Help wanted: Peer-to-Peer Networking with Windows XP and Linksys Router

[Eric Cross]

Greetings Yandiel,

It is okay to use NetBEUI but nothing in Windows ever requires it. You can
use TCP/IP as the only protocol. Make sure the XP's firewall is disabled. It
is only intended for direct connections to the Internet. If you installed a
third party firewall, make sure it is properly configured for the network.
Ensure NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled on all computers.

NetBEUI is unsupported protocol in XP and Microsoft won't give technical
support with it.

________________
Eric

I had three computers linked with a Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless B Router,
two PC's with Cat 5 UTP cable (let say A and B PC's) and one (Laptop)
with wireless card (let say C). A have Windows XP Pro installed, and B
& C have Windows XP Home Edition. I have no problems browsing web
pages with any of them.

I have being trying to network them with this router but haven't being
successful. I had the three using the DHCP that the Linksys provides.
I have configured the Clint Services with shared folders for each one
and a shared printer in the A PC. They are all configured with the
same Workgroup name, let say MSHOME, with different computers name.

First I couldn't ping any of them using any other, it always get the
"Unable to find host" but I was able to "see" computer B in the MSHOME
window of A in "View Workgroup Computers" of "Microsoft Windows
Network" but not A in B, nor both in C. When I try double clicking on
computer B using computer A, it replays with an error, Unable to find
path. One strange thing is that with computer A I can ping itself
(loopback) successfully, as well as with computer C, but not with
computer B, but I can ping B with "localhost" or 127.0.0.1, or even the
routers IP, 192.168.1.1, also computer B has Norton Internet Security,
but even if I disable it, I still get the same error.

Reading my Sybex Network+ Book I find out that NetBEUI is an easy to
use non-routable protocol, so I decide to install the protocol on the
three computers. I found out that WinXP don't have it listed, but I
was able to installed from the CD.

Now, with NetBEUI installed in all three computers I can see all
computers in any PC and share resources, but I still have a couple of
problems. I can ping A with C and C with A with no problem, using
either the Computer Name or IP Address, but still can't ping B with A
or C, B still can't ping it self. I just change to Static IP Address;
I also configure default gateways and DNS servers IP.

I just configure the lmhost and host files with the following:

LMHOSTS

192.168.1.1 "MSHOME \0x1b" #PRE
192.168.1.100 A
192.168.1.101 B
192.168.1.102 C

HOSTS

A 192.168.1.100
B 192.168.1.101
C 192.168.1.102

Now I can ping A with C using the computers name.
If I try with B, this will happen:

ping B

pinging B [192.168.1.101] with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
.

I know this is a long reply, but if you manage to read up to hear and
have a couple Ideas please let me know!!!

TIA

Yandy


Yandiel

 

[Yandiel]

I had three computers linked with a Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless B Router,
two PC's with Cat 5 UTP cable (let say A and B PC's) and one (Laptop)
with wireless card (let say C). A have Windows XP Pro installed, and B
& C have Windows XP Home Edition. I have no problems browsing web
pages with any of them.

I have being trying to network them with this router but haven't being
successful. I had the three using the DHCP that the Linksys provides.
I have configured the Clint Services with shared folders for each one
and a shared printer in the A PC. They are all configured with the
same Workgroup name, let say MSHOME, with different computers name.

First I couldn't ping any of them using any other, it always get the
"Unable to find host" but I was able to "see" computer B in the MSHOME
window of A in "View Workgroup Computers" of "Microsoft Windows
Network" but not A in B, nor both in C. When I try double clicking on
computer B using computer A, it replays with an error, Unable to find
path. One strange thing is that with computer A I can ping itself
(loopback) successfully, as well as with computer C, but not with
computer B, but I can ping B with "localhost" or 127.0.0.1, or even the
routers IP, 192.168.1.1, also computer B has Norton Internet Security,
but even if I disable it, I still get the same error.

