77 replies to this topic

[terry1966]

keep in this topic don't start another, the files in your documents folders won't make any difference to homegroup and filesharing, so just leave them where they are for now. do you have homegroup up and running now, so you can see lap on the pc and usDesk on the laptop? if yes, do you see usDesk at all times on the laptop even when the laptop is not connected to the router by cable?

Edited by terry1966, 20 May 2011 - 10:49 AM.

[Peter1]

To be specific,I have no file sharing set up. I regressed to each pc having the same documents folder containing the same material. That material is backed up in two flash drives. You may use TeamViewer if you wish and we coud talk with 'sticky notes' while viewing.. I wanted to give you an idea of the "view" I have. When I click on Documents, I see one basic folder entitled critical notes. When I open it there are quite a few folders and files . nothing is sensitive; all has to do with pc things I have learned, health records, car maintainance, bland correspondence etc. My banking and password material is kept in other removable media. If I learned a few of these methods like file sharing etc, I could make a better choice as to how I would like to set up the best way. It has been suggested that trying to keep identical files in each machine could prove to be tricky therefore the need for synchronization. That souce suggested either synchronize or keep files in one machine like the desktop and use file sharing to refer to or make changes in the desktop. from the laptop. It sounds logical but I am not sure. As it stands I have these docs in 4 places;desk, lap, 2 flashdrives.I also have Acronis imaging them.. Let me know how you would like to proceed

[terry1966]

i can't really tell you how to proceed peter,
except maybe to tell you to setup the homegroup again on both the laptop and pc.
when it's setup and working then you can decide if it's what you really want or if you want to try something else.

to be honest from what you've been saying all your really looking for is to keep your critical notes folders on both laptop and pc the same,
no matter which one your using to make changes,
now if your like me and have a poor memory then file sharing might not be your best option(can be used to do it, it's just you'll need to remember to copy the changed file over to the other machines folder using homegroup after the edit to keep both folders the same).

microsoft does have a program that might be better for you called synctoy :- http://www.microsoft...c5-98d0592d8c52
but i have absolutely no idea how well it works, easy to setup/use, etc, etc.

[Ztruker]

Synctoy requires file sharing to be setup and working on both computers so there is nothing to gain with it until that is working.

[Peter1]

Whoops! Did I say something to deter you from helping me as I thought from the previous posts we were going to work along together. I thougt my last post indicated I did not need to keep the data folder in both pcs. I read where that can make file sharing confusing. If I said something in the last post to discourage your help, please tell me what it was. I am not "driving the car" but was trying to give you enough information to make it easier for you. I planned on restoring the homegroup with file sharing when I heard from you so I would have some direction. It was difficult w/o help. I hold no hard feelings either way but I am surprised at this seemingly change of heart. Below is the last I heard from you so I thought we were going to go ahead together. Terri=Posted Today, 12:48 PM keep in this topic don't start another, the files in your documents folders won't make any difference to homegroup and filesharing, so just leave them where they are for now. If you wish not to go forward perhaps someone will offer to join. I wish you the best either way.

[terry1966]

no i don't mind helping you at all peter,

i was just trying to say, i can't really decide for you what is best for you, ie. keep all files on one pc, keep copies of all files on both pc's etc, etc
that's something your going to have to decide for yourself.
for example, i don't know if you travel a lot and if you do whether you'll need those files on your laptop, if so then they wouldn't be much good to you only on the pc because the only way you'll be able to access them is with homegroup when you got back home.. (there are ways to access them but not by using homegroup and it would also mean you leaving the pc on while your not at home)

I am not "driving the car"

yes actually you are..
i'm just the navigator..
you tell me where you want to go and i'll do my utmost to find the best route to get you there.

now what we can do is after you've setup the homegroup again on both laptop and pc is get you used to using and understanding exactly what is happening, then if you find it's not exactly what you need/want, we can look at other things like the synctoy.

so first directions are setup the homegroup again,

then comeback with any/all questions problems you may have about it's use.
doesn't matter if file sharing isn't exactly what you realise you want after using and understanding it better, it is always a handy thing to have, and like Ztruker kindly informed us, you'll need it anyway, if you decide you want to try synctoy instead of or as well.

