[greendr2]

Hi,

This is my first post, to what looks like an excellent forum.

I've read loads of topics, and I am amazed at how patient the members are, with little or no flaming.

The Situation.

I run a small company business, and as I'm the only one with a modicum of IT knowledge, I get to wear the "IT Repair Man" hat. The problem is, I prove the old saying correct that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

My network consists of six computers, and five printers. All are networked. The main computer is used to acess our Broadband connection, and shares the connection using ICS.

Three of the computers are wireless, and the other three are hubbed using CAT5 patch cables. The computer that accesses the web, is one of the wired computers.

The three wireless computers are linked via a Netgear WPN802 wireless access point. This in turn is cabled into the hub.

The main computer has three printers connected to it. All connected via a USB hub.

Two of the wireless computers have a locally wired printer each.

The situation that I need to understand (that will inevitably lead to more networking questions) is:

On the main computer (1):

When I go to "View Workgroup Computers" I can usually see all of the computers.

When I go to "My Network Places" I usually don't see all of the computers, and hence not all shared folders or printers.

My question is:

What's the difference between these two views, and why are they different?

(This situation is not the same when I do this on the other computers, it's all a bit spurious. However I want to keep the question simple so that I can fully understand the differences, before I start my quest in getting all of the computers to see each other.)

Just to answer some of the questions that I think I'll be asked:

I have checked that all computers are on the same Workgroup.
All are set to share files and printers.
All can access the web.
None has a Windows Firewall enabled.
The Main Computer (1) has a Norton Firewall enabled.
The Main Computer (1) has a fixed IP Addrerss. All others are dynamic IP addresses. (I found that if I fixed their IP addresses, they could not access the web ???!!!)

Any help you can give me to understand the different views would be of great assistance.

Dave.