[Thermodyne]

It’s easy….

1) Put all systems in the same workgroup such as “oz”. Do not use “workgroup”, that is like leaving the front door open. Give each system a unique name, “scarecrow” “ecity” and such. I like short names; they are faster to type when accessing a resource.
2) Hard code the address onto the network adapters. Or let your internet router assign them. Gateway will be the address of the router; DNS will be a public DNS server.
3) Share the files/folders you want to have access too and give permissions to the Users that will have access. Trick: If you are the only user, use the same account and password on each system. Pay attention to permissions and protos on the ME system and be sure to turn on file and print sharing.
4) Do not bother trying to map and drill to shared resources. Enter the network locations when trying to access them. With no WIN’s or local DNS, it can sometime be hard to find resources without the exact location. Make use of mapped shares, it will save time.
5) Think about getting some network environment software. A copy of 2K server will do the trick if you have a spare system to run it on. Or use something like WinProxy to provide network services. If bucks are tight, then you can use FreeBSD. Be warned, it is a real un-user friendly piece of software. But once you get it set up, it will not give you any trouble.
6) Read the info in the Help file before you start, and remember that ME and XP have a few differences when sharing files and folders.