doom and print server

networking is not my strong point. anyways i have a system set up to host lan games of quake, doom and a few others. also it will double as a print server when not gaming. however i hit a snag. the windows systems cannot do anything with each other, but they do see each other. my main linux system can communicate and upload/download to all systems. so i know everything is hooked up right.

i have not tried any games yet, guess i should to see if it works.

the server is windows98, my dad's system is windows 2000 pro and my system is Linux and windows 2000 pro. i think it is an issue between win98 and win2000. however like i said i am not up to speed with networking.

got a game of half-life to work fine. now if i can just get printer to work fine

Perhaps the server being Win 98 and your dad's system being attached to it running 2000 is the problem. Is it possible to try it the other way round?

I know with my network, I set it up on my Win XP machine first, ran the Wizard in XP which created a floppy disk for me to put in a Win 98 system and a few seconds later I had a working network between XP and 98.

No, because the network here is between 98 and XP and we didn't need a "wizard"... I doubt it has anything to do with 2000.

As long as the computers see each other, there's only one thing you should have to do: Go into the control panel under "Networks" and select "Allow File and Printer Sharing"(under 98). It may go through a setup routine where you'll need your CD or your network card drivers. At any rate, you shouldn't have to configure anything under the network-- if you're fiddling with network settings all the time, something else may be wrong.

I've had nothing but troubles trying to get different computers to see each other with Windows File Sharing. Personally, I just abandoned the idea and downloaded a simple FTP server program for whenever I need to transfer files between computers.

In your case, if you can play games over the network then you should still be able to share files. Try browsing to the IP of the other computer instead of it's name (so, type in \\some.ip.here in the Run dialog or IE or whatever).

EDIT: It would have probably helped if I read the original post better. Still, try connecting to the actual IP instead of the computer name. It might work better, I dunno...

yea games see each other just fine. however i cannot print or transfer files, in the windows systems. i'll try the IP method.

games and such work very well so i know hardware is correct and working. however none of the windows systems will even share stuff. the biggest of these being the printer.
i did run the windowsXP netsetup, but it really didnt do anything. last issue i can really think of is router, i havnt tried setting them up on a plain hub yet. however my linux system upstaris can get hard drive read/write ability on both systems. i think the issue may be with the windows 2000 system, netsetup will not work on it.

once agian, the setup
windows98 system is the server.
dad's is a windows 2000 system
brothers laptop is winXP
my laptop is winXP
my main system is linux.
all connect thru a router.
games run perfectly and i can ping all systems from any computer i want. so the hardware is fine.

how can i share this printer. it should work now and i have no idea why it will not. however as i said before networking is not my area

Sephiroth said:

how can i share this printer. it should work now and i have no idea why it will not. however as i said before networking is not my area

Did you add the printer?

Control Panel > Printers > Add New Printer

It should allow the option to look for a printer on the network. You'll probably need the drivers.

yea did that, printer doesn't even show up. i can see the system that it is attached to.

i can see the systems but that's it. only the linux system is able to read/write to them.

good point, i'll install driver first. i dont think i need them if i physicaly connect them to the computer as it is an old printer. but couldn't hurt. i'll try that

checked with HP, drivers are already intergrated into windows2000. honestly i am at a loss here. is there a way to force windows to see the printer. i can see the other computer but not its printer.

sharing is on, but nothing happens. doesnt even ask for a password. am i just wasteing my time trying to get a win98 and win2000 system to share the printer?

i am at a loss here, i have no idea what to try next.

Upgrade the other two computers to Win98. :)

Have you tried messing around with any of the permissions? I always found that to be one of the biggest frustrations in interacting between 2k/XP and 9x.

I'd also suggest moving the printer to the Win98 machine and letting the other PC's use it on the network-- as the other OS's are obviously superior with network interfacing. On top of that(assuming the Win98 machine is the slowest of the bunch), it'd just make sense with making the Win98 PC the mule.

the win98 system IS the bitch of the bunch.
its a
dual Pentium pro, 400Mhz
6GB hard drive
96MB RAM
also i stuck that 3dfx voodoo2 card in it.
what else am i gonna use it for?

i have been kinda messing with premissions. but still doesnt do anything.