Windows 7 - two questions

ok i want to get an external hard drive about 1tb and be able for and 3 laptops 2 running windows 7 1 64 bit and the other 32 bit and lastly on running xp i want it so we can store and access pictures and documents and other things wirelessly from anywhere in the house.

second question: i want to be able to access my mums laptop from mine to do maintance and other tasks over the network.

is this possible?

For the first problem you need some type of server. For the second problem have a look into the tutorials. There are nteen possibilities - pick one.

All roads lead to networking your machine, and have the hard drive shared. For the second question use simple RDP to your mum's laptop and just take control.

Let's look at this one issue at a time...

If you just plug the 1TB into a PC and share it, that PC will have to be ON for others to access the shared info on it.

A better (more $) alternative would be to get a NAS (Network Attached Storage)... this plugs straight into your network and doesnt require a PC to be on sharing the drive for other users. Something like the Netgear ReadyNAS or Drobo are awesome and let you add drives as your storage needs increase (THEY WILL!).

If your moms lappy is on same network, then yes RDP is easy to use and setup. Heres a tut: Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) - Network

Hope this helps!