home networking problems

[Guest]

Have 2 XP pro computers networking directly together via a crossover cable
worked fine then out of nowhere nothing.....Did put Xp sp2 on. They can ping
each other but cannot file or print share....everything looks ok. Also I am
planning on adding another computer w/ XP home. Do i need a router, hub or
switch? I want to share A DSL Internet connection.

 

[Bob Willard]

Have 2 XP pro computers networking directly together via a crossover cable
worked fine then out of nowhere nothing.....Did put Xp sp2 on. They can ping
each other but cannot file or print share....everything looks ok. Also I am
planning on adding another computer w/ XP home. Do i need a router, hub or
switch? I want to share A DSL Internet connection.

For a shared DSL line, I strongly advise a router. Typical SOHO routers
include NAT support, which acts as a firewall to keep baddies out of your
home net.

XP SP2 turns on the Windows Firewall (the actor formerly known as ICF) by
default. Turning it off should fix your problem, but a better cure is
to set ICF's params to allow F&P sharing on your local net; or, replace ICF
with another firewall.

Even with a router as a firewall, I advise running a firewall app on each
PC on your LAN. A router with NAT will stop inbound traffic from the baddies,
but it won't stop outbound traffic from malware that you accidentally
downloaded; and ICF won't help with outbound stuff either. I've had good
luck with ZoneAlarm firewalls, both free and non-free versions; check with
ZoneLabs.com for more info.

 

[Guest]

thanks...how do i go about turning off windows firewall? also you mention
setting
set ICF's params to allow F&P sharing on your local net. How do i do this?
thanks for the info

dean

 

[Guest]

How to turn off XP firewall:
http://www.utmem.edu/helpdesk/sp2/sp2firewall.htm

ICS configuration:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/.../using/productdoc/en/hnw_nohost_computerP.asp

As far as I'm aware you do not have to specifically configure ICS for F&P.
ICS will allocate an I.P address to your "other" PCs (if they are set to
DHCP) and allow them to use the Internet.

Regards,

Tim

 

[Guest]

My firewall was already turned off....any other reason that they cannot file
share or see each other? They can ping but that is it?

 

[Bob Willard]

How to turn off XP firewall:
http://www.utmem.edu/helpdesk/sp2/sp2firewall.htm

ICS configuration:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/.../using/productdoc/en/hnw_nohost_computerP.asp

As far as I'm aware you do not have to specifically configure ICS for F&P.
ICS will allocate an I.P address to your "other" PCs (if they are set to
DHCP) and allow them to use the Internet.

Regards,

Tim

You don't configure ICS for F&P sharing, Tim, but you must so configure ICF
with XP SP2 (assuming that you use that Windows firewall behind a router).

 

[Bob Willard]

My firewall was already turned off....any other reason that they cannot file
share or see each other? They can ping but that is it?

:

Yeah, Windows offers many ways to go wrong with F&P sharing. First, get file
sharing working, since printer sharing is more problematic. And, file sharing
won't work unless you have shared a folder, so pick a non-root folder on each
PC and share it. Fix the protocols: for the sake of simplicity, enable TCP/IP
and nothing else: no NetBEUI, no IPX/SPX. Fix the APIs: enable F&P sharing,
enable ClientForM$nets, enable NetBT (NetBIOS over TCP/IP); NetBT is not always
needed, but it doesn't ever hurt. Then, reboot both PCs and see if you got
lucky.

If no joy, then see what works: can each PC ping itself and the other PC,
using ping-by-number and ping-by-name? If not, Run CMD and type IPCONFIG/ALL
in the CMD window to check the IPAs and the masks and the node types. Also
(since you use XP Pro), see if you are using SFS or PDCFS on both; XP Pro
offers a choice of SimpleFileSharing or PrettyDamnComplexFileSharing, and it
is easier if both PCs agree.

 

[Carey Holzman]

If you'd like to work through this one-on-one in email, send me a message
and I can help walk you through it.

(e-mail address removed)