Problems with Wireless Network

[pmanson]

At uni I have the following system:

1Mb NTL Broadband Connection (Cable Modem)

This is connected to a WGR614 Netgear Cable/dsl 54Mbps Wireless Router.

We have 2 PC's with Netgear Wireless PCI adapters (54Mbps) and 2 laptops with the equivalent PCMIA cards.

I have them all connected the internet and working correctly but they can't see each other on the network.

However when we connect one laptop into the hub it can see one of the PC's.

Is it a hardware issue or is it problems with Firewalls and AV software? I can't even ping the other machines which I assume is because of the software firewalls.

Any suggestions what are the next steps??

[apeebles]

Need to look at the basic IP address information for each machine. I take it that they are all running DHCP? What address, subnet mask and default gateway are they getting or have? This would help before looking for some more esoteric problem.

[fatsteve]

Are you running XP.

I had an issue with XP in that XP decides to go into Smart-arse mode and detect 2 NIC's (the standard built in CAT5 and the wifi card), in it's infinite wisdom it bridges the two!! and make's talking on the 192.168.0.x network a pain.

I would suggest removing the NIC setups and reconfigure.

Steve

[Marshy]

What apeebles said.

And then... Your netgear jobby is definitely running in "Access Point" mode, right?

Can both your laptops access the internet simultaneously? Are they in the same physical location?

[pmanson]

Everyone can access the net (2 Desktops and 2 laptops) we just can't see each other.

[squirrelz]

When you say "can't see each other" do you mean you're trying to view the hard drives on the other PCs etc, or what is it you're trying to do?

[pmanson]

Yeah we want to see each other to access Music etc. Also it might be useful to be able to network the printer (Attached one of the PC's by USB) so we can print etc.

[fatsteve]

Going back to basics:

1. What is the IP address each machine (use the command prompt and type ipconfig)
2. If you are trying to view harddisks on either machine then you will need to explicitly share a given directory (either that or use a UNC name and a $ share, hence \\stevespc\c$, can't seem to type more than one) - will access C drive, permissions allowing)

I'd love to help out but you're being a bit vague (sorry if I sound harsh!)

Steve



>> Edited by fatsteve on Friday 14th November 13:39

[pmanson]

Okay this is displayed.

PC1 - Running XP

Enabled, Firewalled
IP - 192.168.0.3
SUBNET MASK - 255.255.255.0
ASSIGNED BY DHCP
ACCESS POINT
NETWORK - Netgear
ENCRYPTION - Disabled

PC2 - Running XP

Enabled, Firewalled
IP - 192.168.0.5
SUBNET MASK - 255.255.255.0
ASSIGNED BY DHCP
ACCESS POINT
NETWORK - Netgear
ENCRYPTION - Disabled

LAPTOP1 - Running Win98

IP - 192.168.0.6
SUBNET MASK - 255.255.255.0
DEFAULT GATEWAY - 192.168.0.1

Not sure about the other laptop as my flat mate is out but its XP

>> Edited by pmanson on Friday 14th November 13:47

[fatsteve]

OK, IP subnet and mask looks OK.

Going back to my original question, you are running XP. Assuming ALL PC's have wifi cards AND standard ethernet CAT5 jobbies. Go into settings and check if any PC has a bridge connection (ie bridging the wifi and ethernet nic).

Also try pinging each PC/Laptop by name rather than IP (should resolve the IPA).

Next share a directory on one of the PCs'/laptops (ie c:myshare), make it available to everyone (tighten this up afterwards). Then try and reference that share on another PC/laptop via a UNC link, hence \\shared_pc_name\myshare.

Running update waiting!!

[pmanson]

Okay working off PC1...

I can ping PC1 - (IP -192.168.0.3)
and I can ping Laptop 1 - (IP - 192.168.0.6)

but I can't ping PC2 - (IP -192.168.0.5) - This appears to be bridged

Laptop2 isn't around but I know that one is bridged.

I set up a shared folder on PC1 (C:MyShare) but I couldn't ping that from PC1 from the cmd line.

When I went on Laptop1 I couldn't ping PC1


Arrraggghhhh

[fatsteve]

Bloody hell!!, I have limited exposure to XP (thankfully, and I'd rather keep it that way). But other than the bridge issue I encountered, it should be the same a Win2K etc. You may have issues between Win98 and XP because of the old 95/NT issue (ie domains/workgroups etc).

If you have a spare hub or switch handy, it may be an idea to go for a wired solution initially (to ensure everything hangs together), then gradually switch things over to wifi on a machine-by-machine basis.

Good luck!

Edited to say, doh!, you do have a switch, since the Netgear all-in-one-box will serve as a switch

>> Edited by fatsteve on Friday 14th November 15:07

[fatsteve]

Oh just to confirm, I asume the WGR614 is running the show in terms of acting as the DHCP, DNS proxy and obviously routing the broadband connection.

Again, try the wired way first.

Steve

[fish]

Not the biggest expert but I would suggest assigning manual IPs for both NICs on two machines and see if that works to start with.

[ken_smith]

From your ipconfig you posted you have the XP firewall turned on. The firewall by default blocks all ports related to file sharing. You have two options,

Turn off the firewall (the Netgear router has a stateful firewall so you will be protected)

If you dont want to turn off the fire wall then this is what you need to do

Microsoft file sharing SMB: User Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports from 135 through 139, and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) ports from 135 through 139.
Direct-hosted SMB traffic without network basic input/output system (NetBIOS) uses port 445 (TCP and UPD).
To open the preceding ports:

Click Start, point to Connect To, right-click the network connection that is firewall protected, and then click Properties.
On the Advanced tab, click Settings

Click Add in the Service Tab area.
Enter a description for the connection and use the loopback address (127.0.0.1) for the required Internet Protocol (IP) number.

Enter both a port number and type for each port (the external and internal port numbers should be identical). The port ranges may not be specified.

Repeat the steps as needed for each port.

Click OK to exit each window.

Also make sure all the machines are members of the same workgroup or domain.


>> Edited by ken_smith on Saturday 15th November 22:33