Had to Half Duplex (?) Using Router

G

Guest

Setting up a four computer network (2 with 98se, 1 with ME, 1 with XP) using a Linksys BEFSR81 cable router. I've been successful connecting to the internet with one of the 98se computers, the ME computer and the XP computer. However, the XP computer would not automatically detect the IP address so a static IP address had to be assigned. Also, in order to ping the router, the XP computer had to be set to 5Mbps (isn't this called half duplexing?). My question is will this cause any problems with the XP computer using the network? The reason for the question is because I am having trouble installing the network printer on the XP computer. The network printer is connected to a print server which is connected to the router. I have posted a question about the printer in the printer portion of these boards, but I mention it here because I'm afraid it might be a networking problem. The XP computer cannot ping the printer. Any suggestions are appreciated.
 
M

Michael_L

Not being able to get a dynamic address and lowering your
NIC speed makes me wonder what kind of cabling you have to
your router. If you are using hand crimped cables they
are known for problems. Anyway here is a list to look at.

1. Bad cabling. (try using a factory made cable)
2. NIC card driver (try pinging your IP and see what you
get)
3. Bad router port (try another port)
4. Make sure your DHCP and DNS is set for dynamic
addressing and respective client services are running.
5. Verify address range set on the Linksys router.
6. Firewall in the way.

When I have a 100mb NIC and 100mb switch the only reason I
know that slowing down helped communication was bad
cabling. Let me know if any of this helps
Michael

-----Original Message-----
Setting up a four computer network (2 with 98se, 1 with
ME, 1 with XP) using a Linksys BEFSR81 cable router. I've
been successful connecting to the internet with one of the
98se computers, the ME computer and the XP computer.
However, the XP computer would not automatically detect
the IP address so a static IP address had to be assigned.
Also, in order to ping the router, the XP computer had to
be set to 5Mbps (isn't this called half duplexing?). My
question is will this cause any problems with the XP
computer using the network? The reason for the question
is because I am having trouble installing the network
printer on the XP computer. The network printer is
connected to a print server which is connected to the
router. I have posted a question about the printer in the
printer portion of these boards, but I mention it here
because I'm afraid it might be a networking problem. The
XP computer cannot ping the printer. Any suggestions are
appreciated.
 
G

Guest

I will check some of the other things you mentioned, but I do know it is a new CAT 5 cable with RJ-45 adapters that I installed. The reason I ran new CAT 5 is because there was CAT 5e in place that didn't work. I didn't realize until later that CAT 5e would allow for faster transmission

I also know the XP firewall is disabled, but I do have Norton SystemWorks installed. Perhaps it is causing a problem

One other question... could slowing down the communication to the router be causing the problem with printing? The thing is, I can't even ping the print server. Then again, I'm not even sure I should be able to do that

Thanks for the help and any additional help you can provide.
 
R

Ron Lowe

Jimbo said:
I will check some of the other things you mentioned, but I do know it is a
new CAT 5 cable with RJ-45 adapters that I installed. The reason I ran new
CAT 5 is because there was CAT 5e in place that didn't work. I didn't
realize until later that CAT 5e would allow for faster transmission.
I also know the XP firewall is disabled, but I do have Norton SystemWorks
installed. Perhaps it is causing a problem?
One other question... could slowing down the communication to the router
be causing the problem with printing? The thing is, I can't even ping the
print server. Then again, I'm not even sure I should be able to do that.
Thanks for the help and any additional help you can provide.


Your original post about having to slow down the transmission speed
on the network to get it to work, along with :

"but I do know it is a new CAT 5 cable with RJ-45 adapters that I installed.
The reason I ran new CAT 5 is because there was CAT 5e in place that didn't
work. "

is ringing *very loud* alarm bells.

I think Michael is exactly right about the cabling.
I think it's wired up wrongly.

If you ran your own cat5 cabling, you need to look carefully at
which cores you have used for which pin number.
It makes a huge difference.

The most common error is the correct twisted pairs are not being observed.

It's not enough just to connect 1-1, 2-2, 3-3 and 6-6.
You need to look at the twisted pairs inside the cable.

The most common error is to use use one pair for pins 1&2,
another pair for pins 3&4, another pair for pins 5&6, and a pair for 7&8.
The wires sit neatly inside the connectors if you do it this way.

Unfortunately, this will not work.
( Well, sometimes on a short run it will, but probably not at 100 )

pins 1&2 need to be from one twisted pair ( usually orange ).
pins 3&6 need to be from another twisted pair ( usually green ).

This causes the wires to cross over each other inside the plugs, and it
seems a bit ugly. But this is the ONLY way it will work. Look at the
pictures at the bottom of this page:

How to Wire a Network
http://www.linksys.com/faqs/default.asp?fqid=20

The only fix is to chop the ends and re-terminate them correctly.
 
G

Guest

Thanks for all the help guys. I can guarantee you I did the RJ-45 connectors wrong. I will redo them, but have just one or two more questions.

First, I just want to make sure I read the Linksys link correctly. For the wire running from the computer to the router I need to make the cable a "straight-through" cable. Is this correct? If so, I guess I just need to put the wire colors with the associated pin numbers like the diagram shows.

Second, after I make this change I assume I can set XP to obtain the IP address of the router automatically and then kick things back up to full speed. Is this also correct?

Thanks again for all the help.
 
R

Ron Lowe

Jimbo said:
Thanks for all the help guys. I can guarantee you I did the RJ-45
connectors wrong. I will redo them, but have just one or two more
questions.
First, I just want to make sure I read the Linksys link correctly. For
the wire running from the computer to the router I need to make the cable a
"straight-through" cable. Is this correct?


Yes.

If so, I guess I just need to put the wire colors with the associated pin
numbers like the diagram shows.

Yes.
Second, after I make this change I assume I can set XP to obtain the IP
address of the router automatically and then kick things back up to full
speed. Is this also correct?


Should be.

Thanks again for all the help.

NP, Hope it works.
 
G

Guest

Jimbo,
I just got a chance to followup on this. What I didn't
tell you is that professional cable installers avoid
crimping cables. They usually use modular jacks that
allow the wires to be punched down to what are called 110
connectors. They use a punch down tool like telephone
techs use to install telephone cable to what are called 66
blocks. Once the cables are terminated to punchdown jacks
on each end then they use a factory made patch cable to
get from the punchdown to the equipment being wired.
There factory made cables can be expensive if purchased
from a retail store. When bought from a electrical
contractor supply house the cables are about 1/4 the
price. In fact,they are so cheap you can't afford the
labor to make them.

There are times when it is necessary to crimp the cables.
When that is the case you should always test the cable
using an electronic cable analyzer.
Michael
-----Original Message-----
Thanks for all the help guys. I can guarantee you I did
the RJ-45 connectors wrong. I will redo them, but have
just one or two more questions.
First, I just want to make sure I read the Linksys link
correctly. For the wire running from the computer to the
router I need to make the cable a "straight-through"
cable. Is this correct? If so, I guess I just need to
put the wire colors with the associated pin numbers like
the diagram shows.
Second, after I make this change I assume I can set XP to
obtain the IP address of the router automatically and then
kick things back up to full speed. Is this also correct?
 

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