Help: Get XP to talk to ME & 98

[Gearbox]

We have several computers on a network with XP, ME, & 98 running. The problem is that they dont 'network' well together. Printer sharing and file sharing is a pain and inconsistent. We got them hooked up together through a switch. What can we do (besides upgrading everything to XP) to get better connectivity?

[Ya_know]

Are you on a domain, or Peer-to-peer? What protocols are you using, and what are you experiencing as a problems exactly, is there an error message, nothing in Network Neighborhood?

If P-to-P, typically, when a 9x (95/98/ME) PC tries to access shares on a NT (NT4/2k/XP) PC, some sort of authentication is required. By creating a user on each XP box that is used from the 9X boxes for login. Also, you could enable the guest account on the XP boxes...

You should be using TCP/IP. Some will suggest the use of NetBEUI; although it might solve your problem, I wouldn't use it until a last resort.

Using the same workgroup name is always a good idea.

Finally, I presume that you know this, but I have to remind you that you will have to have shared resources ahead of time on the PC's you wish to find files or printers on over the network.

If this is a Domain structure, post more information about your setup…

[Gearbox]

It's P2P on one workgroup.

There was one XP PC that wasnt able to access the network until IPX was installed in it. Comments on this?

With TCP/IP should I specific all the IPs in the installed gateways?

I'll go with your suggestion and create user accounts.