Hi Don,
I think you can do it, you need to look in the links below and see your Ex
HDD specs listed there and you can download the software for it, read the
help file on how to configure/setup and you will be ready to share it with
your other Laptop.

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/pro...o_data_movers/
Downloads
http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.js...00dd04090aRCRD

HTH.
nass

"Don" wrote:

> Thank you for your response. The external drive is a Seagate Free Agent 320GB
> unit. It did not come with any CD/DVD to provide management software.
> Don
> --
> Don
>
>
> "nass" wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > "Don" wrote:
> >
> > > I have a desktop running Windows XP Home Edition (with SP2) and am networked
> > > to my laptop using a Linksys router. I have enabled laptop access to my
> > > desktop files in My Documents. I have just added an external hard drive to my
> > > desktop for backup purposes. My questions are: 1. Is there a way to enable
> > > access to this external drive from the laptop? 2. Is there a way to enable
> > > the use of this external drive as a backup for the laptop files? If either of
> > > these are possible, would appreciate instructions on how to implement the
> > > changes.
> > > --
> > > Don
> >
> > Hi Don,
> > Yes, you can do all of this, but we need to know what make the External Hard
> > drive and does it comes with Management Software?, if it does you can
> > partition this Ex HDD into two or more partitions and connect it to the
> > Router on one of the LAN ports and through the Management Control panel (like
> > NAS) you can set it up and share it with other (like your Laptop or even you
> > can access it remotely if you know the IP address and Password for it), you
> > need to set a strong Password on this Ex HDD shares option.]
> >
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network-attached_storage
> > Linksys Network Storage Link.
> > http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite
> > Network Storage Link for USB 2.0 Disk Drives
> > Easily Add Storage Space to Your Network
> > http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satel...VisitorWrapper
> >
> > HTH.
> > nass
> > -----
> > www.nasstec.co.uk