Printer/File Sharing Just Stopped, HELP

My network has been functioning almost flawlessly for over a year now and all of a sudden I can't share printers or files anymore.

The network consists of a DSL modem feeding into a Linksys WRT54GS router. My desktop is connected directly to the router. I have two laptops that connect wirelessly. I have three printers (1 parallel, 2 USB) on the desktop and one printer on each of the laptops (both USB). (Why so many printers????, we travel a lot in a motorhome and have to have printing capability). Operating system is XP.

As I say the whole network has been working great until last week. Internet access is still functioning but printer and file sharing has stopped on me. I have tried with and without the virus/firewall software running. I have rechecked file and print sharing. When I check the printers in Control Panel the network printer's icons first state "opening" and then "can not connect". I have of coarse rebooted all computers and the router. I have checked the settings on the router. No settings have changed. Obviously something has changed because I have no printer or file sharing.

Sure could use some help here. I can add any pertinent info to help if needed. Thanks in advance for ANY help.

Reply to
Bob & Nan
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Check the windoze firewall (not the second one you have with your antivirus stuff and already checked)... Once in a while (unpredictable when, happened to me twice in 3 years), a download/windows update will change the security settings and turn the windows firewall back on, and in my case, messed up my file and printer sharing....

Reply to
Peter Pan

Reply to
Bob & Nan

you might also mention what version of Windoze is running on each system.

I have one laptop that will not share....

I think it had something to do with my "sharing" the c:\\ root at some point, and then turning that off, and just going back to specific folders, yet still using "simple file sharing".

Reply to
P.Schuman

As I stated in my original post, using Windows XP on all. Thing that has me beat is that they (all of my networked computers) stopped print/file sharing almost at the same time. I can usually trouble shoot problems on one computer by seeing what the other two are doing. It helps. But this is a common problem that happened all at once after literally months of trouble free performance.

Reply to
Bob & Nan

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