How Do I Join Xp Network to Win7 network

I have bitten the bullet & switched my primary computer from XP to Win 7.
My home network which includes wife's computer & several other computers are all using WinXP for OS. Since I have changed the OS on my primary, I can no longer access the other computers & visa versa. What must I do to fix this.
A step-by-step would sure be appreciated as I am totally illiterate to Win 7.
Also I think that I am going to have to purchase a manual on Win7 in order to get the best use from same. Any suggestions on a book?
Thanks much & a "HAPPY NEW YEAR" to all.................

One thing that will help-> Make sure all machines are required to log into the pc's. Windows 7's more strick security requirements like the logins...

Steve; thanks for the reply. However I am uncertain as to what you are stating? The machines with xp communicate with each other ok.
Could you be a little more specific? Thanks again.............

You need to explicitly set a password on all machines, even if you then set the PC to logon automatically. If any of the machines don't have a password it will cause problems with file sharing.

Ok on setting a password. None of the machines have ever been set to use a password for log-on & I cannot seem to find just where to do that. I do not find it in the Security Center nor User Accnts . Could you enlighten me, please?

Control Panel>User Accounts, and you should see a link to set a PW in there.

Thanks SuperSparks;
I found it so hopefully now they can smile & talk to each other :))

Perhaps someone has a clue for this : The computer with XP can see the computer with windows 7 but win 7 cannot see the computer with XP. All have been set with passwords & are in the file share mode.
The XP computer shows win 7 pc in workgroup & shows itself in Mshome. Could that be why it cannot be seen in win7? And if so how would I correct it ?

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The XP computer shows win 7 pc in workgroup & shows itself in Mshome.

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The workgroup name should be the same on all systems. Either change the Win7 pcs to MSHOME or the xp pcs to WORKGROUP.

Thanks Midknyte for the reply. I kind of thought that maybe it needed to be done that way. I am not sure how to change XP to workgroup. Can you give me a steer in that direction? Thanks ....

Right-click on My Computer, select Properties, then click the Computer Name tab. There should be a button labelled Change.

Thanks for the reply. I have now changed the XP computers to wokgroup. Still only one way communication. The XP PCs sees the Win7 PC but the Win7 PC still cannot see the XP PC. However the XP PC's see each other. What next ?

Can you at least ping each system's IP from each other?

Are you running any firewall apps?

Your getting "high Tech" on me now Midknyte :)) . I haven't pinged anything in years. Please tell me how to do that .. And No, I don't run any firewall apps. The only apps I run other than what's basic in windows is Avast, CCcleanerm, and Malwarebytes...

To ping an IP address, open a Command Prompt and enter the following command. Replace the xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx with the IP address of the computer you want to ping.

ping xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

In your case, it will likely be:

ping 192.168.xxx.yyy

with the xxx.yyy being replaced with the correct numbers for your computer(s).

The IP address is the same on both win7 & xp computers . Am not sure how to gain a cmd prompt on win 7. Still learning the ropes of win7.......

To get a Win 7 Command Prompt:

Start, All Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt.

Each computer should have a different IP address. You should get a warning message if they are the same.

OK, I pinged the winxp computer & it showed only a 1% loss. I didn't understand all that I read, but assumed that the ping was a success. Still not showing the net, tho.........

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Each computer should have a different IP address. You should get a warning message if they are the same.

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Yup. jdc2000 is right. Did you set static IPs? DHCP should not have duplicate IPs.

I was mistaken when I said that both pcs had the same IP. It appears that the win7 PC can ping the WinXP ok , so what do I need to do in order for it to communicate over the net as well?

Have you turned on "Network Discovery" in the Win7 machine?

Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change advanced sharing settings

Turn it on there, save the setting and then reboot the Win7 machine.

One thing for sure, I'm getting a good education here. Anyway the "Network Discovery" was turned on. I re-pinged both systems now I'm getting a better handle on things & the results were:
Packets sent = 4
Packets received = 4
Lost = 0 (0% loss)
Still the communications is one way. The XP Sees Win7 but win7 cannot see XP.

I know with New Years coming up, that you guys would rather be doing something else, rather than dragging out this thread, however, I do appreciate the time spent here. Thanks much..........................

Unfortunately, networking XP with Vista/Win 7 can be fraught with difficulties :( I've had this exact situation myself with a couple of machines on our LAN. One of them, I never got to communicate, and such situations are not uncommon. The exact same hardware, when upgraded to Vista, immediately communicated again quite happily. Keep on plugging away, by all means, but you should be aware that there are real problems with XP when it comes to networking, and sometimes you just have to admit defeat.

