Home Networking with XP Prof.

G

Guest

Using the XP wizard, i have set up home networking between my desktop and my
laptop. Both have Windows XP Prof. SP2. I have tried both a cross-over LAN
cable and a switch to connect the two. I am unable to see the laptop on the
desktop and vice versa. On both machines, I have the win firewall OFF for the
respective LAN adapter. File and printer sharing is ON. I use the desktop to
connect to the internet through a second LAN card. The IP addresses given are
192.168... on the desktop and 169.254.... on the laptop.

On both computers I am able to ping the local IP address but not the other
one. Lan connection is reported as "connected" on both machines and the green
light on the card is ON. The other light does not blink. On the laptop under
network places, my workgroup is shown but on clicking it I get the message "
..... is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network
resource. Contact the administrator... to find if you have access. I have not
set up any passwords on either machine.
Can someone please help? Thanks.
 
C

Chuck

Using the XP wizard, i have set up home networking between my desktop and my
laptop. Both have Windows XP Prof. SP2. I have tried both a cross-over LAN
cable and a switch to connect the two. I am unable to see the laptop on the
desktop and vice versa. On both machines, I have the win firewall OFF for the
respective LAN adapter. File and printer sharing is ON. I use the desktop to
connect to the internet through a second LAN card. The IP addresses given are
192.168... on the desktop and 169.254.... on the laptop.

On both computers I am able to ping the local IP address but not the other
one. Lan connection is reported as "connected" on both machines and the green
light on the card is ON. The other light does not blink. On the laptop under
network places, my workgroup is shown but on clicking it I get the message "
.... is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network
resource. Contact the administrator... to find if you have access. I have not
set up any passwords on either machine.
Can someone please help? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Hari,

The "...not accessible...not have permission..." error message can have several
causes. You have one major problem - the two computers have incompatible IP
addresses.

When you ran the wizard on the desktop, did you select Option #1? And for the
laptop, did you select #2? Please post complete "ipconfig /all" from both
computers, to start.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/using-network-setup-wizard-in-windows.html>
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-network-neighborhood.html#AskingForHelp>
 
K

Kerry Brown

Hari said:
Using the XP wizard, i have set up home networking between my desktop and
my
laptop. Both have Windows XP Prof. SP2. I have tried both a cross-over LAN
cable and a switch to connect the two. I am unable to see the laptop on
the
desktop and vice versa. On both machines, I have the win firewall OFF for
the
respective LAN adapter. File and printer sharing is ON. I use the desktop
to
connect to the internet through a second LAN card. The IP addresses given
are
192.168... on the desktop and 169.254.... on the laptop.

On both computers I am able to ping the local IP address but not the other
one. Lan connection is reported as "connected" on both machines and the
green
light on the card is ON. The other light does not blink. On the laptop
under
network places, my workgroup is shown but on clicking it I get the message
"
.... is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network
resource. Contact the administrator... to find if you have access. I have
not
set up any passwords on either machine.
Can someone please help? Thanks.
Click to expand...

The laptop IP needs to be in the same subnet as the desktop. Currently they
are not. You either need to manually set both computers to use the same
subnet or install a DHCP server i.e Internet Connection Sharing on the
desktop computer or a router.

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

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/default.mspx



Kerry
 
G

Guest

Yes, I chose 1 in the wizard for the desktop and 2 for the laptop.

The ipconfig /all data for the desktop is :
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\H.P.Mital>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : DESKTOP
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter LAN-1:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast
Ethe
rnet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0B-2B-0C-DE-B8
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.200.132
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.200.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 202.56.230.5
202.56.230.6

Ethernet adapter LAN-2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast
Ethe
rnet NIC #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-80-48-33-B8-58
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

C:\Documents and Settings\H.P.Mital>^A

And for the laptop, it is

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\H.P.Mital>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : LAPTOP
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter LAN:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom NetXtreme Fast Ethernet
#2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-06-1B-E0-96-59
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 169.254.174.253
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

C:\Documents and Settings\H.P.Mital>

I hope this will help you help me.

