Trying to set network up?
 

Ok just recently purchased a router (cheap one) At one point it did work i could see my main pc from my laptop now its gone and can't figure out how to set it up properly. Any ideas i have internet access jsut no local access.
my network map look slike this.

Re: Trying to set network up?
 

Well looking at your network map both of your computers have the same name, im guessing thats just a mistake in the diagram?

You need to give more info. What OS are the machines running? What AV / Firewall software have you got running on the machines? If they are Windows machines have you allowed file sharing on the firewall on each machine?

Re: Trying to set network up?
 

No they have the same names maybe thats the problem lol Both running widows 7 main home premiu and lappy starter it worked before and also they had diff names before

Re: Trying to set network up?
 

You've more or less answered you own question, each machine on a a network MUST have a unique name.

Also, approaching this logically, can you ping each PC from the other, do it via IP first and then computer name?

When fault finding network problems you need to work from the ground up, that's because higher level services i.e. file and print sharing are dependant on lower lever services like TCP/IP. If you haven't got connectivity at one level between two machines, then communication at a higher level isn't going to happen.