Network Win95 with WinXP for shared DSL and/or file transfer

"Steve Winograd [MVP]" <bcmaven.RemoveThis@mvps.org> wrote in message
news:u8rgj2dngcdgok808me2h8amnikvpa4kbp@4ax.com...
> In article <OGAnKRm8GHA.3916.RemoveThis@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl>, "BudV"
> <BudVitoff.RemoveThis@NOatt.SPAMnet> wrote:
>>[snip]
>>Steve, pardon me for the delay in continuing this saga, but I switched
>>ISP's
>>(from ATT to MSN), and ran into some problems trying to use my old ATT
>>modem. I am now using an Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless DSL Gateway model
>>GT704-WG. This unit combines the router and modem in one unit, and they
>>call it a "Wireless DSL Starter Kit." (!) It was all part of a promotion
>>by Qwest to bundle services and save me several bucks a month. I have no
>>immediate intention to use the wireless feature, and no installation steps
>>for wireless were performed, per their instructions. They said to wait
>>until I actually have hardware for wireless usage.
>>
>>The Win95 system used to have a dial-up Internet connection with ATT, but
>>I
>>can't use it any more, and I don't need it. Although I would like to
>>connect it to my DSL setup, they tell me I can't install the unit on a
>>Win95. All I need to do is copy files from Win95 to WinXP so that I can
>>burn them to CD's. I know I could use a crossover ethernet cable to do
>>this, but that implies swapping plugs all the time on the WinXP -- not
>>clean.
>>
>>I followed your instructions for Win95 and WinXP, and everything proceeded
>>without a hitch. I established file/drive sharing on the Win95 drives.
>>When
>>I finally brought up the system though, I expected WinXP Explorer to show
>>some indication of the Win95 system, but it didn't.
>>
>>"WinXP Network Connections" showed, among other things:
>>
>>Internet Gateway: Name: Local Area Connection on Linux IGD Type:
>>Internet Gateway Status: Connected Device Name: (same as Name).
>>
>>LAN or High-Speed Internet: Name: Local Area Connection 2 Type: LAN
>>or
>>High-Speed Internet Status: Connected Device Name: Broadcom 440x
>>10/100 Integrated Controller #2 (This last rings a bell, and may be the
>>ethernet
>>board I installed on the Win95 long ago).
>>
>>I don't know where "Linux IGD" comes from. It showed up while I was
>>configuring the Win95.
>>
>>Under "My Network Places," I tried "View workgroup computers". After a
>>long
>>delay, it gave me the error message: "Mshome is not accessible. You might
>>not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the
>>administrator
>>of this server to find out if you have access permissions. The list of
>>servers for this workgroup is not currently available."
>>
>>I hope all this makes more sense to you than it does to me. What's my
>>next
>>step?
>
> I think that you're almost there, Bud.
>
> The Linux IGD (Internet Gateway Device) is your router. Your router
> creates an Internet Gateway icon on the Windows XP computer. You can
> monitor and control the router (turn its Internet connection on or
> off) by clicking the icon.
>
> Local Area Connection 2 on the XP computer is its Ethernet connection
> to the router.
>
> The Windows 95 computer can connect to the router for Internet access
> and file sharing. All you should have to do is connect the computer's
> Ethernet adapter to a port on the router. It isn't necessary to run
> the Qwest setup disk on that computer.
>
> In my experience, network browsing through My Network Places and
> Network Neighborhood is unreliable -- so unreliable that I recommend
> not using it.
>
> To access the Windows 95 shared folders from Windows XP, click Start >
> Run on Windows XP, then type the Windows 95 computer's name in the box
> in this format:
>
> \\computer
>
> To access the Windows XP shared folders from Windows 95, click Start >
> Run on Windows 95, then type the Windows XP computer's name in the box
> in this format:
>
> \\computer
>
> If there's a firewall program on either computer, configure it to
> allow access by other computers on the local area network.
> --
> Best Wishes,
> Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)
>
> Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
> for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
> addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.
>
> Microsoft Most Valuable Professional - Windows Networking
> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
>
> Steve Winograd's Networking FAQ
> http://www.bcmaven.com/networking/faq.htm

Steve, I'm not sure how "almost there" I am!

First, and least important, I can't see an Internet Gateway icon anywhere on
WinXP.

I don't know what the procedure is for working with a folder once I get
access (see below). I'm trying to transfer a Win95 folder to the WinXP.
I've marked it for sharing on the Win95, and based on gut feel only, I
created a similar empty folder with the same name on the WinXP and marked it
for sharing.

Access: I'm running around like the proverbial headless chicken. At some
point I thought I was renaming the Win95 for how it should appear to the
network, but later I found that the WinXP had acquired that name for itself.
By the way, the Win95 is called APTIVA, and the WinXP is called LAPTOP.

Re Start-->Run-->\\APTIVA from LAPTOP, I had some peculiar results earlier,
but I can't seem to reproduce them now. Right now I simply get "The network
path was not found", which was what the earlier results ended up with.

Start-->Run-->\\LAPTOP from APTIVA gives basically the same results, only
worded differently: "Cannot access \\LAPTOP. Your computer either is not
configured for the local network, or not connected to a running network."
It also gave me a dial-up option which I disabled. Now
Start-->Run-->\\LAPTOP gives me simply \\LAPTOP The network is not present
or not started. (Underlining seems to be uncontrollable!)

It would appear that I'm missing a basic step to "activate" the network.

Once I get past all this stuff, I'm not sure what to expect as far as
dealing with the shared folder. Am I going to see both of them in Explorer,
and simply drag it from APTIVA to LAPTOP, or do I have other surprises in
store?

Thank you so much sticking with me on this.