surfmonkey Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 I have some basic questions about networking... Currently I have to pc's (98se) in my office that are not connected. I want both to have access to the internet through an external cable modem, and both to be able to use the same printer as well as file sharing. 1. Do I set-up a peer to peer network? Or is it better to use a router? 2. Do I need any special software for either? 3. Are there any good web sites that can walk me through it? 4. I am planning on adding a mac (osx) to my current line up. Will it be able to be on the same network as well? Thanks. I have no homepage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not Cereal Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 it would be easiest to by a small router/switcher (about $40 - $100) linksys makes a great one. you hook your modem up to the router, and the router functions as a hub/switcher to the rest of the computers. the router is setup within internet explorer on each computer. the 98's will likely be able to talk to each other easily within the 98 os. OSX might be trickier to get files moving with 98. you CAN call OSX from 98 via internet explorer. however, i have had a hard time trnsfering files FROM 98 TO osx. it is possible though. if you are just providing internet access to all computers its easy. plug it in, set up the router on each machine and your done. if you want the machines to see each other its a little more involved with 98/osx. however, XP and OSX play VERY NICE together and are EASY to network. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Wireless network? I use an Apple base station, an iBook and a G5. If I had a newer base station, I'd be able to hook a printer up to it and share it. Wireless is an open standard isn't it? PCs should work fine and there are no wires to install. "That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." - Banky Edwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not Cereal Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 the standard is not the problem. all win os can use tcp/ip protocol natively even over ethernet. this is not the problem. the problem is 98's sharing function. macs can have a hard time seeing 98's shared folders unless you can setup the 98 as a type of server. with OS9 i never could get the mac to reliably see 98's shared folders and vice-versa. however you can set os9 as a server and call it from any computer via tcp/ip, just like on the internet. OSX and XP are quite a different beast than OS9 and 98. OSX and XP work VERY WELL together and are a dream to network. i imagine OSX and 98 could work together with difficulty and sacrifice on the 98 part. ive never tried it specifically but i imagine it would be very easy to get files FROM OSX to 98 by calling the ip address in IE from 98. getting files TO osx might be difficult. if you dont need to move files from 98 to osx then you are set. get a nice router/switcher and go for it. if you need to move files from 98 to osx than its more involved as i imagine 98 needs to be setup as a type of server for OSX to see it. i dont know exactly how the server capabilities in 98 are because i have never had software i needed to run in 98. i went from 95 to XP. (95 is a nightmare to network with macs - can be done - but you may wonder why you bothered when you are done) remember: XP and OSX are easy to network. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Time to ditch 98? "That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." - Banky Edwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanmass Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 1. Do I set-up a peer to peer network? Or is it better to use a router? *Use a router for shared internet access and get a 4 port router, as this will allow you to do peer to peer networking via Windows Sharing. DO NOT leave passwords blank. Use a password that include a number, a letter and a symbol, such as *3t 2. Do I need any special software for either? *No. Just installed Microsoft Networking CLient in the network control panel, and install Windows Sharing 3. Are there any good web sites that can walk me through it? *Yes HERE 4. I am planning on adding a mac (osx) to my current line up. Will it be able to be on the same network as well? *Yes. OS X is better, but 9 works too. If you are runnign OS X, go to versiontracker.com and look for SMB browser. This is a little program that allows you to 'find' windows shared drives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfmonkey Posted February 18, 2004 Author Share Posted February 18, 2004 Will I still be able to share the printer through a router? Will the mac be able to use the same printer as the pc's? I have no homepage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not Cereal Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 sure. but you may need to print from either the mac OR the pc after sendng the file to that computer if the printer will not work simultaneously with both platforms. i print over ethernet from 98 to NT4 at work. works fine. the printer is on a dedicated NT4 server and you can print from any win98 terminal attached to the network. if a mac could talk to the NT4 server i am sure it would print fine also. again, NT4 is NOT 98. the NT kernel based winOS (NT, 2000, XP) will talk to/with OSX very nice. 98 is dos based and i have found somewhat limited and troubling in its networking capabilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfmonkey Posted February 18, 2004 Author Share Posted February 18, 2004 Thanks coaster. One last question. Do you recommend any specific network cards? Do you know if USB network adaptors work as well as PCI cards? It seems like USB would be less of a hassle, and I have plenty of USB slots. I have no homepage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rim Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Re: printing Some of those combination router/hub/switch mentioned before also have a built-in print server. No experience with it, though. I do use a D-Link Pocket Ethernet Print Server but your printer will need a parallel port (Centronics) interface which is becoming rare on newer printers. [added] P.S. Forgot to add that I highly suggest you also get a firewall feature on your router/switch/hub. This may do ya: D-Link DI-704UP And this would be a good place to buy said item: NewEgg aka riffing Double Post music: Strip Down http://rimspeed.com http://loadedtheband.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Originally posted by Rim.: This may do ya: D-Link DI-704UP And this would be a good place to buy said item: NewEgg I just bought this exact router to get print server functionality. The print server works, but you have to install an app before installing your print drivers to make your printer work off of the router. I don't think they make a Mac version of the print server software, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not Cereal Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 also look at DAVE. i had this for a while in 95 and os9. it works well, and says it can share printers. i used it only for file transfers. it works with 98 also. its not necessary for osx and xp. Thursby Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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