Home Network - Can Someone Help Me?

[Madi100]

We have three computers in our house, two desktop and one laptop. Our one desktop is hooked up to the DSL box and the printer. We've got all three computers on Internet and now we are trying to network them so that we can all three use the same printer. I go through the networking wizard and set up ??? something that it tells me to do on my flash drive, which I do. Then it tells me to take the flash drive and put it in the wireless router and then the other computers. Well, I can't put the flash drive in the router. It doesn't have anything for me to put anything into it. We've had this set up before on a previous wireless card.

Can anyone help me?

 

[bicker]

Which router do you have? (Brand and Model Number)

 

[Madi100]

Which router do you have? (Brand and Model Number)

We have an Actiontec router

 

[bicker]

I don't have Actiontec, so I don't know what its capabilities are.

Reading over your issue again, though --- it actually sounds like the problem is with your flash drive, not with the router. Is your flash drive supposed to be a network device? If it has an Ethernet connection, you should be able to connect it to any router.

 

[Madi100]

I don't have Actiontec, so I don't know what its capabilities are.

Reading over your issue again, though --- it actually sounds like the problem is with your flash drive, not with the router. Is your flash drive supposed to be a network device? If it has an Ethernet connection, you should be able to connect it to any router.

It tells me to put the flash drive into the main computer, did that. Then it tells me to put the flash drive in the wireless router and then to each of the other computers. Well, we can't put anything into the wireless router. And, we have ethernet.

 

[bicker]

I'm not sure I understand well enough (and since no one else is responding, perhaps I'm not alone! ) Let's start from the beginning.

First, you said you had an Actiontec router. Which model? Also, what is the brand and model of your Flash Drive.

Second, as you're going through the networking wizard, you said you get to a Set-up "something". What exactly are you referring to? Could you post a screen shot?

 

[Galahad]

You say you are trying to network your computers. Does that mean they are not currently networked and each connect to your DSL modem directly?

 

[Madi100]

I'm not sure I understand well enough (and since no one else is responding, perhaps I'm not alone! ) Let's start from the beginning.

First, you said you had an Actiontec router. Which model? Also, what is the brand and model of your Flash Drive.

Second, as you're going through the networking wizard, you said you get to a Set-up "something". What exactly are you referring to? Could you post a screen shot?

I love it when I think I know a lot about computers and then come to find out I don't know anything. I don't know how to post a screen shot. I have an ActionTec Router through Qwest. The model is GT701.

I am using the wizard and the first step tell me to either set it up manually or use a flash drive. I've tried manually and can't get that to work either. After I plug the flash drive in and hit next it tells me it's been set up on the drive. Then it gives me the following directions.

1. Plug the flash drive into your wireless access point. Many devices will blink three times when this process is complete. Otherwise, wait 30 seconds.

2. Plug the flash drive into each of the computers you want to add to your network.

3. Plug the flash drive back into this computer and hit next.

 

[Madi100]

You say you are trying to network your computers. Does that mean they are not currently networked and each connect to your DSL modem directly?

We are not networked, but the other two computers have wireless cards.

 

[Charade]

If the all the computers can access the Internet, then they can see each other. If one of the PCs has a printer that you want to share with the other two PCs, all you need to do is "share" that printer. On the PC with the printer go in to the "printer and faxes" folder (you might have to look in the control panel). Right click on the printer you want to share, then left click "sharing" then on the next screen click the radio button next to "share this printer". A default name will appear in the box next to it. You can leave this as is or rename to something you'll recognize better. Then click OK. Then close that window.

On the other PCs go in to the printers folder and "add a printer" as if you were installing a printer on that PC (which is what you are doing). You'll see the "Add a printer..." wizard start up. Click next. On the next screen, click on the radio button that says "add a network printer..." then click next. Then click on the "browse for printers" radio button (it'll most likely be checked already). The wizard will search your network for any available printers. After a minute or two, the wizard should find the printer you "shared" out in the first step. Click on the printer (you may have to click the + sign next to the name of the PC that actually has the printer attached to it), then click next.

You may be asked for the driver disk (or download it to the other PCs ahead of time and remember where you downloaded it to).

Just follow the next steps for the driver installation and you should be good to go. You might be asked if you want to make this your default printer, just answer yes.

 

[Charade]

We are not networked, but the other two computers have wireless cards.

They may not be configured to actual "see" each other because of security settings but you are indeed networked.