Reading my Sybex Network+ Book I find out that NetBEUI is an easy to
use non-routable protocol, so I decide to install the protocol on the
three computers. I found out that WinXP don't have it listed, but I
was able to installed from the CD.

Now, with NetBEUI installed in all three computers I can see all
computers in any PC and share resources, but I still have a couple of
problems. I can ping A with C and C with A with no problem, using
either the Computer Name or IP Address, but still can't ping B with A
or C, B still can't ping it self. I just change to Static IP Address;
I also configure default gateways and DNS servers IP.

I just configure the lmhost and host files with the following:

LMHOSTS

192.168.1.1 "MSHOME \0x1b" #PRE
192.168.1.100 A
192.168.1.101 B
192.168.1.102 C

HOSTS

A 192.168.1.100
B 192.168.1.101
C 192.168.1.102

Now I can ping A with C using the computers name.
If I try with B, this will happen:

ping B

pinging B [192.168.1.101] with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
…

I know this is a long reply, but if you manage to read up to hear and
have a couple Ideas please let me know!!!

TIA

Yandy


Yandiel

 

[Chuck]

I had three computers linked with a Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless B Router,
two PC's with Cat 5 UTP cable (let say A and B PC's) and one (Laptop)
with wireless card (let say C). A have Windows XP Pro installed, and B
& C have Windows XP Home Edition. I have no problems browsing web
pages with any of them.

I have being trying to network them with this router but haven't being
successful. I had the three using the DHCP that the Linksys provides.
I have configured the Clint Services with shared folders for each one
and a shared printer in the A PC. They are all configured with the
same Workgroup name, let say MSHOME, with different computers name.

First I couldn't ping any of them using any other, it always get the
"Unable to find host" but I was able to "see" computer B in the MSHOME
window of A in "View Workgroup Computers" of "Microsoft Windows
Network" but not A in B, nor both in C. When I try double clicking on
computer B using computer A, it replays with an error, Unable to find
path. One strange thing is that with computer A I can ping itself
(loopback) successfully, as well as with computer C, but not with
computer B, but I can ping B with "localhost" or 127.0.0.1, or even the
routers IP, 192.168.1.1, also computer B has Norton Internet Security,
but even if I disable it, I still get the same error.

Reading my Sybex Network+ Book I find out that NetBEUI is an easy to
use non-routable protocol, so I decide to install the protocol on the
three computers. I found out that WinXP don't have it listed, but I
was able to installed from the CD.

Now, with NetBEUI installed in all three computers I can see all
computers in any PC and share resources, but I still have a couple of
problems. I can ping A with C and C with A with no problem, using
either the Computer Name or IP Address, but still can't ping B with A
or C, B still can't ping it self. I just change to Static IP Address;
I also configure default gateways and DNS servers IP.

I just configure the lmhost and host files with the following:

LMHOSTS

192.168.1.1 "MSHOME \0x1b" #PRE
192.168.1.100 A
192.168.1.101 B
192.168.1.102 C

HOSTS

A 192.168.1.100
B 192.168.1.101
C 192.168.1.102

Now I can ping A with C using the computers name.
If I try with B, this will happen:

ping B

pinging B [192.168.1.101] with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
…

I know this is a long reply, but if you manage to read up to hear and
have a couple Ideas please let me know!!!

TIA

Yandy

Yandy,

NIS on B is your problem. For diagnostic purposes, you need to un
install it carefully and completely, following all procedures from
Norton.

For a permanent solution in a wireless environment, you ought to have
a firewall installed on each computer. The NAT firewall protects you
from the internet, but there's nothing protecting you from your
neighbors. NIS can, and should be, setup to allow file sharing
between trusted computers, and block all others.

Your neighbors are not just the folks on either side of you. With
proper equipment, somebody could be hijacking your LAN right now, from
blocks away.

For proper protection:
1) Un install NetBEUI.
2) Use fixed ip addresses.
3) Install a firewall on each computer, setup with the ip addresses
of each other computer as trusted.
4) Disable DHCP on the router.
5) Enable MAC filtering and WEP on the router.

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.