Here are some questions for the whiz kids amongst us.
I have two PC’s, in different rooms of the house. The first is running ME, is connected to the Internet via ISDN and has two printers and a scanner attached. I suspect the registry has become corrupt as the PC is rather unstable. Is the simple answer an upgrade to XP, Home or Pro? The second is running XP Pro but has nothing attached at all.
Some of my application software will only run on XP so I want to net the two PC’s together so that I could use all the facilities, devices and connections from either PC. They both have 100BaseT cards fitted but laying the cables would be a nightmare – concrete/stone walls and floors. I imagined that wireless connection could be the answer but I am told that it probably will not work without a strategically placed router. Any ideas?
I have been involved in IT for about 25 years (mostly DEC and Unix based machines, not PC’s) so it will be OK if your answers are a bit on the “techi� side.
Alan
The PC Itself
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Alan Knighting
- Posts: 4120
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:26 am
- Location: Monflanquin, Lot-et-Garonne, France
From one techie to another
On the ME machine: most machines tend to degrade over time. We wipe ours and re-install the O/S or upgrade once every 12 months - then bin machines completely after 3 years. It's a lot less hassle than having engineers to fix the gremlins that invariably creep into Windows. Plus it's tax deducatable!
As for the networking, I can only go on our experiences. Whilst in the UK, we installed a wireless system which was inexpensive and (after a little fiddling
) worked very well. However since moving to Spain, where concrete walls and floors are the norm, the wireless system has just refused to work. Signal strength drops drastically outside the room you're in and is unworkable.
Two solutions:
1) Pay for the best wireless router you can afford (you'll probably need new network cards as well) and place the router halfway between machines. The better systems have better signal quality. Given the cost - I think you need to beg a shop to let you test this solution. Concrete construction is a nightmare!
2) As painful as it may be, lay some cable. Buying a long drill bit and sliding wire could be a whole lot more reliable in the long run. If you have your telcons and hub in one room - it's only one piece of cable to the second machine? Ensure it's rigid Cat5 and shielded though - the normal flexi stuff is prone to signal loss over longer distances.
Hope this helps!
Rich
As for the networking, I can only go on our experiences. Whilst in the UK, we installed a wireless system which was inexpensive and (after a little fiddling
) worked very well. However since moving to Spain, where concrete walls and floors are the norm, the wireless system has just refused to work. Signal strength drops drastically outside the room you're in and is unworkable.Two solutions:
1) Pay for the best wireless router you can afford (you'll probably need new network cards as well) and place the router halfway between machines. The better systems have better signal quality. Given the cost - I think you need to beg a shop to let you test this solution. Concrete construction is a nightmare!
2) As painful as it may be, lay some cable. Buying a long drill bit and sliding wire could be a whole lot more reliable in the long run. If you have your telcons and hub in one room - it's only one piece of cable to the second machine? Ensure it's rigid Cat5 and shielded though - the normal flexi stuff is prone to signal loss over longer distances.
Hope this helps!
Rich
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Alan Knighting
- Posts: 4120
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:26 am
- Location: Monflanquin, Lot-et-Garonne, France
Rich,
That helps tremendously and confirms what I thought were the answers. Upgrade to XP and install Cat5 cabling!
My PC’s are very much up-to-date in that they have regular hardware upgrades. The boxes are five years old but the contents are next to new. A bit like the joiner’s hammer – “it’s a hundred years old except that it has had three new handles and two new heads�.
Many thanks for the help.
More excercise for the power drills.
Alan
That helps tremendously and confirms what I thought were the answers. Upgrade to XP and install Cat5 cabling!
My PC’s are very much up-to-date in that they have regular hardware upgrades. The boxes are five years old but the contents are next to new. A bit like the joiner’s hammer – “it’s a hundred years old except that it has had three new handles and two new heads�.
Many thanks for the help.
More excercise for the power drills.
Alan
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Alan Knighting
- Posts: 4120
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:26 am
- Location: Monflanquin, Lot-et-Garonne, France
What do you think?
Are viruses, worms, spies, spams, etc. things of the past or have they simply gone to sleep for Christmas?
Is my ISP together with the firewall in my router plus 2 anti-virus programs, an anti-Spam program and an anti-spy program together doing the jobs they are designed to do and winning the battle against the great unwashed?
I pose the question because I have just converted to 24/7 broadband and I now leave my PC in sleep mode. I feel that I am probably more vulnerable to these things than ever before. Maybe the PC sleeps more than I do.
Thankfully I haven’t had an attack of any sort for ages but, is this the lull before the storm?
Alan
Are viruses, worms, spies, spams, etc. things of the past or have they simply gone to sleep for Christmas?
Is my ISP together with the firewall in my router plus 2 anti-virus programs, an anti-Spam program and an anti-spy program together doing the jobs they are designed to do and winning the battle against the great unwashed?
I pose the question because I have just converted to 24/7 broadband and I now leave my PC in sleep mode. I feel that I am probably more vulnerable to these things than ever before. Maybe the PC sleeps more than I do.
Thankfully I haven’t had an attack of any sort for ages but, is this the lull before the storm?
Alan