Networking Question

[Bahamut]

Hello!

Well... I have two computers right, both which have Win XP Pro. They both have the same LAN cards, and have the right cord to connect them to each other. Now this is what I don't get:

They seem not to recognize each other.

Am I missing something? Is LAN only good for gaming? But then even if it's only good for gaming if you cannot detect the other PC how the hell can you connect right? I cannot transfer files or share printers and stuff... man... it really seems like a total waste...

So can anyone alleviate my pain by providing some useful information regarding this matter? Any clarification is already great... anything to make it work is a miracle...

Thanks in advance!

[andrewas]

Are you sure you have the right cable. You need a cat5 crossover cable, but the ones you buy will be straight cables, unless you specify differently. Unless you have a hub, in which case you need 2 cat5 straight cables.

Assuming the hardwares right, you should just have to specify the IP addresses to use. So:

Start->settings->network connections.

LAN connection, properties.

Internet protocol, properties.

Set 'use the following IP address' and enter an IP address of 192.168.0.1 and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 . On the other machine, enter the IP of 192.168.0.2 and the same subnet. Leave default gateway blank (if it insists give it 0.0.0.0) and ignore the DNS settings.

[Bahamut]

The hardware is fine... [img]smile.gif[/img]

Hmm... that I haven't stumbled upon yet... thanks for telling me I think that is the only info I really need... damn... that was helpful! thank you sooo much!

i will post for the result okay? I will try it as of the moment... err... that is if I can find the cable... (we transferred homes... LOL)

[Paladin2000]

Something just occured to me:

If you Do have a good crossover cable, you must remember to set the netwoek speed one of the PC to "10-full duplex" and leave the other one to "auto mode" or the PC will not be able to talk to each other because crossover cables can't handle 100 megabit connections. At least that is true for Windows 95/98. I don't know if this is true for Win2K or WInXP though.

For Win95/98, To set the link speed:

Control Panel-->Network-->(select you network adaptor), click onto the "property" button-->Select the "Advance" tab-->click on the "Link Speed/Duplex Mode" and set it to 10-full duplex--> click "OK" and restart PC.

[ 07-07-2003, 11:48 AM: Message edited by: Paladin2000 ]

[andrewas]

Well made cat5 crossover cables can handle exactly the same bitrate as cat5 straight cables. If you had speed problems caused by a crossover, either it was cheap cable or someone didnt crimp it properly. Actualy, crossovers should have a slightly higher capacity since theres no hub in the way, but the network card cant take advantage of this.

Having said that, lowering the network speed just might get it to work, there are other things that can cause problems. Worth a go if setting the IPs didnt work.

[Bahamut]

UPDATE

Well... they already have recognized each other. [img]smile.gif[/img] I did what you said andrewas, and what I also discovered that the firewalls have been causing chaos in the two systems... in fact I think that was the only problem... Due to this I have a new question...

We both have PC-Cillin, and I plan to keep the Firewall, so I have to make this port an exception.. I just wonder what I should type in port number? I have this feeling if I put ALL, then it would allow ALL ports to be open... so why bother putting up a firewall right? [img]smile.gif[/img]

The cable's fine. It is really used for network gaming. I just don't know what it is called, but since I think everybody uses the same term, it is a cat5 cable... I surely know that it isn't a phone cable... LOL

[andrewas]

You should be able to set the firewall to only cover the internet traffic. You dont need to firewall on your own LAN.

[Bahamut]

How come when I turned off the firewall of PC-Cillin did it only recognize it? When it was on I couldn't do anything...

[Bungleau]

Firewalls protect your computer from outside attack. That includes everything outside the actual machine, including another machine networked to it.

You can open up a specific port to go through. I'd suggest one in the late 20,000 range, as it's likely to be unused for anything else. I'd also check in your services file (c:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc\services) to make sure the port's not in use for something else; in fact, I'd add it in there (hitting a return at the end to make sure it's not the last line).

[Bahamut]

hmm i will check... update you guys again...

so i will just use a port of my choice? i really don't know anything about ports...