Thanks

Hari
 
C

Chuck

Yes, I chose 1 in the wizard for the desktop and 2 for the laptop.

The ipconfig /all data for the desktop is :
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\H.P.Mital>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : DESKTOP
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter LAN-1:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast
Ethe
rnet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0B-2B-0C-DE-B8
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.200.132
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.200.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 202.56.230.5
202.56.230.6

Ethernet adapter LAN-2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast
Ethe
rnet NIC #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-80-48-33-B8-58
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

C:\Documents and Settings\H.P.Mital>^A

And for the laptop, it is

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\H.P.Mital>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : LAPTOP
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter LAN:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom NetXtreme Fast Ethernet
#2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-06-1B-E0-96-59
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 169.254.174.253
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

C:\Documents and Settings\H.P.Mital>

I hope this will help you help me.

Thanks

Hari
Click to expand...

Hari,

Enable DHCP on the laptop, and rerun "ipconfig /all".
 
K

Kerry Brown

Enable DHCP on the laptop, and rerun "ipconfig /all".
Click to expand...

He's getting an APIPA address so there is no DHCP server found. They need to
set a manual IP address on the laptop or install a DHCP server. The easiest
method would be to set up Internet Connection Sharing on the desktop.

Kerry
 
C

Chuck

He's getting an APIPA address so there is no DHCP server found. They need to
set a manual IP address on the laptop or install a DHCP server. The easiest
method would be to set up Internet Connection Sharing on the desktop.

Kerry
Click to expand...

He ran the Network Setup Wizard, and chose Option 1 on the desktop.

Hari,

Are you getting any errors when you run the wizards? Is the Windows Firewall /
Internet Connection Sharing service enabled on the desktop? On the laptop?
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-internet-service.html#Components>
 
K

Kerry Brown

Chuck said:
He ran the Network Setup Wizard, and chose Option 1 on the desktop.

Hari,

Are you getting any errors when you run the wizards? Is the Windows
Firewall /
Internet Connection Sharing service enabled on the desktop? On the
laptop?
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-internet-service.html#Components>
Click to expand...

Sorry, I missed the part about choosing 1. I agree with your suggestion
about the ICS service. It sounds like either something is going wrong there
or there is a problem with the physical connection.

Kerry
 
C

Chuck

Sorry, I missed the part about choosing 1. I agree with your suggestion
about the ICS service. It sounds like either something is going wrong there
or there is a problem with the physical connection.

Kerry
Click to expand...

Kerry,

Well, we may end up working on the physical issue. I want to make sure that ICS
is active first.

Hari says that "the green light on the card is ON", which means that it's
connected to a link partner. Let's see what happens WRT WF/ICS.

Hari,

Is the green light lit steady on the cards on both computers? How did you set
the Windows Firewall off? Did you use the Security Center / Windows Firewall
applet, or did you disable the service? Only use the Security Center / Windows
Firewall applet to disable Windows Firewall, never disable the service.
Disabling the service will break network functions.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/your-personal-firewall-can-either-help.html>
 
G

Guest

The only way I could enable DCHP on the laptop was by opening TCP/IP
properties and choosing automatic IP addressing. ( the wizard had done the
earlier setting). After this the ipconfig /all gives the following:
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\H.P.Mital>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : LAPTOP
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter LAN:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom NetXtreme Fast Ethernet
#2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-06-1B-E0-96-59
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.174.253
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

C:\Documents and Settings\H.P.Mital>

Now the LAN icon on the system tray gives the warning message "This
connection has l;imited or no connectivity. You might not be able to access
the internet or some other network resources. For more info, click this
message". When the LAN status window appears and I try to REPAIR, i get the
message: " Windows could not finish repairing the problem because... could
not renew the IP address." This window also says the problem might be with
the network not with this computer.

I hope this information helps.

Hari


Chuck said:
Yes, I chose 1 in the wizard for the desktop and 2 for the laptop.

