My Cam and my Printer are both unusable with Vista

[Xarzu]

My Cam and my Printer are both unusable with Vista. But I have an idea for a solution. I put my old computer on a network. I know that this is hwo they use printers at work. I assume I can do the same at home. Can I do the same sort of thing with my cam?

 

For the printer, here are my results from the printer's manufacturer:

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h292/Athono/lexmark.jpg

 

( http://downloads.lexmark.com/cgi-perl/down...od=Lexmark+X125 )

 

I am sure I can set up the printer via a network but I do not know how to go about doing this. How does one set up a network?

 

For the cam, here my results from looking for answers from the cam's manufacturer

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h292/Athono/cam.jpg

 

( http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/480/3383&cl=gb,en )

 

I am told that the camera possess the neccessary hardware/software in order to be accessed over a network. Someone recommened, however, that I can purchase a multi-card reader and this will somehow help me. Does anyone know about this?

[Krookie]

You'd probably get better results if this was in Skeeter's Junkyard.

[Xarzu]

You'd probably get better results if this was in Skeeter's Junkyard.

 

OK, and now we are here?

 

I found a program that allows me to use the cam over a network. This http://www.webcamxp.com/home.aspx is way cool.

 

Now the first thing to do is to set up a network. The Vista Online Help had a lot of information I did not need because already I have two machines connected to the internet by way of a router. It seems difficult to go through this information and know what I do need to do and what I do not need to do. So here I am. I have found out what the IP address is for the two machines and they are both connected to the same internet connection by way of a router. Now what? How do I make them see each other?

[tarna]

You'd probably get better results if this was in Skeeter's Junkyard.

 

OK, and now we are here?

 

I found a program that allows me to use the cam over a network. This http://www.webcamxp.com/home.aspx is way cool.

 

Now the first thing to do is to set up a network. The Vista Online Help had a lot of information I did not need because already I have two machines connected to the internet by way of a router. It seems difficult to go through this information and know what I do need to do and what I do not need to do. So here I am. I have found out what the IP address is for the two machines and they are both connected to the same internet connection by way of a router. Now what? How do I make them see each other?

Open 'Control Panel' and run 'Network Setup Wizard'. It will walk you through the process. You may need to buy a 'crossover' cable and connect it to the individual computers. It is an ethernet cable with the wires reversed at each plug. Cost is very low and I think the transfer speed is 400 Mb/s. You can buy these at most any office supply store.

 

Once your Local Area Network ( LAN ) is set up, open control panel on your old computer and choose 'printers and faxes'. You should be able to 'share' your printer connection here.

 

BTW...Anything 'shared' into the network will be seen by any other computer networked into the LAN. This generally means that you probably shouldn't 'share' your porn files ( unless of course you intend to share them with us :wink: ). 'Share this drive' will give anyone on the network the ability to alter the drive fundimentally so choose wisely if you intend to open the 'drive root' to others. If you choose this option, the computer will warn you and ask you if you truely wish to do this. It's not a big risk but will give others on your network the ability to add/delete stuff from your drive without limitations. It does however provide a 'hackpoint' for the internet to attack if your firewalls are not sufficiently protective. I personally do not share my drives to the network.

 

As far as your camera goes, if you are able to remove the media, throw the cable in the trash and buy a multimedia reader ( as your friend suggested ) and install it. The internal reader installs into the face of your computer costs around $30 USD ( depending on features ) and plugs into one of the 8 pin USB connections on your motherboard or directly to an external USB port. If you don't have any internal ports available or are unsure how to do this ( plugging your connection into an 8 pin Firewire connection could fry your new device and possibly damage your motherboard ) just buy an external reader ( plugs into an external USB port ). They cost about $40 USD and have the convenience of being able to use on other computers.

What's one more piece of digital crap in your room right? :wink:

The multimedia readers are nice because they read the media much faster than most of the cheap camera cables will transmit. When you plug the media reader in, open 'My Computer' and the reader will show up as a series of new drives. Each type of media available to the reader will show as a separate drive though. You will have to learn which one is the 'drive' that reads your particular media card. Not a big deal though.

 

Another option is to buy a converter to USB device. My wife's camera uses a SD card for media. I bought her a SD to USB converter at Office Max for $10 USD. Not as versatile but just a thought. Depends on what media your camera uses.