[finleyville]

I wanted to know if anyone could help me with a home networking problem that has me stumped. I know just enough about computer networking to be dangerous. So please respond in small words. Heehee
I have a notebook running Windows 98se I want to connect to my desktop running Windows XP. I configured the desktop (DT) to be the host and the notebook (NB) to connect using the Windows XP cd. I have an Ethernet card in each and am using a crossover CAT-5 cable between the two.
The problem is that the two computers do not see each other while hooked up. Yet when I unplug or shut down the NB I receive a notification on the DT that a network cable has been disconnected. So at least the hardware notices that something is going on. The frustrating part is that in the past it did work, sortof. Sometimes they would see each other, and sometimes only one would see the other but not the other way around. Weird.
The workgroups are spelled exactly the same. I have file and printer sharing selected on both computers. I even specifically set both hard drives to “sharing.”
I asked a local computer retailer if they could help. They responded that a router with a built in switch like the Linksys unit was the way to go to solve my problem. But I since found out that I still would have to run the Windows XP cd on the notebook. But if it doesn’t work now using a simpler direct connection then I don’t see how adding components would help.
Anybody have some advice?

 

[acidtripwow]

Are you using static IP addresses?

 

[finleyville]

Yes. By static I gather you mean manually entered in the properties page and not "Obtain an IP address automatically."

 

[CaptBubba]

See if you can ping the other computer's IP. If you can, then open up my computer (or any other explorer window) and type this into the address bar: \\[ip address]\

You should go right to the other computer.

Are you trying to just copy files or to connect to the internet through it?

 

[finleyville]

I don't think I can ping my NB that way because it is not hooked up to the internet. I really just want to transfer files between them. However, sharing the internet would be O.K. too.

 

[wallijonn]

you may want to turn off the firewall in xp, install NetBEUI on both machines, then create an admin account on both machines with the same name and the same password. then double click network neighbourhood and see if they find each other. right click your network connection (on both machines), make the C drive shareable.

 

[finleyville]

I've heard that NetBEUI wasn't the best way to go with all of this. Would a router/switcher help with all of this or would I still have this problem?

 

[andrzejpw]

no, no, don't use netbeui. Try to stick with tcp/ip for now.

Have you tried pinging the machine? Meaning, the machine's local ip address? (192.168.something.something)

 

[finleyville]

My DT has two ethernet cards: one for my cable modem and one just for networking. My NB is not hooked to the internet in anyway. Exactly how would I ping my NB's connection?

 

[andrzejpw]

your notebook's running win98, right? go to the start menu, run. Type winipcfg. Select your adapter, and write down the IP address. Go to your winXP computer, and go to run, and type ping ***.***.***.*** where *** is your IP address.

Also, make sure your two ips(win98/xp) are on the same subnet. 192.168.1.*

 

[grinch]

Quote:

Originally posted by finleyville My DT has two ethernet cards: one for my cable modem and one just for networking. My NB is not hooked to the internet in anyway. Exactly how would I ping my NB's connection?

the ping command just sends icmp packets. these packets can go over any tcp/ip connection (unless of course they're dropped/blocked). you should definitely try this, as it's a popular tool for combatting networking problems.

buying a router may be a good deal for you in the end, considering you get a hardware firewall and extremely easy hookup. you don't need to put xp on the laptop for it to work from a router. routers are cheap as hell these days, i'd say go for one of those, or do the following:

set the nb's ip to: 10.0.0.2
set the dt's ip to: 10.0.0.1 (on the second nic, of course)

reboot or whatever and at the laptop, open a cmd window and type: ping 10.0.0.1

if packets are received, you've won half the battle. the computers should then see each other. file sharing can be a bitch sometimes with that interface, i usually setup a simple ftp server instead and just upload everything. one thing i might recommend is, since xp's networking is much stronger/better than win98se's (in my opinion) you should make a directory on the nb somewhere that's writable by all. then try to access the laptop from the dt and just drop all of your stuff that way. you can give full read/write access to the entire hard drive if you need to copy files from all over. i'd still recommend only using the xp box for this though, as this generally seems to work out for the best for me.

 

[finleyville]

Thanks to all that have responded!! I've gotten more help in a couple of hours than I have gotten over the last 2 months!! It now works. All I did was re-enter some of the same settings and now they communicate. Weird. We will see if this lasts.

Btw, is it possible to share a cable internet connection with just a crossover cable?? Just wondering...

 

[andrzejpw]

it sure is.

You already have two ethernet cards in the desktop, so you're golden. The easiest way is to use microsoft's internet connection sharing. It will automatically walk you through the process, make a disc, etc. Just press F1, and type in internet connection sharing!