Removing Computers From Home Network

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hlewton
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Removing Computers From Home Network

Post by hlewton »

Since XP is no longer going to be supported I would like to remove some of my machines from my home network but keep them connect to the Internet as stand-alone machines. That way if one did happen to get infected it would not affect my home network, as far as I know. Most of these machines are wired through ether net cables but one laptop is wireless but they are all a version of XP. So how can I remove them from my network but still, when on, have them connect to the Internet? Also is it possible after removing them from the network to still have them be able to print to network printers that are assigned a static IP address or would they have to remain part of the network in order to print?

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StuartR
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

Post by StuartR »

You need to be more explicit about what you mean by "removing them from the network".

My best guess is that you want to prevent them from sharing folders and files with other computers on the network.
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hlewton
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

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StuartR wrote:You need to be more explicit about what you mean by "removing them from the network".

My best guess is that you want to prevent them from sharing folders and files with other computers on the network.
Yes I believe that is exactly what I mean but just didn't use the correct terms. I do not want any XP computer that may become infected with anything to affect my other computers.

Since reading your reply, and I hope I understand it correctly, could I just turn off sharing on the other computers? I really never thought of that.

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John Gray
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

Post by John Gray »

You could move the computer(s) to different workgroup name(s), perhaps?
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

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John Gray wrote:You could move the computer(s) to different workgroup name(s), perhaps?
Thanks but not sure that would accomplish what I want. I don't want one computer that may be come infected to affect any other computer. I wish I knew more about how all this worked but after reading StuartR's reply I am hoping that removing the shares will accomplish what I want.
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

Post by John Gray »

I stand to be corrected by Stuart, but I don't think the accessing of shares can exist across different workgroups.
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

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John Gray wrote:I stand to be corrected by Stuart, but I don't think the accessing of shares can exist across different workgroups.
I'm sorry but I'm not at all sure what you mean. I don't think I want to share across different workgroups. I think I want separate or stand-alone computers that will still be able to access the Internet so my grandkids can still use my computers to play their games. I hope by turning off the sharing on them that will accomplish what I want.

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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

Post by John Gray »

As I understand it, a requirement for sharing to work is that the computers doing the sharing must be in the same workgroup.

If you change the workgroup of any one of them to another, say from the usual WORKGROUP to GLADYS, then the computer (the ONLY computer) in the GLADYS workgroup cannot see shares in the WORKGROUP workgroup, and vice versa.

The new workgroup name is simply a dummy name, with only one computer in it.
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hlewton
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

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John Gray wrote:As I understand it, a requirement for sharing to work is that the computers doing the sharing must be in the same workgroup.

If you change the workgroup of any one of them to another, say from the usual WORKGROUP to GLADYS, then the computer (the ONLY computer) in the GLADYS workgroup cannot see shares in the WORKGROUP workgroup, and vice versa.

The new workgroup name is simply a dummy name, with only one computer in it.
I think what you suggest is great and I realize it is the same as you suggested in your other post. I actually woke up in the middle of the night, before seeing this post of yours, thinking that I had to do what you suggested because what I proposed seemed to me that it may have worked in only one direction. What I'm saying, and I really do no know what I am talking about, is if I had only turned of sharing on the computers I need to eliminate from the Workgroup I am now thinking that may have only stopped me from getting to them from the computers that will still be active in the Workgroup that will have to keep the sharing active. I hope that makes sense. Anyway now I have to see how you change the workgroup name and do that. Thanks.
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

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I have to ask this since I did find out how to change the workgroup name in XP and will probably do that right after Apr. 8, 2014 will I still be able to print to my printers that use static IP addresses?

Not knowing what I'm talking about it seems to me that the printers may be part of the original workgroup. Since I would be changing the workgroup name but still accessing the Internet through splitters connected by Ethernet cables to the router could I reinstall the printer drivers and have them find the static IP addresses of the printers in order to print to them?
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

Post by DaveA »

One of the problems I see, is that Windows 7 and 8 can be connected to "multi" networks.
So your Windows 7 and 8 machines will connect to these other workgroups.

No you will not be able to use the printers that are on Windows 7 or 8 from a XP machine with a different workgroup name. But the Windows 7 and 8 machines MAY be able to use the Printers that are on the XP machine.
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

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DaveA wrote:One of the problems I see, is that Windows 7 and 8 can be connected to "multi" networks.
So your Windows 7 and 8 machines will connect to these other workgroups.

