Networking with XP computers

[sharonf]

My husband is buying a new computer with Windows 7 installed. The other
computers on our small home network have XP. Will I have any problems
getting all the computers to work well together on the network?

 

[Nil]

My husband is buying a new computer with Windows 7 installed. The
other computers on our small home network have XP. Will I have any
problems getting all the computers to work well together on the
network?

I can't say he won't have any problems, but I can say that *I* don't
have any problems. I have XP, Vista, and Win7 computers on my home
network, and they all interoperate well.

Don't try to use Windows 7's "Homegroup" feature - that's only for a
network that's entirely Win7.

 

[Paul]

My husband is buying a new computer with Windows 7 installed. The other
computers on our small home network have XP. Will I have any problems
getting all the computers to work well together on the network?

Have you ever known a computer, that didn't put up a fight ?

Best advice would be, to find one of those web sites, that
discusses mixed networking, and what to expect.

For example, I tried a search in a search engine on

"networking windows 7 with windows xp"

and got this as my first result. Notice, the first thing they
address, is the advice Nil gave you.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-7/share-files-and-printers-between-windows-7-and-xp/

The best part of pages like that, is they're filled with user comments,
so you're bound to find plenty of examples of things that "blew up".

My experience here, between the WinXP machine I'm typing this
on, and my Windows 7 laptop (currently sleeping), is that one
day file sharing would work, and the next day it wouldn't. And
rebooting didn't help. I didn't push my luck, and just walked
a USB flash stick between machines Sneakernet, is the
best net... It just wasn't worth my time, to figure out why...

Paul

 

[KCB]

My husband is buying a new computer with Windows 7 installed. The other
computers on our small home network have XP. Will I have any problems
getting all the computers to work well together on the network?

Like Nil said, disable Homegroup on Win7, and it should work fine. I have
multiple XP machines and 1 Win7 machine networking perfectly happy together,
wired and wireless.

 

[sharonf]

I can't say he won't have any problems, but I can say that *I* don't
have any problems. I have XP, Vista, and Win7 computers on my home
network, and they all interoperate well.

Don't try to use Windows 7's "Homegroup" feature - that's only for a
network that's entirely Win7.

Okay I got the computer today but an having a problem setting up the
network. I am not using Homegroup. I can see the XP computers from the
Windows 7 machine, but the XP machines still can't see the Windows 7
machine.

 

[sharonf]

Like Nil said, disable Homegroup on Win7, and it should work fine. I
have multiple XP machines and 1 Win7 machine networking perfectly happy
together, wired and wireless.

I am using wired for now but I must be doing something wrong. My XP
computers still can't wee windows 7 Machine.

 

[Nil]

Okay I got the computer today but an having a problem setting up
the network. I am not using Homegroup. I can see the XP computers
from the Windows 7 machine, but the XP machines still can't see
the Windows 7 machine.

You really need to supply some details about your setup.

Wild stab in the dark: You need to turn on sharing in the Win7 machine
and (optionally) share something.

All should be part of the same Workgroup.

 

[Rob]

I am using wired for now but I must be doing something wrong. My XP
computers still can't wee windows 7 Machine.

There are a lot of possible fixes for this (should be a simple
issue, but it *does* cause problems for *lots* of folk, even those
who are very used to networking!)
Here are a few things to try first. If these don't work, do as Paul
suggested and google something like "workgroup windows 7 and xp"

First, disable IPv6 on the new Windows 7 machine. Reboot it.
Use 'WORKGROUP' as the workgroup name on all machines.
Change the workgroup name on the Win7 PC to something else,
reboot, change it back to WORKGROUP, reboot again.

HTH,

 

[Chris S.]

Okay I got the computer today but an having a problem setting up the
network. I am not using Homegroup. I can see the XP computers from the
Windows 7 machine, but the XP machines still can't see the Windows 7
machine.

You must have an account and a PW on the 7 machine.

 

[Nil]

You must have an account and a PW on the 7 machine.

That may be part of it, but the machines should all still be visible,
even if you don't have permission to connect.

 

[Metspitzer]

That may be part of it, but the machines should all still be visible,
even if you don't have permission to connect.

