I just purchased a new laptop with Vista home edition. I connected to my
network no problem and have access to the internet. But I can not find any
other of the devices on the network.
When I go into Network I can see the router name.
I have a workgroup name on the network. But when I click on workgroup, it
shows me a selection called workgroup but there is no place to enter the
workgroup name.
The other devices on the network all have shared writes and all other
devices can see them.
Any ideas what the problem is?

Ron wrote:

I just purchased a new laptop with Vista home edition. I connected to my
network no problem and have access to the internet. But I can not find
any other of the devices on the network.
When I go into Network I can see the router name.
I have a workgroup name on the network. But when I click on workgroup, it
shows me a selection called workgroup but there is no place to enter the
workgroup name.
The other devices on the network all have shared writes and all other
devices can see them.
Any ideas what the problem is?

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/l.../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. 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. The instructions at this link work for both XP and Vista:

Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) -
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm

D. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center, turn off
Simple File Sharing (Folder OptionsView 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.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

That did not help. As I mentioned I am using Vista not XP.
The link you specified shows the workgroup the way it displays in XP.
I am not able to enter my workgroup name anywhere.
I see nowhere to Configure firewalls on this machine to allow the Local Area
Network traffic as trusted. I see no Exceptions tab.
There is no need to change any configuration on the other devices on the
network because all other devices can see them. The problem is with this
Vista machine.

"Malke" wrote:

Ron wrote:

I just purchased a new laptop with Vista home edition. I connected to my
network no problem and have access to the internet. But I can not find
any other of the devices on the network.
When I go into Network I can see the router name.
I have a workgroup name on the network. But when I click on workgroup, it
shows me a selection called workgroup but there is no place to enter the
workgroup name.
The other devices on the network all have shared writes and all other
devices can see them.
Any ideas what the problem is?

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/l.../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. 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. The instructions at this link work for both XP and Vista:

Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) -
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm

D. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center, turn off
Simple File Sharing (Folder OptionsView 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.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Network and sharing center
Sharing and discovery area
expand on the Network discovery block
select 'change settings' alongside the Workgroup: XXXXX item

alternately in help and support ask for 'change workgroup'

Michael


"Ron" wrote in message
...
That did not help. As I mentioned I am using Vista not XP.
The link you specified shows the workgroup the way it displays in XP.
I am not able to enter my workgroup name anywhere.
I see nowhere to Configure firewalls on this machine to allow the Local
Area
Network traffic as trusted. I see no Exceptions tab.
There is no need to change any configuration on the other devices on the
network because all other devices can see them. The problem is with this
Vista machine.

"Malke" wrote:

Ron wrote:

I just purchased a new laptop with Vista home edition. I connected to
my
network no problem and have access to the internet. But I can not find
any other of the devices on the network.
When I go into Network I can see the router name.
I have a workgroup name on the network. But when I click on workgroup,
it
shows me a selection called workgroup but there is no place to enter
the
workgroup name.
The other devices on the network all have shared writes and all other
devices can see them.
Any ideas what the problem is?

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/l.../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. 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. The instructions at this link work for both XP and Vista:

Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) -
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm

D. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center, turn off
Simple File Sharing (Folder OptionsView 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.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

---
I just purchased a new laptop with Vista home edition. I connected to my
network no problem and have access to the internet. But I can not find any
other of the devices on the network.
When I go into Network I can see the router name.
I have a workgroup name on the network. But when I click on workgroup, it
shows me a selection called workgroup but there is no place to enter the
workgroup name.
The other devices on the network all have shared writes and all other
devices can see them.
Any ideas what the problem is?


Right-Click "Computer" and choose Properties. Scroll down towards the
bottom and you will see "computer name, domain, and workgroup settings".
Over on the right, click "Change Settings". this is where you
change workgroups.

GP

That did it. Thank you very much.

"Ron" wrote:

That did not help. As I mentioned I am using Vista not XP.
The link you specified shows the workgroup the way it displays in XP.
I am not able to enter my workgroup name anywhere.
I see nowhere to Configure firewalls on this machine to allow the Local Area
Network traffic as trusted. I see no Exceptions tab.
There is no need to change any configuration on the other devices on the
network because all other devices can see them. The problem is with this
Vista machine.

"Malke" wrote:

Ron wrote:

I just purchased a new laptop with Vista home edition. I connected to my
network no problem and have access to the internet. But I can not find
any other of the devices on the network.
When I go into Network I can see the router name.
I have a workgroup name on the network. But when I click on workgroup, it
shows me a selection called workgroup but there is no place to enter the
workgroup name.
The other devices on the network all have shared writes and all other
devices can see them.
Any ideas what the problem is?

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/l.../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. 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. The instructions at this link work for both XP and Vista:

Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) -
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm

D. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center, turn off
Simple File Sharing (Folder OptionsView 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.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