How to set-up LAN access between computers connecting through a WIFI Router?

Wireless networks are great ways to connect all the computers in your home or office to each other and the Internet. By connecting wirelessly, you eliminate the mess of wires going everywhere, and it allows you to move your computers around effortlessly. One of the great features in a wireless network is the ability to set up file sharing so you can easily retrieve, store, and copy files from other computers and users. Setting up file sharing on your wireless network is easy in both Windows Vista and XP.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Wireless router

Computers

Wireless cards

Windows XP

Windows Vista

Wireless File Sharing in Windows Vista

1-Enable file sharing on your network card. Click on "Start" and on the right hand column, right-click on "Network." On the pop-up menu that appears, click on "Properties."

2-Click on "Manage Network Connections" on the left hand column. Find your network card; it should say something like "Wireless Network Connection," plus the name of your network and have a little picture of a computer and some colored bars. Right-click on your card, and in the drop-down menu, click "Properties."

3-Click on the box next to "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks" that should appear in the middle of the window. Click "OK." You should now be back in the "Network and Sharing Center" window. In the center of the window is the "Sharing and Discovery" section. To the right of "File Sharing" is a little arrow to click to enable file sharing. Do the same for the "Password Protected Sharing" section.

4-Press "Apply" and click "OK" near the bottom right. In Explorer, go to the folders you want to share. Right-click on them and in the pop-up menu that appears, select "Share..." (it should be in the middle of the menu). In the window that appears, select "Everyone," press "Add," and then click "Share."

Wireless File Sharing in Windows XP

1-Click "Start" at the bottom left of your menu bar. Select "My Computer" on the column to the right. Select the drive you want to share, or explore the drive by double-clicking on it and find the folders you want to share.

2-Right-click on the drive or folder you want to share. In the drop-down menu that appears, select "Sharing and Security." The first time you do this there will be a warning to run the Network Setup Wizard in the section entitled "Network Sharing and Security." You don't have to do this if you have already set up the firewall on your computer. If so, click on the link at the bottom starting with "If you understand..." and skip to Step 5. If not, click on the link called "Network Setup Wizard."

3-Follow the prompts to set up the firewall and enable file sharing. They will vary depending on the specifics of your network, so consult your Windows manual if necessary. If you have not run this before, you will be prompted to pick a name for your computer and a name for your work group. Pick something easy to remember.

4-Right-click on the folder you want to share and click on "Sharing and Security." If you chose to skip the wizard, you should be returned to this window automatically. In the "Network sharing and security" section (second from the top), there will now be a box with "Share this folder on the network" next to it. Click on that. The folder is now shared.

By most measures, you should be able to play LAN games right now provided that all computers are turned on of course. Are you getting specific errors when you try to do so?

As far as file sharing, you would just need to set up shared folders in your operating system. Since you didn't say which OSs you're using, I can't really help too much, but most any of them are fairly straight-forward.