Four laptops and one main computer1 person got this answerI do too

You've left out a lot of information, like how you get to the Internet and what operating systems/Service Pack levels the various computers are running, and whether the printer is connected locally to one particular computer. So I'll give you some general advice and then if you have questions you can come back with the missing details and I can be more specific. General steps: 1. Have a router (or combination modem/router). This will create the Local Area Network ("LAN"). If any computers are connecting to the LAN wirelessly, make sure you set up the wireless network securely. See below for details. 2. Best solution - have a true network printer which is connected wired (wirelessly only if it isn't close to the router) to the router. Then all computers on the LAN can print to it without needing a particular computer to be turned on. 3. If your printer can only be connected locally (directly to one of the computers via USB cable), then: a. Set up file/printer sharing on all computers (see below for details); b. Install the printer on all computers. Configuring the wireless router securely: Have a computer connected to the router with an ethernet cable. Examples given are for a Linksys router. Refer to your router manual or the router mftr.'s website for default settings if you don't have a Linksys. Open a browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox and in the addressbar type: http://192.168.1.1 [enter] (this is the router's default IP address, which varies from router to router so check your manual) This will bring you to router's login screen. The default username is left blank and the Linksys default password is "admin" without the quotes. Enter that information. You are now in the router's configuration utility. Your configuration utility may differ slightly from mine. The first thing to do is change the default password because *everyone* knows the default passwords for various routers. Click on the Administration link at the top of the page. Enter your new password. WRITE IT DOWN SOMEWHERE YOU WILL NOT LOSE IT. Re-enter the password to confirm it and click the Save Settings button at the bottom of the page. The router will restart and present you with the login box again. Leave the username blank and put in your new password to get back into the configuration utility. Now click on the Wireless link at the top of the page. Change the Wireless Network Name (SSID) from the default to something you will recognize. I suggest that my clients not use their family name as the SSID. For example, you might wish to name your wireless network "CastleAnthrax" or the like. ;-) Click the Save Settings and when you get the prompt that your changes were successful, click on the Wireless Security link which is right next to the Basic Wireless Settings link (where you changed your SSID). Most computers purchased within the last 4 years have wireless hardware that will support WPA2-Personal (also called WPA2-PSK). This is the encryption level you want. If your wireless hardware is older, use WPA. Do not use WEP as that is easily cracked within minutes. So go ahead and set the Security Mode to WPA2-Personal. Do that and enter a passphrase. For example, you might use the passphrase, "Here be dragons, beware you scurvy dogs!". The passphrase is what you will enter on any computers that are allowed to connect to the wireless network. WRITE IT DOWN SOMEWHERE YOU WILL NOT LOSE IT. At this point, your router is configured and if the computer you were using to configure the router is normally going to connect wirelessly, disconnect the ethernet cable and the computer's wireless feature should see your new network. Enter the passphrase you created (exactly as you wrote it with all capitalization and punctuation) to join the network and start surfing. Networking: Here are general network troubleshooting steps. Not everything may be applicable to your situation, so just take the bits that are. It may look daunting, but if you follow the steps at the links and suggestions below systematically and calmly, you will have no difficulty in setting up your sharing. Excellent, thorough, yet easy to understand article about File/Printer Sharing in Vista. Includes details about sharing printers as well as files and folders: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727037.aspx For XP, start by running the Network Setup Wizard on all machines (see caveat in Item A below). Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall or overlooked firewall (including a stateful firewall in a VPN); or 2) inadvertently running two firewalls such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party firewall; and/or 3) not having identical user accounts and passwords on all Workgroup machines; 4) trying to create shares where the operating system does not permit it. A. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network (LAN) traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, this means allowing File/Printer Sharing on the Exceptions tab. Normally running the Network Setup Wizard on XP will take care of this for those machines.The only "gotcha" is that this will turn on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you aren't running a third-party firewall or have an antivirus/security program with its own firewall component, then you're fine. With third-party firewalls, I usually configure the LAN allowance with an IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would substitute your correct subnet. Refer to any third party security program's Help or user forums for how to properly configure its firewall. Do not run more than one firewall. DO NOT TURN OFF FIREWALLS; CONFIGURE THEM CORRECTLY. B. For ease of organization, put all computers in the same Workgroup. This is done from the System applet in Control Panel, Computer Name tab. C. In Vista, turn Password Protected Sharing ON. Create matching user accounts and passwords on all machines. You do not need to be logged into the same account on all machines and the passwords assigned to each user account can be different; the accounts/passwords just need to exist and match on all machines. DO NOT NEGLECT TO CREATE PASSWORDS, EVEN IF ONLY SIMPLE ONES. If you wish a machine to boot directly to the Desktop (into one particular user's account) for convenience, you can do this: XP - Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) - http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm Vista - Start Orb>Search box>type: netplwiz [enter] Click on Continue (or supply an administrator's password) when prompted by UAC Uncheck the option "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer". Select a user account to automatically log on by clicking on the desired account to highlight it and then hit OK. Enter the correct password for that user account (if there is one) when prompted. Leave it blank if there is no password (null). D. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center, turn off Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab). E. Create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users' home directories or Program Files, but you can share folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the Shared Documents folder. See the first link above for details about Vista sharing. F. After you have file sharing working (and have tested this by exchanging a file between all machines), if you want to share a printer connected locally to one of your computers, share it out from that machine. Then go to the printer mftr.'s website and download the latest drivers for the correct operating system(s). Install them on the target machine(s). The printer should be seen during the installation routine. If it is not, install the drivers and then use the Add Printer Wizard. In some instances, certain printers need to be installed as Local printers but that is outside of this response. MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

