Problem with older mac: G3, OS 8.1

OK, I maintain a G3 in order to have a driver for my Personal Laser Writer, old but good.

It is hard-wired to our home network, AP Extreme, to which my G4 MDD and MacBook(and Dell) are connected

I use the G3 to print files which I download or create on the G4 and then transfer via Apple Talk to the G3.

Today I had problems with the network, none of the computers could see each other, finally resolved by rebooting cable modem and then the AP Extreme.

While this was going on I attempted to access the desktop of the MacBook from the G3 via Apple Share to IP address 10.0.1.5 as usual. It hung up and eventually I had to power down. Then it wouldn't restart. I started with a Norton Utilities CD, did disk repair, nothing major, still wouldn't start. Finally started with extensions off, then Extensions Manager, turned off Apple Share and the G3 starts. But now when I turn Apple Share back on I can't connect to anything: to my G4 it says "no response from server";to my Macbook it says 'incompatible version of Apple Talk"

Without the ability to connect to other machines I can't transfer files and can't print and the G3 loses its purpose. Any thoughts?