (or attach to it wirelessly)? If so you may find that your office IT dept will have locked down the security on the laptop meaning you can't change any of its network settings unless you become a member of the administrator user group.
Moving your laptop between a domain and a workgroup may cause problems too. Might not be too bad as most devices that provide IP now seem to be able to store two sets of config and swap btwn them fairly painlessly.
If you've got a halfway decent IT dept at work, I'd ask them what they recommend.
Do you plug your laptop into an office network (or attach to it wirelessly)? If so you may find that your office IT dept will have locked down the security on the laptop meaning you can't change any of its network settings unless you become a member of the administrator user group.
Moving your laptop between a domain and a workgroup may cause problems too. Might not be too bad as most devices that provide IP now seem to be able to store two sets of config and swap btwn them fairly painlessly.
If you've got a halfway decent IT dept at work, I'd ask them what they recommend.
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