Edited by terry1966, 20 May 2011 - 07:00 PM.

[Peter1]

[yes actually you are.. driving the car].

I just wanted to explain the "driving the car". so we can get on to tech talk, ok?
So much is lost with emails instead of in person.
I meant to say, I did not want you to think the tone of my email was that I was being bossy when in fact I was asking for help..
I accept responsiblty for making decisions based upon the information in front of me.

So, I think the next step is to create a homegroup and let you know when I think file sharing is working, so I'll be back as soon as I get that done.

[terry1966]

ok.

[Peter1]

ok.

Terri
I connected an ethernet cable from the laptop to the router and was able to create a homegroup. W/o the cable to jumpstart it, the password won't go thru. The cable is gone and we are still a homegroup after a restart.
I see "shared" at the bottom of the libraries page and the printer is also shared.
I have done absolutely nothing further so I do not make a mistake.
Do you think it best that I remove the big data folder from the laptop because I have the same folder in both the desktop and flashdrives.
This may uncomplicate things as I am not doing synch toy yet and want to keep the files from getting mixed up. I need to practice with file sharing first.
Peter

[terry1966]

to get started lets create 2 new folders, they'll help us not get confused with anything else that might be on either the laptop or pc. on the laptop in the documents folder create a folder called "filesonlaptop" then right click on it and click on the share with and choose HomeGroup(read/write) then do exactly the same on the pc but this time name the folder "filesondesktop" now create a text file in the "filesondesktop" folder and call it "terrytestpc", and put a simple line of text in it "this file is on the desktop" now we have a file on the desktop in a folder we won't confuse with anything else. so now using the laptop, click on the "usDesk"(assuming it's still called that now with your new homegroup settings) under homegroup and find the folder "filesondesktop"(notice how when on the pc to get to the folder all you needed to do is look in the documents folder but when on the laptop you get to the folder by going through the homegroup and "usDesk" it's still the same folder on the desktop but we're looking at it from the laptop) and then open the text file inside called "terrytestpc" and you should find you can edit it, so do so, and add to the end of the line already there "and has now been edited from the laptop" and save it. now if you check on the pc you'll see you've just made changes to the file on the desktop from the laptop. seeing how we're on the pc, now click on the "lap" (again assuming it's still called that now with your new homegroup settings) under homegroup and find the folder "filesonlaptop"(again notice how when on the laptop to get to the folder all you needed to do is look in the documents folder but now on the pc you get to the folder by going through the homegroup and "lap" it's still the same folder on the laptop but were looking at it from the pc) you should see it's empty because we didn't create a file to put in there. so lets move the file "terrytestpc" into it, you'll need to open a new window then open the folder "filesondesktop" in it, now just drag and drop the file from one window into the already opened "filesonlaptop" window and then rename it to "terrytestlaptop"(because that's where it should now be, on the laptop). if you go back to the laptop and look in your documents and the "filesonlaptop" folder you should see the "terrytestlaptop" file, and if you click on the "usDesk" under homegroup you should now see the "filesondesktop" is empty where before it contained the "terrytestpc" file. now try and copy the file back to the "filesondesktop" folder and rename it "terrytestpc" while also leaving it on the laptop but named "terrytestlaptop". you should now have 2 copies of the same file but 1 named "terrytestpc" on the pc and 1 "terrytestlaptop" on the laptop. don't forget i'm not using any windows operating systems so i'm not sure everything will work like i've said above, so if there's anything that isn't 100% correct just let me know and i'll see if i can find where i've gone wrong. by creating test folders and files you can experiment to your hearts content until you understand exactly how things work with the full knowledge that you won't be harming any of your important data. i always have different names for my backup folders so i know what is where, even tho the folders/files inside are exactly the same names.

