Have I got a network then?

corblimey

I recently (today, in fact) bought a LinkSys 5-port hub and have used it to connect my 2 PCs to a bband connection. It works flawlessly, but I was wondering does that mean that my 2 PCs are now networked? Can I access files on one from the other? They're right beside each other, so it's no biggie, if not, but I would prefer this approach than the USB data link cable I'm currently using.

Carpenter

corblimey wrote:

I recently (today, in fact) bought a LinkSys 5-port hub and have used it to connect my 2 PCs to a bband connection. It works flawlessly, but I was wondering does that mean that my 2 PCs are now networked? Can I access files on one from the other? They're right beside each other, so it's no biggie, if not, but I would prefer this approach than the USB data link cable I'm currently using.

Hi
Where did u buy the LinkSys 5-port hub and how many yoyos

is_that_so

Can they see each other on your "network"? If so then you should have no problem mapping drives , swapping files etc.

Capt'n Midnight

unless your bb connection has a firewall keep using the USB as otherwise you would have to open the firewalls on the PC's to share files.

sharing depends on the version of windows (or other OS) in use.
try pinging them first.

corblimey

Carpenter, picked it up in PCWorld for 50 (plus 20 for the 2 cables, which I thought was a bit steep but I needed this sorted today)

Can they "see" each other? I have absolutely no idea how to even find that out I also have no idea of the PCs' IP address in order to ping them. Good tip about the firewall thingy, though, Capt'n. I think I'll let it pass, just thought it might have been yet another glorious side effect of the hub

Redshift

corblimey wrote:

Carpenter, picked it up in PCWorld for 50 (plus 20 for the 2 cables, which I thought was a bit steep but I needed this sorted today)

Can they "see" each other? I have absolutely no idea how to even find that out I also have no idea of the PCs' IP address in order to ping them. Good tip about the firewall thingy, though, Capt'n. I think I'll let it pass, just thought it might have been yet another glorious side effect of the hub

typing ipconfig on the command line will give you the current network configuration of each pc, to get a command line you should type cmd in the run dialog box.
You should get an output like this.

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Ryan.LAN>ipconfig

Windows IP Configuration


Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : lan.local
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.11
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

collect the ip address for each machine and again on the command line of one machine type ping xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx putting the ip instead of the Xs

Once the machines can see each other via ping then you just need to make sure they are both in the same workgroup.

If you are not sure about this then just post the output of your ipconfig here and we will try to help further.

corblimey

Thanks Redshift. I got the IP addresses, although they weren't what I expected (I was expecting something more like the sample you gave, 192....). These were 172...

How and ever, niether PC could ping the other one, the request timed out.

Redshift

Ok the 172... ip address is internally generated by the computer when it seeks to be assigned an ip address by the network but doesn't get one.
That means that either your broadband modem isn't configured to run as a DCHP server or isn't capable of that function. I would guess it isn't configured as most seem to be able to do it.
Can you tell me what make and model you modem is and I will check if / how it can be configured.

Capt'n Midnight

corblimey wrote:

Thanks Redshift. I got the IP addresses, although they weren't what I expected (I was expecting something more like the sample you gave, 192....). These were 172...

How and ever, niether PC could ping the other one, the request timed out.

strange 172.16.x.y is ok for private use ( like 192.168. and 10. )
any other 172. address is a real internet address

169.254.x.y is the auto config address (though everyone except microsoft tend to use these only when lookiing for a DHCP server)

corblimey

Redshift. There's the rub. I'm not even sure I have a modem (!). I had this conversation with the muppets in PCWorld in order to get the hub. It's satellite bb, I have a dish on my house, a cable coming down from it, in my window. That connected to a receiver slightly larger than matchbox. That receiever has 3 cables connected to it, the cable from the dish, the power code and then an ethernet connection which is currently going to my new hub.

Now, I'm basing my opinion of modems completely on the old 33.6 externals you get, so maybe I do have a modem, but I honestly don't know. There's no brand name printed on it and I wasn't given any box or manual with it.

Redshift

corblimey wrote:

Redshift. There's the rub. I'm not even sure I have a modem (!). I had this conversation with the muppets in PCWorld in order to get the hub. It's satellite bb, I have a dish on my house, a cable coming down from it, in my window. That connected to a receiver slightly larger than matchbox. That receiever has 3 cables connected to it, the cable from the dish, the power code and then an ethernet connection which is currently going to my new hub.

Now, I'm basing my opinion of modems completely on the old 33.6 externals you get, so maybe I do have a modem, but I honestly don't know. There's no brand name printed on it and I wasn't given any box or manual with it.

Can you right click on your local network connection and click status and then go to the support tab and tell me what it says in there.
Then click on details and also post what is says in there.
I need to know how your computer is geting it's settings before I can advise you further.

corblimey

[Wow, it's like a really slow tech support call! j/k]

Address type: Assigned by DHCP
IP Address: 172.16... (do you need the rest? I'd rather not broadcast, but I don't know what harm it would do if I did)
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 172.16... (the final figure is one less than the IP address)

Details:
(Oh, man, there's a lot)
In summary, the DHCP Server is the same as the default gateway above. There is no WINS Server, but there are 2 DNS Servers, the 192.16... one and another 63.216...

Redshift

corblimey wrote:

[Wow, it's like a really slow tech support call! j/k]

Address type: Assigned by DHCP
IP Address: 172.16... (do you need the rest? I'd rather not broadcast, but I don't know what harm it would do if I did)
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 172.16... (the final figure is one less than the IP address)

Details:
(Oh, man, there's a lot)
In summary, the DHCP Server is the same as the default gateway above. There is no WINS Server, but there are 2 DNS Servers, the 192.16... one and another 63.216...