No you will not be able to use the printers that are on Windows 7 or 8 from a XP machine with a different workgroup name. But the Windows 7 and 8 machines MAY be able to use the Printers that are on the XP machine.
Sorry Dave but maybe I confused the issue or need a bit more explanation. My printers are not physically connected to any computer. They are hard wired to the router and have been assigned a static IP address. Does that make a difference?

About Win 7 being connected to "multi" networks wouldn't I have to actually somehow tell the Win 7 machines to connect to the other workgroups? If I didn't do that they would remain separate, wouldn't they? I only ask because when I brought the Win 7 machine home I had to tell it to join the workgroup I already had in place.

I'm sorry if my questions sound stupid but I really do not know a lot about the capabilities of XP, Win 7 and networks.
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

Post by StuartR »

You could do this by removing all shares from all your computers, but that would also prevent the Windows 7 computers from sharing files with each other.

The easiest thing to do is probably to make sure that you have completely different usernames and passwords on the Windows XP computers to the ones you use on the Windows 7 computers, so that there is no automatic login by using the current username and password. This way users who try to connect will be prompted for the username and password for the other computer. Would that be sufficient for your purposes?
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

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Thank you.
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hlewton
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

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StuartR wrote:You could do this by removing all shares from all your computers, but that would also prevent the Windows 7 computers from sharing files with each other.

The easiest thing to do is probably to make sure that you have completely different usernames and passwords on the Windows XP computers to the ones you use on the Windows 7 computers, so that there is no automatic login by using the current username and password. This way users who try to connect will be prompted for the username and password for the other computer. Would that be sufficient for your purposes?
Actually I have given this s lot of thought and because I do not use passwords on any of my computers I am not at all sure how this would work out. If I knew how to assign a password to the Win 7 machines and made them all the same are you saying this would stop the XP machines from seeing them and would the XP machines continue to function.

Let me tell you the steps I have done so far with only limited success and now I believe I know what Dave was talking about.
1. Renamed all the XP machines to different and separate workgroup names.
2. They then could not see the Win 7 machine but the Win 7 machine could still see them.
3. I remove the sharing from all the XP machines and that stopped the Win 7 machine from seeing them.

I thought all was fine until the next day when I turned on the first XP machine on and noticed it once more found the former workgroup but still retained the new workgroup name I had changed it to prior to turning it on again. So I watched the other machines that I had made the changes to and it seemed the longer they were on the more workgroups they would find including the old one that includes the Win 7 machine I want to keep them away from. I really am confused now and have no idea what to do.

Is there some setting maybe in the registry or somewhere that will stop XP from finding any workgroups other than the one they are assigned to? Or maybe some setting that will not allow them to find any workgroups at all. I really do not believe I need them to be in a workgroup since I want them to be stand-alone devices. or is there some setting on Win 7 machines other than sharing that will not allow XP machines to see them? I searched the Internet and it said to delete an XP workgroup all you needed to do was rename it but I am finding that does not work at all.

I should have mentioned that the machines that still see the Win 7 machines are XP Professional. The one I have that is XP Homes has not, at least yet, found the former workgroup allowing it to see the Win 7 machines but it does find some of the other renamed workgroups.
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

Post by StuartR »

A workgroup is not a security feature, it is a convenience feature whose purpose is to make it easier to find other computers.
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

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How about stopping all file sharing on the Windows 7 computers and then creating a Homegroup - you have to enter the same Homegroup password on each of the Windows 7 computers and I don't think the Windows XP computers will be able to access it.
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

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StuartR wrote:How about stopping all file sharing on the Windows 7 computers and then creating a Homegroup - you have to enter the same Homegroup password on each of the Windows 7 computers and I don't think the Windows XP computers will be able to access it.
OK but I have to see how do that cause right now I am not at all sure how it is done.

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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

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StuartR wrote:How about stopping all file sharing on the Windows 7 computers and then creating a Homegroup - you have to enter the same Homegroup password on each of the Windows 7 computers and I don't think the Windows XP computers will be able to access it.
I believe I now know how to create the Homegroup on the Windows 7 machines but I would just like to ask if by turning off the share is that the only step I need to do before I do create it?

That was kind of an incomplete question because the other part of it is after creating the Win 7 Homegroup I believe I do not have to turn the file and printer sharing back on in order to see files and folders on other Win 7 machines after they join the Homegroup. It appears to me that is taken care of with the wizard that creates the Win 7 Homegroup. Is that correct?
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Re: Removing Computers From Home Network

Post by StuartR »

I am pretty sure that is correct. It's hard to give a definitive answer because there are so many different possibilities of how it has currently been set up.
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