Windows 2000 access from a LAN..

Can anyone help a relatively inexperienced Win2000 user with a problem?

Here's my setup.
Windows 2000 on one PC
Windoes 98SE on second PC
Both connected by LAN.. LAN connected to cable modem.

Now I can access all available resoucrs on the Win98 machine from the Win2k machine, but I can access none ofthe W2K resoucrs on the Win98 machine..

Both systems have TCP/IP and NetBEUI installed. Both can see each other, but when I try to access the W2K machine it asks for a password I do not know. I have only entered one password on the system (my login/admin password), and that does not seem to work.

I need to let the W98 machine access my printer on the W2K machine. As far as I can tell, all is properly set up, but I can not figure out this security issue. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance, WGR

ps. I also want to be careful to avoid opening my system up to attacks over the internet (at least any more than they may or may not be able to now)..

On your win2000 machine:

Make a account for your Win98 machine. Do you have a logon for your Win98 machine? If you do then just make the same account on your Win2000 machine. Make sure you use the same password so that when you try to log onto the Win2000 machine it will let you in.

You will also want to share out the folders you want to see on the Win2000 machine. You can designate who has permission to the folders so you won't have to let everyone see them.

Good Luck.

First off, thanks. Having seen NT in action, your solution makes obvious sense, but I would have NEVER thought of it, and couldn't find anything in the manuals or online help that goes into that much depth.

Needless to say, my wife now has access to my printer..

Next question:

Same setup, but I want to give my wife access to one folder on my system (my MP3 collection which is too large to hold on her machine).. I already have her set up, gave sharing access to her, and the folder shows up just fine..

Problem.. For reasons unknown it's insanely slow. Getting a single MP3 to play on her machine takes like a minute or more to load. The MP3 player times out trying to download the list of tracks from my computer. Now when both machines were Win98 this worked fine.. Now I have no clue. I have the three following protocols on each machine:

TCP/IP
NetBEUI
IPX/SPX

Like I say the folder does show up on her machine. But accessing the files is VERY slow.. Accessing her files from my machine works at normal speed..

Any ideas? Anyone?

We need to know a bit more about your network infrastructure before giving any absolute answers...but

Unless you plan on playing IPX-only multiplayer games, uninstall IPX/SPX.
Get the latest drivers for the cards.
If you have 100mb capable cards in both machines (and either a back-to-back cable or 100mb hub) manually set the card speeds to 100mb instead of auto.
If it's a back-to-back cable or a switch, set the duplex to full.
If you fancy setting the network up properly, remove NETBEUI, and just config TCP/IP properly (a whole opst in it's own right)

That should get you started...

Did a little more research, and I think it's actually a program problem and not the network itself. The two computers only run a 10mbit network (to stay compatible with the cable modem..) IPX is in there for legacy reasons and could probably be removed (but who knows.. Somesay another game may come along that actually gets played)..

As for the network problem. It seems to be FreeAmp (the MP3 Player I have installed on her computer) that doesn't like the setup.. I can copy files at full speed using explorer.. For some reason FreeAmp just doesn't want to let me import a track list.. Oh well.. It wouldn't work properly for me on Win2000 (had to go back to RealJukebox).. I'll try another one on hers..

Thanks again..

WGR

In that case...tinker with the properties of the MP3 decoder - specifically increase the size of it's local buffer. That way you'll get efficient block transfers across the network, and local streaming to the codec.

Also, if the box that sits between the cable box and the rest of your network is a switch, then you can run the local LAN at 100mbs.

Also, it might be an idea to scrub NETBEUI, so you have only one protocol across the wire...

Hmm.. This adds to my list of questions..

As for FreeAmp, I'm not worried about it too much. Where it freezes is the act of searching the drive for MP3 files (the drive being the shared folder on my W2K computer..) For some reason it freezes when I try to do this..

Here's the question though..

I will cut IPX as it's not really needed (got added when I was trying to figure out why I couldn't connect computers..)

Will my local lan continue to function with JUST TCP/IP or do I need to keep NetBEUI in there..

Also, and this is important.. I'm of the opinion that W2K is relatively secure compared to W98.. Both computers are on a cable modem, and I'm afraid that setting FILE and PRINT SHARING on in TCP/IP on the Win98 computer will open up her computer to attack from outside users..

Any advice?

Thanks again for all the prompt responses.. I'm going to go remove IPX and see how things function..

WGR

NETBEUI is not required for the continued functioning of your network, as long as TCP/IP is configured correctly.

NETBEUI is a "quick'n'simple" protocol designed to be very easy to set up - all you need do is set each machine with a different name, and the stack takes care of everything else. However, this doesn't scale very well.

TCP/IP does scale very well (which is why the Internet is based on TCP/IP and not NETBEUI) but it requires much more configuration. Each machine needs to be set up with a unique address and name, and each machine needs to be able to x-late the name of a node into the IP address. On a small LAN this is done by editing the %OS_ROOT%/HOSTS file on each machine. The file should contain at least 1 entry per machine. (this is not intended to be a tutorial, just pointers.)

W2K is more secure than Win9x, and you would be unwise to enable file/print sharing on either box.

A lot of how to address security and configuration depends on the current configuration. Does the cable modem act as a router or a bridge? Is each machine on the network assigned an IP address by your ISP? Do you access the Internet via the cable box from more than one machine?

At the very least I would suggest investing $20 in another network card for the W2K box, plug the cable box into that, and use the Internet Connection Sharing s/w. This will allow you to logically seperate your LAN from the big, bad internet, but still permit browsing, etc.

Even better, if you can get your hands on an old 486/586 with 32meg, put two net cards in that, install Linux, and use it as a firewall, DNS, DCHP, etc.

The first option in your best qucik fix, the second if you fancy a project. Both options mean you can run your LAN at 100mb.

Why don't you just use Winamp?
It works find on my Win2k-----Win98 Machinez. www.winamp.com
and whats freeamp?