Thanks SuperSparks: I have excellent results with Win XP. They all talked to each other without any problems whatsoever. I have a new Laptop With Win7. same as on my main machine & it communicates with XP . no problem at all . However, my main machine with the same OS & as viewed step by step with the network of the Laptop, All T's crossed the same, all I's Dotted the same, But still will not communicate with XP. I am totally frustrated. I've tried every tip both from here & the internet with 0 results.
Anyway, have a great New Year....................

Yep, that is exactly how things can be. They changed the networking stack utterly in Vista/Win 7, and though some XP machines will communicate just fine, others simply won't. There doesn't seem to be any obvious rhyme nor reason for it either :(

If the ping test works, one method that I have found that generally works is to access the shares by entering the IP address of the computer you want to connect to in the address bar of a Windows Explorer window (not an Internet Explorer window).

Example:

\\192.168.1.10\

Replace the above IP address with the one you are using for your computer. Make sure that you have at least one folder shared on the computer you are trying to connect to.

Let me see if I understood you correctly, jdc; I took a folder in the "C" directory of winXP that I had previously named "Transfers" which was a shared folder for all the network.
I changed the name instead to "192.xxx..x.x" . then had to reinstate the share option. I then did a search for that on the win7 PC to no avail. Is that what you meant to try?
Anyway, no luck as yuet ............

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Originally Posted by Razor

Let me see if I understood you correctly, jdc; I took a folder in the "C" directory of winXP that I had previously named "Transfers" which was a shared folder for all the network.
I changed the name instead to "192.xxx..x.x" . then had to reinstate the share option. I then did a search for that on the win7 PC to no avail. Is that what you meant to try?
Anyway, no luck as yuet ............

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No. You need to use the UNC path.

\\servername\sharename or \\IP\sharename

Like this:
\\192.168.1.10\Transfers

UPDATE.....I think I am now on to something positive. I removed all of the USB connections on the back of the Win7 PC & low & behold I was able to see two of the 3 XP PC's. I had two printers, Keyboard, mouse, & a USB hub attached to the rear. One or more of these has to be the culprit. I will reconnect one bu one to see which one or which cable.

For the time being, I am going to consider this resolved. As I mentioned in my previous post, by removing all the USB connections, I was able to communicate to two of the four XP PC's. I replaced the cables one by one while checking the net. I omitted one which happened to be an old rx for a wireless mouse that had not used for some time. .Not sure if that was the culprit tho. Anyway, I rebooted & still had the connections to the 2 XP's.
I have one other XP that I'll try to make contact with but right now it's not earth shaking.. so won't bother you guys anymore...(i hope) Thanks once again.........

Hi,

Just as you have done, when setting up and configuring a network with both Microsoft Windows XP and Windows 7 you will want to ensure all machines in question, regardless of running operating system, are configured to utilize the same workgroup. For more information on this process, Join or create a workgroup is a recommended resource. Since you have the workgroup configured appropriately, this is just an added resource.

The second step would be to ensure sharing is enabled on all Microsoft Windows XP machines as well as Windows 7 machines. How to use the Simple File Sharing feature to share files in Windows XP is a great knowledge base article for your Windows XP machines and Enable file and printer sharing is a great web resource for your Windows 7 machines. It is also strongly recommended to watch the following video to learn more about Networking home computers running different versions of Windows.

Please also make sure that all Microsoft Windows XP machines are fully up-to-date running Windows XP Service Pack 3. Also, as is outlined in the networking home computers running different versions of Windows resource, please ensure that Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) Responder is installed on each Windows XP machine. For more information on why this tool is essential to the sharing configuration between Windows XP machines and Windows Vista / Windows 7 machines please read the following KB article Network Map in Windows Vista does not display computers that are running Windows XP.

Jessica
Windows Outreach Team – IT Pro

Thanks winoutreach5; for all that info. Some of it, I have already worked out, but there is some very good info there & one is never too old to learn something new. Thank you very much for taking the time to list it :))

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Originally Posted by Razor

Thanks winoutreach5; for all that info. Some of it, I have already worked out, but there is some very good info there & one is never too old to learn something new. Thank you very much for taking the time to list it :))

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You are quite welcome. Happy to be able to help.

Jessica
Windows Outreach Team -- IT Pro