Edited by terry1966, 28 May 2011 - 09:38 PM.

[Peter1]

Hi again Terri I think I now understand a missing link. I must go to 'computer' where it says 'home group lap' or 'home group desktop' and start there, not just go to documents or libraries so I am actually in the home group. Then I can go on to run the drill you gave me. I will be back but something has come up which will delay my reply. I am grateful for the valuable post and will be back with the results of my progress as soon as I possibly can. Peter

[Peter1]

Terri All was going well until I got to the part where you said to save the file I amended by saying,"and has now been edited from the laptop." When I clicked on save this box on the PrntScrn came up and I think I could have just saved it as "desktop" was in the save as box but I was not sure so I did not save it. Peter

Edited by Peter1, 29 May 2011 - 03:17 PM.

[terry1966]

from the look of that screenshot, i'd guess the terrytestpc file was not in the filesondesktop folder but outside it in the My Documents folder on the destop(not the laptop you were using to edit the file). now what the popup is doing really is giving you a last chance to rename the file or place it somewhere else before actually saving it, if you didn't want to change anything all you'd do is click the save at the bottom and that's it job done. if you wanted to place it somewhere else, into the filesondesktop folder for example, you would first click on the filesondesktop folder in the window above to navigate to it and click the save button. you'd notice the navigation bar at the top(not really sure at mo if that's it's correct name(brain dead day) but it actually tells you location of the folder you are looking at on your machine or as in this case what folder your looking at on your home network including the machine) "Desk > Users > us > My Documents" (means the folder your currently going to save this file at is "My Documents folder" of the user "us" on the dektop) and would change to "Desk > Users > us > My Documents > filesondesktop" as soon as you clicked on the "filesondesktop" folder. if you just wanted to rename the file while leaving it where it currently is located before saving it, then you could just change the blue highlighted name to something else and then click save. if at anytime your not sure exactly what is happening it is always a good idea to rename the file and save it, so if you renamed it to terrytestpc2 say and saved it from that screenshot i'd say when you went to the pc's My Documents folder you would of seen the file there, but outside of the filesondesktop folder you really wanted to place it. by renaming it your making it much easier to then go and find where it actually now is on whichever machine and compare where it is to where you wanted/thought you'd put it. looks like everything is going good so far anyway peter and it won't be long before you'll be doing this stuff without having to consciously think about it, you'll just know exactly where your moving/editing/saving these files and on what machine from what machine.

Edited by terry1966, 29 May 2011 - 07:19 PM.

[Peter1]

from the look of that screenshot, I'd guess the terrytestpc file was not in the filesondesktop folder but outside it in the My Documents folder on the desktop(not the laptop you were using to edit the file). >>I do understand the above. I also think I understand your workarounds. I will keep trying to figure out how I can save the modified folder where it is supposed to be within the group not just in documents. Btw, I have looked for videos that show how to maneuver as we are trying to do. have you come across any? p

[Peter1]

Terri I am pleased to report that I finally was able to edit the file on the pc with the laptop. It is interesting to note that although i tried many approaches, I do not think the initial one was wrong. I noticed, just before it agreed to cooperate that there were a couple of minor connection interruptions(I told you I had to jump start with an ethernet cable to get the laptop to accept the password from the pc-then remove the cable. It seems 99.9% good on connectivity.) I susppect the belkin router as I have uninstalled Norton a with no luck. Mosr imortantly, you know how complex Word can be for a relative low skilled user, the program Word asked me if I wished to merge the "save" with the desktop. I would have selected yes were I sure but chose no. A few minutes later it did it again. Then almost by default, what I have been doing all along, began to work. I think Woord took over and did merge. I have tried it again from different angles and all still works. SOoooooooooooooooooooo, Thank you very much for helping me through this new technique. I will now be able to utilize this because I know what it does and how it does it. I no longer need redundant locations and backups My next task will be Win Synctoy. I have to read up on it. Thank you sir, Peter

Edited by Peter1, 30 May 2011 - 12:17 PM.