Question : LMhost - how to create one.

4 PCs in a workgroup.

To speed access up someone said use LMhosts. (xp pro pcs)  I read years ago this is a file that refers fixed ip - to mac address or something like this.  
 
Is an LM host file a good idea?
Where does the LM hosts files go?

Answer : LMhost - how to create one.

The LMHOSTS file is best used in this way if you preload the details by adding #PRE to the end of the line, e.g.

192.168.0.101                 pcname                #PRE

But on a small network name resolution should work fine with standard NetBIOS broadcast methods.  For 2000/XP I just to tend to put the entries in HOSTS which is for resolcing TCP/IP addresses whereas LMHOSTS is for NetBIOS names.  The LMHOSTS file usage can also be turned off - go to the properties of tcpip in the properties of your LAN card in network control panel... there is a checkbox in there to enable LMHOSTS lookup.

As said above, Make sure when you save - as the file you select "All files" not "Text files" in the File Type box as otherwise it is likely to add  .TXT to the end. If it is shows as a notepad file or opens straight in notepad when you double click it then the name is wrong -- a filename without an extension will always ask for which application to load it with.

You can test it is working by putting the WRONG address in one of the files against a host, e.g.

1.1.1.1        dummy

then

PING dummy

and if the hosts / lmhosts is working then it will try looking for 1.1.1.1 and timeout.

Steve