Had a new customer that needed to have their network fixed, and to have the capability to add a third pc.

It was setup by a relative who “works in IT”, but it stopped working soon after he first set it up, and subsequently, he couldn’t fix it. So the laptop is effectively disconnected from the main PC (and the internet).

Their broadband was via those crappy usb-only, power from usb, dlink modems (with the pretend dial up access to broadband)…

And the PC and laptop were connected via a red crossover cable, so the PC was setup in bridged mode… but then, the laptop also had the modem software installed, and it was also set to bridged mode… all a bit messy.

I said I could setup a proper modem, and a router, so that they could add multiple PCs.

I mentioned that the laptop might be wireless, and if they purchased a wireless router/modem, it would save some space in the crowded office.

Customer then asked if I could somehow make use of something they have in the back room (it was left over from when they purchased the business… a wireless router/modem (perfect!).

She didn’t think it was usable, since it was setup with the prior owners ADSL details.

I say: all I need is you adsl email and password, and I can set it up.

She can’t remember the password, so she calls the ISP, and gets it with no handholding from me (a rare occurrence for me!)

In the meantime, I setup the new modem and wireless security, enter the password, and the PC and laptop are on the internet… good.

The laptop doesn’t have wireless capability, so it will have to remain wired.

But there are also problems with printing from the laptop, and it cannot see the folder shares from the main PC (and vice versa)…

Here we go again…

I find norton is behaving strangely (she says she installed NIS, but the laptop only has NAV, so something went wrong.

I uninstall NAV, but it has little effect (Except I can now ping IP addresses)

I disable some suspicious startup programs, and I find I can now see the printer and shares on the main pc… looks like a minor spyware infection was blocking access. A quick scan removes the nasties.

The main PC still cannot see the laptop shares, but its probably just a windows network lag. I say I’ll fix it if it continues to be a problem after a few days.