Linking WinXP and Win98

[White Cat]

My mom recently bought a new computer, so I'm trying to transfer her
files over from her old one. The two computers are connected via a
simple hub, which connects to her DSL modem; both computers can access
the Internet this way without a problem. However, neither computer
can "see" the other on the network. Searching for the computer name
doesn't help. I previously had the old Win98 computer connected to a
Win95 machine with the same setup, and everything worked fine.

The computers have different names and are in the same workgroup.
I've tried it with and without having TCP/IP bound to File/Printer
Sharing (a bad idea from a security standpoint, which is why I
normally keep it turned off), with and without having NetBEUI
installed on the XP machine and bound to File/Printer Sharing (NetBEUI
is what I used to link the 95/98 setup I mentioned above), with and
without the Windows XP firewall turned on, etc.

Any ideas on how to solve this? The two computers' stats are posted
below (both are laptops):

Windows 98 2nd Edition
Pentium II 233 MHz
64 MB RAM
4 GB HDD
PC Card network card

Windows XP SP1
Pentium IV 3.2 GHz
1 GB RAM
80 GB HDD
Built-in network card

As a side note, when I tried connecting the network cards directly
with the Ethernet cable, I got the "network connection is unplugged"
message from WinXP. Is it not possible to connect two computers this
way?

 

[Richard G. Harper]

Do you have a normal Ethernet cable, or a crossover cable? Unless it's a
crossover cable you can't connect two PCs directly.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
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[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

My mom recently bought a new computer, so I'm trying to transfer her
files over from her old one. The two computers are connected via a
simple hub, which connects to her DSL modem; both computers can access
the Internet this way without a problem. However, neither computer
can "see" the other on the network. Searching for the computer name
doesn't help. I previously had the old Win98 computer connected to a
Win95 machine with the same setup, and everything worked fine.

The computers have different names and are in the same workgroup.
I've tried it with and without having TCP/IP bound to File/Printer
Sharing (a bad idea from a security standpoint, which is why I
normally keep it turned off), with and without having NetBEUI
installed on the XP machine and bound to File/Printer Sharing (NetBEUI
is what I used to link the 95/98 setup I mentioned above), with and
without the Windows XP firewall turned on, etc.

Any ideas on how to solve this? The two computers' stats are posted
below (both are laptops):

Windows 98 2nd Edition
Pentium II 233 MHz
64 MB RAM
4 GB HDD
PC Card network card

Windows XP SP1
Pentium IV 3.2 GHz
1 GB RAM
80 GB HDD
Built-in network card

As a side note, when I tried connecting the network cards directly
with the Ethernet cable, I got the "network connection is unplugged"
message from WinXP. Is it not possible to connect two computers this
way?

Connecting two computers directly, without a hub/switch/router,
requires a crossover Ethernet cable. A regular Ethernet cable won't
work, and XP will give the "unplugged" message because it can't detect
the other computer.

You're right that TCP/IP is insecure with your setup, since the
computers connect directly to the DSL modem (through the hub) and get
public IP addresses. Other Internet users might be able to access
your computers. Replacing the hub with a broadband router would allow
for secure TCP/IP access, because it would assign private IP addresses
to the computers.

The most likely problem is that NetBEUI isn't installed properly on
XP. Look in Event Viewer for relevant error messages. Follow the
steps given here exactly:

HOW TO: Install NetBEUI on Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=301041

Another possibility is to un-install NetBEUI and install IPX/SPX on
both computers.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[Guest]

Ditto on the network cable issue. As silly as this may sound, don't you have
to make a XP network set-up disc on a floppy from the XP machine, and install
it to the Win98 puter, in order to make the networking between the 2 work?

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Ditto on the network cable issue. As silly as this may sound, don't you have
to make a XP network set-up disc on a floppy from the XP machine, and install
it to the Win98 puter, in order to make the networking between the 2 work?

XP's Network Setup Wizard tells you to run it on the other computers,
but it isn't necessary. You can make the required network settings
manually on the other computers.

What's more, the Network Setup Wizard only works with TCP/IP, not with
NetBEUI.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[White Cat]

Connecting two computers directly, without a hub/switch/router,
requires a crossover Ethernet cable. A regular Ethernet cable won't
work, and XP will give the "unplugged" message because it can't detect
the other computer.

Ah, that explains it. Thanks.

The most likely problem is that NetBEUI isn't installed properly on
XP. Look in Event Viewer for relevant error messages. Follow the
steps given here exactly:

HOW TO: Install NetBEUI on Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=301041

This did the trick. Previously, I had installed NetBEUI directly from
the XP CD via the "Have Disk" link. When I copied the files over to
my hard drive first and then installed, both computers saw each other
right away. Thanks!

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Ah, that explains it. Thanks.


This did the trick. Previously, I had installed NetBEUI directly from
the XP CD via the "Have Disk" link. When I copied the files over to
my hard drive first and then installed, both computers saw each other
right away. Thanks!

You're welcome!

Be sure to enable XP's built-in firewall (or run a third-party
firewall program) on both computers to prevent other Internet users
from accessing them through their public IP addresses.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com