Nope I don't need the rest but those are only internal ip addresses and cannot be reached via the internet so there is nothing anybody can do with them.
The good news is that yes you do have a basic network and it's being configured via DCHP most likely by your modem.
Now if you want each machine to see the other on the network go to control panel / system /computer name. make sure each computer has a unique name and that they are in the same workgroup which you can call anything you wish. You will be prompted to restart after which you should open a shared folder on each computer by right clicking the foldeer you want to share and that should be that.
To access the network open My Network Places and you should see an icon with the same name as your workgroup when you click on this you should see both of your computers and their respective shares. You could also try the network setup wizard if you prefer.

Good Luck

corblimey

redshift, I did all that, but my Network Places shows no icons, and running //computer/share tells me "The network path was not found".

Pinging the IP address shown in the other machine's Network connection status dialog results in all packets being lost.

They both have the same workgroup name and unique computer names. (that's 'full computer name').

Any more ideas?

BTW, now that I suspect I might get this working before I grow old and die (thanks totally to you) I've decided to move my printer so that I can share it with both PCs, so it's no longer a "what if..." scenario.

Redshift

corblimey wrote:

redshift, I did all that, but my Network Places shows no icons, and running //computer/share tells me "The network path was not found".

Pinging the IP address shown in the other machine's Network connection status dialog results in all packets being lost.

They both have the same workgroup name and unique computer names. (that's 'full computer name').

Any more ideas?

BTW, now that I suspect I might get this working before I grow old and die (thanks totally to you) I've decided to move my printer so that I can share it with both PCs, so it's no longer a "what if..." scenario.

hmm that should have worked, if you have firewalling enabled try switching it off on both machines and then try pinging again also try to ping the modem; it's ip address is listed as gateway in your connection settings.
Another thing you can try is to run the network setup wizard I have found in the past that that can kick it into life.
In addition please read this guide about sharing problems and see does any of that help you.

Capt'n Midnight

Still not sure which version of window you are using and as I keep parroting, for many things configuration settings are more dissimilar than most linux releases.

If both have been configured by DHCP with close addresses then you have a network. If you have a firewall in place to prevent sharing AND/OR have nothing shared then you aint' going to see much. 172.16 means NAT is in use which indicates some level of protection.

If you can't see your own computer in My Network places then (you probably aren't using Win95/98 or NT..) try sharing a folder (with a password - and not just for security reasons - for some reason windows 95 shares always worked better if passworded , a real "go figure" )

If the machines can ping the check the firewall settings - theses options vary if you have XP SP2 or not or use Antigum or Zonealarm etc. - one option is to disconnect the box from the internet (just till you get things working) and turn off the firewall - when you have sharing turn on the firewall again with just the stuff you need open on and then reconnect the internet.

corblimey

Redshift, pinging the gateway works just fine, 0ms roundtrip. Weird thing is that I am also unable to ping myself, ie ping the address of the machine I'm working on. Is that normal?

I tried the network wizard but it started asking me about internet connections, and I dearly want to avoid losing my shared bband: it's the only thing I have going for me right now

The 'view workgroup computers' option in My Network Places failed to run, telling me I might not have permission to use this network resource, and to contact my network administrator. Heh.

Capt'n, I'm using Windows XP Home on both machines. There's no password option when net sharing folders. I have firewalls, and as a last resort, I will try turning them off for a few minutes and try it then, but I'm not sure what you mean by "just the stuff you need open on" when I'm turning it back on.

Redshift

When you run the wizard you get a series of options select the one which says "connect through a residential gateway" or something similar I'm working from memory here afterwhich you will be asked to enter a workgroup name it's pretty straight forward actually. It really should be working after that. Out of interest try pinging 127.0.0.1 on each machine. that is an internal loopback address. Each machine should be able to ping it'self on that and also on it's assigned ip address.
Since you are using windows xp you can create a restore point before changing anything and revert to it if anything messes up.

If you are using firewalling please tell us what you are using as you will need to add the ip range you are using as a trusted network if you have the likes of zonealarm installed

corblimey

Thanks for your continued help. I use the Network setup wizard on both machines, and it appeared to create a 'network bridge' option in my Network Connections. My LAN connection is now 'bridged', but all the numbers that were in Status/Support are now "<unavailable>". Something to do with the bridging.

Oh, and I still can't access the workgroup

Pinging 127.0.0.1 worked fine.

Update: View Workgroup Computers worked fine on non-main PC. It shows both computers in the workgroup, but I can't access the main PC. The main PC still craps out when I try this command.

Edited: Oops, didn't see your final q. I'm using Norton IS on my main PC and Zone Alarm (free) on my non-main PC. I'm a complete novice when it comes to firewalls. I couldn't even open the ports to let BitTorrent work (that's for another day )

Redshift

Ok sorry for taking so long to get back to you.

I'm going to post a checklist for you to look at will you tell me if all points are met.

1, All firewalls disabled for testing
2, Each machine has been assigned an ip address
3, The subnet masks on both machines are the same ie 255.255.255.0
4, Check both machines have netbios enabled in the network configuration under tcp/ip settings in the advanced menu under the Wins tab.
5, Both machines have the same workgroup name.
6, Both machines have file and printer sharing enabled
7, Both machines have open shares with everyone permissions.
8, At the command line run this command: Net user guest Make sure the account is active on both machines.
9, If all that fails try running the network setup wizard from your windows XP CD on one machine then create a setup floppy disk to use on the other machine.
10, Make sure your computers are virus and malware / Adware free.

Also It might be an idea to look at and run through the suggestions on this thread. here

Good luck