Hmmm
Sorry to state the blinkin' obvious John, but that's exactly what a router
should do (as well as providing access to another network i.e. the
internet).
If you have just one PC connected via cable (cat5) then I believe this
should not be a crossover.
I have just got a Wireless ADSL Modem/Router myself and it worked right out
of the box.
The router will come with some kind of control panel, usually accessed via a
web browser to allow you to set up the local network (LAN). Sorry but
reading the manual is usually a good idea
For your 2 PCs to have been working before they MUST have been on the same
Windows Workgroup AND they must have had IP addresses in the same
range/subnet. Not sure how you did this with crossover ... probably
assigned manual IP addresses/subnet ?
Most routers come with a DHCP server, so all you need to do is set both PCs
to obtain IP address via DHCP, make sure they are in the same Workgroup and
away you should go.
See how you go but if you still have probs then come back with some more
detailed info (OS, make/model of router etc.).
ZP
My two home machines are connected to a DSL modem/router to access the
Internet. One by Wifi, the other by Ethernet cable.
They used to be connected via a cross-over ethernet cable to share files.
How can I restore this functionality? Please bear with me, just
starting, need simple and clear instructions...
Regards
Zp,
Nice of you to take the time...No, to me it was not obvious that a
router's job was to make computers talk to each other, just thought
their mission was to allow several computers to access the Internet with
one access point...If I had known that, I would not have looked so far
the obvious solution: since I have kept ZoneAlarm running on each
machine especially to control outgoing mail (the router firewall
supposedly taking care of most incoming mail), it just took entering
each IP of my machines into the secure zone and everything worked like
by miracle...
My ignorance of this segment of computing is very frustrating and I hope
I can find a good book to study networks, since even a basic
installation like mine requires a knowledge that I do not really have.
So thanks for stating what was not obvious and for contributing to the
solution.
John