You should be allowed to share a folder without all that crap.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

There are a lot of possible fixes for this (should be a simple
issue, but it *does* cause problems for *lots* of folk, even those
who are very used to networking!)
Here are a few things to try first. If these don't work, do as Paul
suggested and google something like "workgroup windows 7 and xp"

First, disable IPv6 on the new Windows 7 machine. Reboot it.
Use 'WORKGROUP' as the workgroup name on all machines.
Change the workgroup name on the Win7 PC to something else,
reboot, change it back to WORKGROUP, reboot again.

HTH,

I would add that it might be good to have the same user account (i.e.,
with the same username and same password) on each computer. A standard
account is good enough.

It has worked for me.

Be sure your IP addresses and subnet masks are OK, if you haven't
already.

Sorry if it's redundant advice, but since I occasionally forget
something important, I assume others will too

 

[sharonf]

My husband is buying a new computer with Windows 7 installed. The other
computers on our small home network have XP. Will I have any problems
getting all the computers to work well together on the network?

Update:

I can now see and share files between the windows 7 computers and the xp
computers. However, What I can't do is print from my xp computer to the
windows 7 computer. It is marked for sharing correctly. If I try to
connect it as a local printer it looks like everything is working but it
doesn't print at all. If I set it up as a network printer it prints
multiple pages of gibberish and I have to turn off the computer to make
it quit. Any ideas?

 

[Ken1943]

Update:

I can now see and share files between the windows 7 computers and the xp
computers. However, What I can't do is print from my xp computer to the
windows 7 computer. It is marked for sharing correctly. If I try to
connect it as a local printer it looks like everything is working but it
doesn't print at all. If I set it up as a network printer it prints
multiple pages of gibberish and I have to turn off the computer to make
it quit. Any ideas?

Install printer drivers on the XP machine.


KenW

 

[sharonf]

Install printer drivers on the XP machine.


KenW

I did that already.

 

[Rob]

I did that already.

Did you do it this way?:
http://www.sevenforums.com/network-sharing/7527-networking-printer-attached-win-xp-pc-win-7-a.html
(For W7 PC to printer on XP host, but note that jimbo says it works in
reverse.) If you still can't get it going, perhaps try hosting the
printer on an XP box, if that is convenient.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Did you do it this way?:
http://www.sevenforums.com/network-sharing/7527-networking-printer-attached-win-xp-pc-win-7-a.html
(For W7 PC to printer on XP host, but note that jimbo says it works in
reverse.) If you still can't get it going, perhaps try hosting the printer
on an XP box, if that is convenient.

Also, IIRC, there are routers with USB ports that can host a printer.
And if "your" (the OP's) printer has a network port, you just need a
normal router.

I have a printer that has a wired LAN port connected to the router, and
any computer here can print regardless of what other computers are
turned on. Very convenient, and maybe even easier to configure.

Come to think of it, any LAN switch would do, it just happens that I
used the one built into the router. That also has the advantage of
allowing the laptop to print wirelessly. Even a cell phone would work
if you could find an app for it. I tried an app that worked, but it was
too limited in its capabilities. I didn't really need or want it, so I
just uninstalled it after I printed a test page

 

[sharonf]

I finally got it working and I did it pretty much the way it describes
in the link that you posted. I had to try it a couple of times before it
actually worked. The path has to be exact....meaning the exact way the
Windows 7 computer is named in the network and the exact way the printer
is named on the Windows 7 computer. For instance, under printers on my
husband's computer his printer is called: Samsung ML-1450 Series PCL 6.
I don't know where that whole description came from but I had to use the
whole thing in the local path for the printer...including spaces.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

I finally got it working and I did it pretty much the way it describes in the
link that you posted. I had to try it a couple of times before it actually
worked. The path has to be exact....meaning the exact way the Windows 7
computer is named in the network and the exact way the printer is named on
the Windows 7 computer. For instance, under printers on my husband's computer
his printer is called: Samsung ML-1450 Series PCL 6. I don't know where that
whole description came from but I had to use the whole thing in the local
path for the printer...including spaces.

Pretty confusing.

You replied to my post, but you clipped my comments. I'm guessing you
mean you followed the suggestion in Rob's post, not anything I wrote in
my reply to him...

Yes? No?