Another File Sharing Question

[unleashed]

I have been reading over all the threads and am still needing some help on setting up my file sharing.
I have a laptop running XP MCE and a desktop running either XP Home or Vista(dual boot)---really whichever one will make this process easier.
Both are connected to a wireless router in the other room using their individual wireless cards.
I have a crossover cable and would like to connect the two so that I would be able to hook up my external drives to the desktop so all I have to do when I want to take my laptop with me will be to unplug the network cable. I also want to use Synergy, with the desktop being the server. I DONT want to share internet as they both already have access and I DONT want my roommates on the wireless network to be able to access my external hard drives. So I really only want the desktop and laptop to talk to each other through the crossover.
I have been trying to do this but nothing seems to work right, with it appearing to make me share internet from one to the other, and then if I do this, half the time either one locks up when I try to access the shared folders on the other.
Any help would be great or even a reference to a similar thread.
Thanks
Unleashed

[johnwill]

If you're on the Internet with a different network connection (say wireless), try this.

Configure the machines as follows.

PC #1:
IP address: 192.168.9.1
Subnet Address: 255.255.255.0

PC #2:
IP address: 192.168.9.2
Subnet Address: 255.255.255.0

Leave the Default Gateway and DNS Server addresses blank.

Make sure any firewalls are configured to put the 192.168.9.x subnet in the trusted zone.

Finally, you'll have to enable fine/print sharing on the machines and actually share one or more folders or drives.

[unleashed]

Thanks!
I was thinking that the subnet address needed to be different than the one in the wireless network. And of course Norton 360's firewall caused most of the problems and no matter what I do it wont remember my "trusted" settings. Any suggestions for a new antivirus/firewall? lol

[johnwill]

Well, I personally use the Windows firewall when I'm on the road, and I don't use a software firewall when I'm at home. I find that active AV and spyware protection and the router's firewall suffice for my protection.

[unleashed]

Once again thank you for all your help, johnwill. Everything is working fine---can share external hdd's between my laptop and desktop and using synergy is great. But now I have another problem. Like I said before, both of these pc's are wirelessly connected to my router that I share with 3 other roommates. And I only want to share my external harddrives between my two computers, but I had my roommate go into My Network and he was able to access all my harddrives. How can I keep it where the harddrives are shared only on the crossover cable network and not over the wireless one?
Thanks, unleashed

[johnwill]

It's good it's working.

Keeping the hard disks from the wireless connections will probably require tinkering with a more advanced firewall and blocking file/print sharing for specific addresses. I'm assuming you don't have XP-Pro all around, which would allow you to use file/folder permissions to limit by account name.

[unleashed]

Well, actually I have XP-Pro from a trashed desktop that I am planning on installing on this desktop and the laptop is already running MCE, which if I am correct is Pro. But, and call me crazy, I was actually waiting to reformat all my pc's until after SP3 was released.

But I was playing around with it some, and on my NetworkCard properties on both machines-the file sharing option is checked, which I believe to be correct. I noticed that the file sharing option was also checked on both of the pc's Wireless connections. So it would make sense to me that if I uncheck the file sharing boxes for each pc's wireless but leave it checked on the Wired connections, then wouldn't it only shared the "shared" harddrives and folders through the Wired connection and not the wireless?

[johnwill]

Correct, that would work. That is, as long as the network path is not open from the other wireless stations through the router to the wired connection.