 

[Madi100]

If the all the computers can access the Internet, then they can see each other. If one of the PCs has a printer that you want to share with the other two PCs, all you need to do is "share" that printer. On the PC with the printer go in to the "printer and faxes" folder (you might have to look in the control panel). Right click on the printer you want to share, then left click "sharing" then on the next screen click the radio button next to "share this printer". A default name will appear in the box next to it. You can leave this as is or rename to something you'll recognize better. Then click OK. Then close that window.

On the other PCs go in to the printers folder and "add a printer" as if you were installing a printer on that PC (which is what you are doing). You'll see the "Add a printer..." wizard start up. Click next. On the next screen, click on the radio button that says "add a network printer..." then click next. Then click on the "browse for printers" radio button (it'll most likely be checked already). The wizard will search your network for any available printers. After a minute or two, the wizard should find the printer you "shared" out in the first step. Click on the printer (you may have to click the + sign next to the name of the PC that actually has the printer attached to it), then click next.

You may be asked for the driver disk (or download it to the other PCs ahead of time and remember where you downloaded it to).

Just follow the next steps for the driver installation and you should be good to go. You might be asked if you want to make this your default printer, just answer yes.

Thanks for the help, but that didn't work. When it searched it came up as Microsoft Windows Network. When I clicked on that, I even entered the name of the printer above (tried both with and without) it said: "Windows cannot connect. Either the printer name is wrong, or the printer has lost it's connection."

On my laptop it finds the printer, but when I try to print it says there is an error and the printer is not hooked up.

What is really frustrating is that we had this done once before on our laptop with an old network card. I'm not sure why we can't seem to figure it out now.

 

[Galahad]

The GT701 is a modem, not a router. My guess, from what you've told us, is that you don't have a wireless network router. A GT701-wg is a modem with a wireless gateway. the GT701 is just a modem. You can't set up a network with it alone.

How do EACH of your three computers attach to the internet?

 

[Charade]

The GT701 is a modem, not a router. My guess, from what you've told us, is that you don't have a wireless network router. A GT701-wg is a modem with a wireless gateway. the GT701 is just a modem. You can't set up a network with it alone.

How do EACH of your three computers attach to the internet?

I missed that. If all the PCs can connect to the internet, there must be some sort of routing device (a router or the main PC) involved. Wireless if the only connection from the other 2 PCs is a wireless card.

 

[Madi100]

The GT701 is a modem, not a router. My guess, from what you've told us, is that you don't have a wireless network router. A GT701-wg is a modem with a wireless gateway. the GT701 is just a modem. You can't set up a network with it alone.

How do EACH of your three computers attach to the internet?

Computer Number 1: ActionTec DSL Modem with wireless gateway. This computer is my desktop with a printer hooked up to it.

Computer Number 2: Laptop with Netgear 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card WG511T

Computer Number 3: Desktop Compact Wireless G USB Adapter

My DH had a Linksys networking card. When he had that on his laptop we had it figured out where he could print from his laptop. However, that card no longer works, and he has replaced it with the Netgear card. We just recently bought a new computer, that is mine that I have hooked up to everything with wires. We gave our DD the computer #3. All are online. The other two are wireless. My computer is on a different floor of the house than theirs. We have absolutely no problems connecting them to the Internet, it's getting them to all be able to use one printer.

 

[Galahad]

Ok. Sorry, it wasn't clear at first whether you had the wireless gateway from what you had said. I also don't know anything about being required to use a flash drive for anything. We use a wireless print server and I've never tried using a printer on the network that is tethered to a specific computer. When he printed from his laptop to the printer on your desktop, was his wireless adapter configured to access the network through "infrastructure" mode or "ad hoc" mode? He could tell by viewing his wireless network connections and looking at either "advanced" or "properties".

 

[JR6ooo4]

Not sure if I missed it but are all three computers running windows XP (home or pro versions, it does not matter)?
even though you have internet access to each computer you may still need to run the network setup wizard. (though that is normally completed when you do the wireless network setup)

open "my computer"
add a network place (or use "add a printer" form control panel for adding a printer)
browse
my network places
entire network
microsoft windows network
mshome (unlesss the router set up some other location)
here you should finaly see any other computers on your network
another doubleclick on any of the computers and you can see shared files, shared printers or other shared locations for that computer.
doubleclick the printer.
name it or accept the default name
finish and print test page

all the computers are on while you are trying this, correct?

one other thought I just had
you may have found a neighbors unsecured wireless network for your laptop. But probably not. Some days I can find four networks other than ours when I fire up the laptop in my living room.
Mikeeeee