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Adding 2 XP boxes / W98 Peer-to-Peer

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7 replies

by tufop

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There is a small W98 peer-to-peer Network with Windows 98 server with W98 & W95 workstations. Owner purchased 2 Windows XP Home boxes and wants to add them into peer-to-peer network. The network is setup with a 8 port hub and does have available ports on the hub. Can the 2 new XP Home version boxes be added to network and will the XP home version boxes be able to access the W98 workstations, networked printers, etc and visa-versa? Is there any known issues with this type of setup? Would upgrading the server from W98 to Windows 2000 be a good move and what pitfalls are their upgrading the server to W2K in this enviroment?

7 replies

by khuffmanjr

there is no W98 server version. if you upgrade to W2k Server, it will cost between $400 and $800, depending on which version you get. XP Home Edition is not suitable for network environments, unless you only want to share internet connection.

by tufop

In a peer-to-peer situation there is one box that is considered the main or server box. Since I currently have the W98 box as the main box, number one box, server or whatever you want to call it, your information does not really help. As I said in my question, I have a peer-to-peer network with W98 boxes and I was asking if 2 xp home version boxes could be
added to this network (assuming I have open ports on my hub)

by rcom

You'll need to get another hub or switch. If you don't replace it you can uplink it to another hub. Allthough XP home isn't really a business OS it will work fine in this situation.

You need to have the correct settings.

workgroup, client, adapter, protocol and shares.

Go to the networking settings and run setup my home network follow the steps.

by tufop

Why would I need another hub, assuming I have at least 2 open ports on my existing hub? Would XP Home require a different hub than the W98 boxes?

by hereinoz

Yes you should be able to run the network setup wizard and get it all together. The reason that XP Home is considered "not suitable" for networks is generally because of the lack of security, but with Win 98, there is none anyway!

Win 2000 Pro would work well as an OS on the "server", but upgrading from Win98 you will probably run into software compatibility issues. But it would increase your file security a little

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