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shmerek · Feb 25, 2003, 09:33 PM

What would I need ie. router/hub and what would I need to do to connect 3 or 4 win 98 machines so that they could share files locally (no internet)? I would ask this question on a PC forum but I like you guys better and I am sure sombody here knows how to do this, it can't be that hard.... can it? Do you know if I would need special software? I wouldn't need to ask the question if they were macs but they ain't.
Thanks for the help
S

passmaster16 · Feb 25, 2003, 10:05 PM

Originally posted by shmerek:
What would I need ie. router/hub and what would I need to do to connect 3 or 4 win 98 machines so that they could share files locally (no internet)? I would ask this question on a PC forum but I like you guys better and I am sure sombody here knows how to do this, it can't be that hard.... can it? Do you know if I would need special software? I wouldn't need to ask the question if they were macs but they ain't.
Thanks for the help
S

A basic hub will work fine for this. If you want a_little_better performance, you can get a 10/100 switch (linksys, netgear, etc) No special software is needed however you will need to enable file sharing on all the windows machines and manually configure them to share the directories/drives. A router is not needed because you're just setting up a small local network.

shmerek · Feb 25, 2003, 10:10 PM

Hey thanks for the reply. I do have one other quick question, I have noticed that when I turn file sharing on on my mac performance takes a hit would the same be true for the windoze machines?

passmaster16 · Feb 25, 2003, 11:45 PM

Originally posted by shmerek:
Hey thanks for the reply. I do have one other quick question, I have noticed that when I turn file sharing on on my mac performance takes a hit would the same be true for the windoze machines?

I don't really see that as the case on my Windoze boxes. Although Win 9x/ME is probably the weakest modern windows operation sytems in terms of networking capability. You shouldn't see much slowdown out of 98 for the size network you have. And really, I wonder why you're taking a performance hit on the Mac

Maybe some of the other members can comment on that. I wouldn't think you should take a big performance hit by just enabling filesharing.

shmerek · Feb 26, 2003, 06:47 AM

I have a crappy old imac 233 running 10.2 so perforance is so slow that I notice even small changes.

Macola · Feb 26, 2003, 03:52 PM

I have filesharing activated on a G3/266 running 9.2.2 and don't notice any loss in performance. How much RAM does your iMac have?

ghporter · Feb 27, 2003, 07:52 AM

Macola has a great point-it's possible to have enough memory in a Mac to do a lot of things fine, but not quite enough for file sharing. Windows OSs use virtual memory for filesharing more efficiently, and it works fine.

I'd look for an inexpensive gateway router, rather than a hub. The prices are falling quickly, so many gateway routers cost only a little more than a hub with the same number of ports. The point is that these routers have built in switches, which are faster in passing data than hubs are. Most users are happier using a switch for file and printer sharing than they are using hubs because of this speed difference.

shmerek · Feb 27, 2003, 10:22 AM

Originally posted by Macola:
I have filesharing activated on a G3/266 running 9.2.2 and don't notice any loss in performance. How much RAM does your iMac have?

256MB running 10.2,

Macola · Feb 27, 2003, 10:04 PM

Originally posted by shmerek:
256MB running 10.2,

My guess is that's the problem with slowing down. Double that, and you'll be amazed at the difference.

shmerek · Feb 28, 2003, 06:43 AM

Originally posted by Macola:
My guess is that's the problem with slowing down. Double that, and you'll be amazed at the difference.

I would but I rather save my cash for a new machine. I will just tough it out until then.