Malkeleah, my issue is very similar to ColleePags, except I have one PC and one laptop. I have printed out the answers you supplied for when I get to that stage, but I have several general questions before I try setting up the network. 1) I have used Network Magic (Pure Networks platform) for past several years (don't even remember who set it up) for wireless networking (PC is host using Comcast cable) but have had a lot of problems with it. Recently I had to replace HD in laptop and would like to set up network using Windows XP Files and Settings Transfer Wizard. Do I need to uninstall Network Magic first? 2) Since I've been sharing through Network Magic, with a Linksys router and Cisco Print Server, I assume both units have the required network adapter, correct? 3) In the instuctions for running the XP Network Setup Wizard, it refers to a Windows XP CD-ROM (which I do not have), but you can copy Network Setup Wizard to a floppy while running the Wizard on the host. I do not have a floppy drive on the laptop. How do I resolve that problem? 4) In order for things to work properly once I get the units networked, I will need to reinstall all of the applications on the laptop that I want to share files with, correct? (I use a rental property management program and a genealogy program to be specific). I would really appreciate your help. I am not computer illiterate, but certainly am not a techie either, and this all sounds so confusing I'm about ready to have Geek Squad come in and save the day. I need all of this done within a few days

1. I can't address Network Magic issues. I have never used it. Yes, I would probably uninstall it first. 2. You don't need to run the Network Setup Wizard on the laptop. If the laptop is running XP, just set File/Printer Sharing to on and check the rest of the information already given as to firewalls, user accounts, etc. 3. No, of course you don't need to reinstall applications. If you are talking about running applications that are on the desktop from the laptop, that's another issue entirely. You'll need to check with those applications' tech support to see if they work that way, licensing issues, etc. If you don't have the applications you want to run currently installed on the laptop, naturally you'll need to install them. But certainly not reinstall them if they're already there. I'd reconsider using GeekSquad for anything. Check them out on The Consumerist for hundreds of horror stories. Instead, if you find this difficult and it is for your business, hire a competent local computer tech to come on-site and get things sorted for you. Don't use a BigComputerStore/GeekSquad type of place. Get recommendations from family, friends, colleagues. MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

A related question, if I may. I've been partially successful in networking my new Win 7 machine and my older Win XP machine, but haven't been able to network the printer. The process stalls for me when my XP machine asks for an .inf file so that it can use the printer, an Epson Stylus C86, connected to the Win 7 machine. Where do I find that file?

You need to install XP printer drivers on XP and Windows 7 printer drivers on Windows 7. If your sharing is set up correctly, then the printer installation routine should see the shared printer on Win7. Get drivers directly from Epson's website.MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

Your answer is great, but there are too many gaps in my knowledge to allow me to follow through on it. I need to do some detailed studying to understand this properly. Can you recommend a book? Every attempt to set up my file and printer sharing between my XP and Win 7 systems flopped.Thanks for your help.

I haven't looked at any books for Windows 7, sorry.MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!