Home Network ???

[catso]

Can anyone help?

I have 2 PC's which I want to be able to network.
I have had the network working before (with 3 PC's 1x WinXP & 2x WinMe), but PC#1 had a problem so I ran recovery/reload etc and PC#2 is a 'new' one (new to me anyway).

PC#1 is Windows XP PC#2 is Win Me.

They are linked via Ethernet? cables through a 10/100 5 way hub?

If I connect my Laptop to the Hub I can network between PC#2 and Laptop (both on WinMe) Laptop will also network at the office (WinMe) but cannot link PC#1 to anything else.

I can 'see' PC#2 from PC#1 through 'My network places' but can not access it, if I try I get;

"PC#2 is not accesible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions. The network path was not found"

I have run the (WinXP) networking setup wizard on PC#1 and made a disk to run in PC#2 but when I try to run it in PC#2 I get;

"[unknown] has caused an error in [unknown] [unknown] will now close If you continue to experience problems, try restarting your computer"

and then:

"This operation has been cancelled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator".

It seems that I can't get the network to work across the different versions of Windows.

I want to be able to use the network primarily to allow PC#2 to connect to the net thru PC#1's Broadband connection.

Would be most grateful for any Ideas?




>>> Edited by catso on Tuesday 1st February 17:40

[Tripps]

Do you have the windows firewall enabled on the XP box?

The latest revision of XP, service pack 2 comes with a reasonable firewall which likes to block out everything if it can - local network included!

[arcturus]

I know it's been said before in other threads, but really the best way to get 2 or more PC's sharing the same broadband connection is to use a router and not Internet Connection Sharing as you are trying to do. Granted, it should work, but it can cause a lot of trouble (as you are finding).

With an adsl router/switch such as the Netgear DG834, the router connects to the internet and the PC's then connect to the router for their internet connection.

This means that PC1 does not even have to be switched on for any of the others on the network to connect to the net. Plus you get added benefits of a hardware firewall, and Network Address Translation which further helps protect your network from the bad guys.

I concur that the XPSP2 firewall could be the problem. Turn it off temporarily and see what happens.

>> Edited by arcturus on Tuesday 1st February 17:58

[Tripps]

arcturus said:

I know it's been said before in other threads, but really the best way to get 2 or more PC's sharing the same broadband connection is to use a router and not Internet Connection Sharing as you are trying to do. Granted, it should work, but it can cause a lot of trouble (as you are finding).

I'd echo that, they are dirt cheap these days and almost entirely faultless unlike Windows which is prone to crashing and leaving everyone without their Internet connection.

[catso]

Thanks guys, XP firewall is off, I had looked at a router as I beleive it can give me wireless Broadband for Laptop anywhere in the house or within a certain range and that maybe the best option for the Internet(but I was trying to save £80 ) but I'd still like the network running anyway so that kids can play 2-player games and for backing up etc - unless a router could handle that too?

Thanks again.

[arcturus]

catso said:

unless a router could handle that too?

It certainly can provided you get one with a switch built in. Even if you get a router with only 1 LAN port, you can still use your 5 port hub to connect the other machines.

If you get a Netgear DG834G, then you will have a 4 port wired switch AND a wireless network capability as well.

[Stu247]

arcturus said:

catso said: unless a router could handle that too? It certainly can provided you get one with a switch built in. Even if you get a router with only 1 LAN port, you can still use your 5 port hub to connect the other machines. If you get a Netgear DG834G, then you will have a 4 port wired switch AND a wireless network capability as well.

I can vouch for the DG834G, nice piece of kit, can be had for reasonable money usually with a PCMCIA wireless card thrown for around £90.

The wireless coverage is very good.

As far as networking is concerned, XP has simple file sharing enabled as default, advanced file sharing needs to be enabled to allow compatibility between it and W2K.

Once you have set up permissions etc, all should be fine.

Try here www.wellesley.edu/Computing/FileSharing/Windows/win2kxp.html

[IPAddis]

catso said:

Thanks guys, XP firewall is off...

I hope you're going to use some firewall with broadband!

Have you shared any drives on the WinME PC? If not, WinXP may be able to see it's presence but not list any drives.

Can you see the XP machine from the WinME machine?

Ian A.

[catso]

IPAddis said:

I hope you're going to use some firewall with broadband!

I have Zone Alarm Firewall

IPAddis said:

Have you shared any drives on the WinME PC? If not, WinXP may be able to see it's presence but not list any drives.

Yes have shared all

IPAddis said:

Can you see the XP machine from the WinME machine?

No

I'm now getting a 'Livebox' wireless adaptor which should sort out the Broadband thingie - 2 Ethernet connections and a Wireless.

Would still like the network to work though.

[IPAddis]

Are the machines in the same workgroup?

Can you successfully ping each machine from the other machines?

Are you using the same protocol (TCP/IP), client (Client for MS Networks) and service (File and Print Sharing).

Have you tried "NET VIEW" and "NET VIEW MYPCNAME"?

Ian A.

[catso]

IPAddis said:

Are the machines in the same workgroup?

Yes

IPAddis said:

Can you successfully ping each machine from the other machines?

Err, not sure what you mean but I can 'see' #2 from #1 but not vice-versa

IPAddis said:

Are you using the same protocol (TCP/IP), client (Client for MS Networks) and service (File and Print Sharing).

Yes

IPAddis said:

Have you tried "NET VIEW" and "NET VIEW MYPCNAME"?

Err, wossat then?

[IPAddis]

catso said:

IPAddis said: Have you tried "NET VIEW" and "NET VIEW MYPCNAME"? Err, wossat then?

Ahh, you see you can't get away from the DOS / Command Prompt. Open one up and type "IPCONFIG /ALL". Do this on both machines and post the results here.

The ipconfig will show you the IP address. Using this (say 192.168.0.100), you can type "PING 192.168.0.100" from the other machine and this will test the low level connectivity between the two machines. You may need to disable any firewalls running on the machines themselves for this to work.

If the machines can ping each other, the next level to check is the NetBIOS stuff. This is the bit that Windows uses to work out what to display in Network Neighborhood. First type "NET VIEW". This should display the list of all machines on your network. you should try this from both machines.

If both PCs are listed (and it doesn't sound as if they will be), you can then view the list of file shares on each PC. If your PC is named "MYPC", you would type "NET VIEW MYPC".

If you post the results of the ipconfig command, it will help to work out what's going on and suggest the next step.

Ian A.

[catso]

Thanks IPAddis but there's now a change of setup - got a 'Livebox' for internet connection which has 2 wired outputs and a wireless, the 2 pc's are now connected to this (via LAN cables) so are no longer on the network as it was.

Internet is working fine on both PC's and Laptop (via wireless) but having taken the cable from the LAN for this, is it still possible to Network them, either via the Livebox or any other way?

[icamm]

catso said:

Thanks IPAddis but there's now a change of setup - got a 'Livebox' for internet connection which has 2 wired outputs and a wireless, the 2 pc's are now connected to this (via LAN cables) so are no longer on the network as it was. Internet is working fine on both PC's and Laptop (via wireless) but having taken the cable from the LAN for this, is it still possible to Network them, either via the Livebox or any other way?

i don't know this particular box but it is likely that it acts as a network hub and your wired and wireless ports should be able to "talk" to each other privately without using the internet. It should tell you on the box or in the instructions if it does this.