4 Test & adjust
1 Check network connectivity.
1.1
On PC7, open a Command prompt window [you can type cmd in the Start menu search box to start it].
Type in <ping PCXP> then press Return. You should get this response
Pinging PCXP [192.168.137.2] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.137.2: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.137.2: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.137.2: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.137.2: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Ping statistics for 192.168.137.2:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms
1.2
On PCXP, open a Command prompt window [you can type cmd in the Start menu Run box to start it].
Type in <ping PC7> then press Return. You should get a similar response.
1.3
If you get an error message, “Ping request could not find host PCXP.
Please check the name & try again.”, then you will need to check your cable connection, check your hardware & check all the settings you have put on the PCs.
As a first step, still in the Command prompt on each PC, Type in <ipconfig> then press Return.
Look in the LAN card entry & check the IP address, the SubNet mask & the Default gateway settings.
2 Check folder sharing
2.1
On PC7, check that you can see the shared folder on PCXP.
Open Windows explorer, look in the left-hand pane [the “Navigation pane”], click on the arrow next to the entry for Network, click on the arrow next to the entry for PCXP, select the folder you set to be shared on PCXP.
You should be able to see its contents.
2.2
On PC7, now select PCXP in the Navigation pane again.
In the right-hand pane, select then right-click on the shared folder & select Create shortcut.
It will put a shortcut on your Desktop. Have a look in the shortcut’s properties if you want to see how network folder paths are referenced without any need for mounting them as specific drive letters - you can use this path in a batch file or similar.
2.3 For PC7, you could put this shortcut in your context menu SendTo commands by copying it to
C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo
2.4
On PC7, if you get an error message “\PCXP... is not accessible.
You might not have permission to use this network resource.
Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions.
Not enough server storage is available to process this command” then check this link
Antivirus software may cause Event ID 2011
[it contains a reference to Symantec products but the Symantec link was broken when I tried it]. I saw this warning during earlier testing when I shared large external hard drives & it turned out to be caused by remnants from an earlier installation of Symantec AV utilities on PCXP. I downloaded & ran Symantec’s uninstaller / cleanup toolfrom their support site & the problem was fixed.
2.5
On PCXP, check that you can see the shared folder on PC7.
Open Windows explorer, look in the left-hand pane [the “Navigation pane”], click on the + symbol next to the entry for My Network Places, then Entire Network, then Microsoft Windows Network, then XP-7Net [the workgroup name], then PC7 [Don’t worry if this seems to take an age, it is not indicative of the speed of response you are going to be getting from the network in normal operations.] & then the shared folder.
You should be able to see its contents.
2.6
On PCXP, now select PC7 in the Navigation pane again.
In the right-hand pane, select then right-click on the shared folder & select Create shortcut.
It will put a shortcut on your Desktop after getting you to confirm this in a dialog box.
2.7 For PCXP, you could put this shortcut in your context menu SendTo commands by copying it to
C:\Documents and Settings*YourUserName*\SendTo
3 Test the internet connection & ICS
3.1
On PC7, connect the USB Broadband Modem & access the internet as normal.
3.2
On PCXP, open IE & the internet connection should be made without any other settings being made.
4 Set up folder sharing for non-admin accounts
4.1
On PC7, log out from the XP-7NetAdmin account & log in to a normal / day-to-day user account.
Folder sharing should work without any further adjustment.
4.2
On PCXP, log out from the XP-7NetAdmin account & log in to a normal / day-to-day user account [if there are multiple user accounts then this step needs to be completed once for each one].
In Windows explorer, attempt to open the shared PC7 folder as described in step 2.5 above.
You will be challenged for the XP-7NetAdmin account name & password.
Enter them. You should now be able to view the shared folders.
You will not be challenged for the admin account name or password again.
5 Bypass login passwords, if required
5.1
On PC7, enter netplwiz in the Start menu search box, right-click on the shortcut that is offered & select Run as Admin.
Set the checkbox about user names & passwords, select the account to be used as the default user account, clear the checkbox again, click OK.
5.2
On PCXP, go to Start menu, Run & type in Control userpasswords2 & enter.
In the dialog that appears, select the account that is to log on automatically then clear the checkbox next to “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer” & click OK.
Enter the account’s password when challenged. [Or, if you have this utility, go to TweakUI, Logon, Autologon, set the checkbox at "Log on automatically at system startup”, enter your username & password, click OK.]
Using either method, this account will now load automatically when Windows XP starts. You will still be challenged for the password when switching between accounts.
6 Share a printer
6.1
Keep life simple, install & test the printer on both PCs first then connect it to the PC you normally want to have it on.
This ensures that both PCs have the necessary drivers installed already so nothing needs to be installed at the stage of setting it up as a network printer.
6.2
On PC7, if it directly connected to that one, go to Start menu, Devices & printers, right-click on the printer, select Printer properties [careful of similarly-named items in the context menu], select the Sharing tab, click on Change sharing options
if the account does not have admin status, select the checkbox next to Share this printer & give it a name.
I suggest calling it something like PrinterOnPC7 to help avoid confusion later on.
6.3
On PCXP, if it directly connected to that one, go to Start menu, Settings, Printers & Faxes then right-click on the printer concerned, select Sharing..., select Share this printer & give it a name.
I suggest calling it something like PrinterOnPCXP to help avoid confusion later on.
6.4
You can now see the printer in the connected PC by looking in the network section of Windows explorer [see 2.1 or 2.5 above, as applicable].
7 Refine folder sharing
7.1
On PC7, go back to a shared folder, right-click, select Properties, Sharing tab, click on Share..., select the Everyone entry & decide whether to allow Read access only or Read/Write access.
7.2
On PCXP, open Windows explorer, find a folder you are going to want to share then right-click, select Sharing & security, on the Sharing tab, consider setting the checkbox for “Allow network users to change my files”.
8 Make system images now you have finished.
[v1.0 dated 20 Feb 2012]
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