Connect two laptops without a wireless router

[Guest]

Hi,
I am trying to connect two D600 latitudes without a wireless router.
This link mentions howto(

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/expert/bowman_02april08.mspx )
but i have a problem.
I changed my preferred n/ws to adhoc only. I expect my second computer to
detect the first one but it doesnt do that.
Also one of the cards is a dell truemobile 1300 wlan mini-pci card and the
other one is a dell truemobile 1350 wlan mini-pci card. Are they
different
from the adapter cards mentioned in the howto?

thank you
Rads

 

[Nepatsfan]

You might want to take a look at these articles:

http://support.ap.dell.com/docs/network/p44970/en/setup.htm

http://tinyurl.com/5txry

Also, on both laptops, check the following:

Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services. Make
sure Wireless Zero Configuration is started and the start up type
is set to Automatic.

Start -> Control Panel -> Windows Firewall -> Exceptions. Make
sure that File and Printer sharing is checked.

Same workgroup on both machines? Same SSID? Same WEP key, if any?
Are there any entries in the Available networks box?

Nepatsfan

 

[Guest]

hi Nepatsfan,

thankx .. i managed to connect both the computers to each other .. but now i
cannot get the client connected to the internet .. in the other m/c which is
connected to the cable modem, i have shared the the internet connection .. i
am not sure whether i need to share my adhoc connection or the ethernet
connection

Rads

 

[Nepatsfan]

You have to share the connection that's hooked up to the cable
modem. That should be the ethernet connection.

Here are a couple of articles you may find useful:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q306126

http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp_ics/serverbroadband.htm

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Guest]

thankx,

i have one more problem .. i am unable to see the other computer ..though
both of them are conencted on the same n/w .. also in one of the articles
they mention taht windows would give an ip address like 192.168.X.X but both
my computers on the adhoc have addresses like 169.254.x.x .. also does the
adhoc need to be firewalled?
thankx

rads

 

[Guest]

Do i need to create a network bridge since i am trying to conenct my wireless
adhoc network to the cable internet?
thanks
rads

 

[Nepatsfan]

Maybe it's me but I'm a little confused. Let's see if I have this
correct.

You have two (2) Dell Latitude laptops.
Both laptops have wireless network cards.
You set up an ad-hoc wireless network.
Those are the only computers involved in this setup.
One of the laptops also has an ethernet card which is connected
to a cable modem which connects to the internet.
You now want to share that connection with the other laptop.

If that's the case then you should start on the laptop that's
hooked up to the internet. Open Network Connections and right
click on the network connection that's hooked up to your cable
modem. Select Properties and click on the Advanced tab. There you
want to check the "Allow other users to connect..." option and
select your wireless network in the box marked "Home networking
connection". These steps are well outlined here:

http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp_ics/serverbroadband.htm

To set up your other laptop, you need to run the Network
Connection wizard as outlined here:

http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp_ics/clientwiz.htm


When you use internet connection sharing, all of the computers on
your network receive their IP info from the machine that's
sharing its connection. The IP's would be in the 192.168.0.x
range. Those addresses are assigned automatically.

Note: The 169.254.x.x addresses are ones that Windows
automatically assigns to computers within a LAN if a DHCP server
is not available. That way the machines can still communicate
with each other. Don't worry about those numbers.


As for your other questions, this isn't a situation that would
call for a network bridge.
Also, if the only firewall you're running is the built-in Windows
Firewall then the Network Connection wizard will make the correct
settings for you. Just make sure that File and Printer Sharing is
enabled on the Exceptions page. If you're running a third party
firewall, then you're going to have to set that up with the
appropriate settings.

Finally, if you have more than these two laptops involved in your
network, post back.

Nepatsfan

 

[Guest]

I followed both the links step by step again ..
.. everything seems ok on the host (like before) .. but the client shows an
ip of 169.254.103.238 .
i dont understand what the problem can be .. both the laptops are running
xp pro sp2 .. if it helps i had performed a clean install on the client a
couple of days earlier....

rads

 

[Nepatsfan]

On the second laptop, the client, try the following, go to
Start -> Run. Enter cmd.exe in the Open box and click OK. This
will open up a command prompt window. Now type ipconfig /release
and hit the enter key. Next type ipconfig /renew and hit the
enter key. When that's finished type ipconfig /all. If you don't
have an IP address like 192.168.0.X then it means your ad-hoc
wireless network isn't working.

The real solution to your problem is to get a wireless router and
hook your cable modem up to it. That would make setting up your
network a whole lot simpler. Getting Internet Connection Sharing
to work correctly is not the easiest thing to do.

Nepatsfan

 

[Guest]

I finally got the ICS to work (dunno why it didnt work to begin with).. but
now i have another weird problem.. i cannot conenct to all websites..
especially any of the microsoft websites ... any ideas?
thankx and merry christmas!
rads

 

[Nepatsfan]

What kind of error messages are you getting?
Look for a mention of "Cannot find server" or "DNS Error".
Give specific examples of sites you can't reach.

Nepatsfan

 

[Guest]

hi,
I interchanged my ICS host and client and installed NetBUI on both (neither
of the xps had it already installed) .. i dotn now how taht helps . .but now
everyhitng works fine ..thanks
Rads

 

[Nepatsfan]

Glad to here everythings running smoothly.

Nepatsfan