Cannot Set Up 2-puter LAN

[Kimber]

I can't even get my LAN going with 2 computers. Both
came with Ethernet NIC cards already installed. Both
came with Windows XP already installed. I bought a CAT-5
crossover cable and plugged it into the back of both
computers. I should be able to just go, but both
computers say "network cable unplugged."

The way I see it, either:
(1) I have a bad cable.
(2) I have the wrong CAT-5 cable.
(3) There's something about XP that's eluding me.

Any thoughts?

 

[Guest]

Have you tried the network setup wizard - worked fine for me.

 

[Keshav Barker [MSFT]]

You would think they'd just light up and work. Double-check the cable
first, as that is the most likely culprit (and the cheapest) It is entirely
possible that one or both of the NICs do not support crossover cable
connections.

This link was at the top of my search for crossover cable pinout:
http://www.cabletron.com/support/techtips/tk0231-9.html

Check the support web page for the NICs you have, of course. Yes, this
configuration should work, but just make sure the NIC manufacturer agrees.

 

[Wohtohai]

I can't even get my LAN going with 2 computers. Both
came with Ethernet NIC cards already installed. Both
came with Windows XP already installed. I bought a CAT-5
crossover cable and plugged it into the back of both
computers. I should be able to just go, but both
computers say "network cable unplugged."

The way I see it, either:
(1) I have a bad cable.
(2) I have the wrong CAT-5 cable.
(3) There's something about XP that's eluding me.

Any thoughts?

First you need to make sure that the IP addresses of both the
computers are in the same subnet. i.e. Computer1 has 192.168.1.1 and
computer2 has 192.168.1.2 with subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 I assume
that you know how to setup static IP address; If not post back here.
Use ping command to check if the other computer responds to ping.
LinWohtohai

 

[Hans-Georg Michna]

I can't even get my LAN going with 2 computers. Both
came with Ethernet NIC cards already installed. Both
came with Windows XP already installed. I bought a CAT-5
crossover cable and plugged it into the back of both
computers. I should be able to just go, but both
computers say "network cable unplugged."

The way I see it, either:
(1) I have a bad cable.
(2) I have the wrong CAT-5 cable.
(3) There's something about XP that's eluding me.

Any thoughts?

Kimber,

I agree entirely with Keshav. On top of that I think that the
most likely cause is that the cable is not actually a crossover
cable.

Hans-Georg