The ipconfig /all data for the desktop is :
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\H.P.Mital>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : DESKTOP
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter LAN-1:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast
Ethe
rnet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0B-2B-0C-DE-B8
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.200.132
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.200.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 202.56.230.5
202.56.230.6

Ethernet adapter LAN-2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast
Ethe
rnet NIC #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-80-48-33-B8-58
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

C:\Documents and Settings\H.P.Mital>^A

And for the laptop, it is

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\H.P.Mital>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : LAPTOP
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter LAN:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom NetXtreme Fast Ethernet
#2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-06-1B-E0-96-59
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 169.254.174.253
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

C:\Documents and Settings\H.P.Mital>

I hope this will help you help me.

Thanks

Hari
Click to expand...

Hari,

Enable DHCP on the laptop, and rerun "ipconfig /all".
Click to expand...
 
G

Guest

I got no errors while running the wizard. I have now enabled the ICS on both
the computers by changing the connection settings in Internet options as
advised in the Windows help files - changing to "never dial" and enabling Lan
srttings etc.
Yet the connection status remains the same: limited or no connectivity.

Hari
 
C

Chuck

Hari
Click to expand...
I got no errors while running the wizard. I have now enabled the ICS on both
the computers by changing the connection settings in Internet options as
advised in the Windows help files - changing to "never dial" and enabling Lan
srttings etc.
Yet the connection status remains the same: limited or no connectivity.
Click to expand...

Hari,

You still need to answer my questions. We're eliminating possibilities, but not
generating any. And your problem continues.

You're going to get "limited or no connectivity" on the laptop, as long as it
can't contact a DHCP server. The ICS server on the desktop should be just that.
So why can't the laptop get DHCP?

Is the Windows Firewall / Internet Connection Sharing service running on both
computers? Did you read this article?
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-internet-service.html#Components>

You say "the green light on the card is ON". Is that the light on the cards on
both computers? Did you run the Hardware Diagnostics wizard, for the card, on
both computers? When you tried the switch to connect the computers, were you
using a pair of straight-thru cables to connect the two computers to the switch?
Did you read this article?
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/dealing-with-physical-network-problems.html>
 
G

Guest

Thanks Kerry.
I am not a pro and not so conversant with all the How To's involved. Does it
mean that I do not depend on the network setup wizard of XP? I shall be
thankful if you can tell me how to go about doing this - I mean seetting up
DHCP and the common subnet etc. I can go to the TCP/IP properties and make
any entries you suggest and make changes to the Windows firewall through the
control centre.

Hari
 
C

Chuck

Thanks Kerry.
I am not a pro and not so conversant with all the How To's involved. Does it
mean that I do not depend on the network setup wizard of XP? I shall be
thankful if you can tell me how to go about doing this - I mean seetting up
DHCP and the common subnet etc. I can go to the TCP/IP properties and make
any entries you suggest and make changes to the Windows firewall through the
control centre.

Hari
Click to expand...

Hari,

You have to get ICS working, and visible on both computers. ICS will provide
the DHCP services. Windows Firewall doesn't affect DHCP functionality.
 
K

Kerry Brown

Hari said:
Thanks Kerry.
I am not a pro and not so conversant with all the How To's involved. Does
it
mean that I do not depend on the network setup wizard of XP? I shall be
thankful if you can tell me how to go about doing this - I mean seetting
up
DHCP and the common subnet etc. I can go to the TCP/IP properties and make
any entries you suggest and make changes to the Windows firewall through
the
control centre.
Click to expand...

Chuck has been giving you good advice. Follow his troubleshooting tips and
you'll get it working.

Kerry
 
G

Guest

Yes Chuk,
I am refering to the lights at the back of the computer on the cards. My
desktop has two similar cards, each has only one light. When the connection
is OK, they are green. I have recently used these, one by one, to connect to
another LAN, the same for which you find the IPCOFIG information as LAN-1.
The lights blink when I connect to and work on that LAN.

The LAPTOP card has one green and one orange light. The green is ON when
connected. The orange blinks (or may be it ts constantly on, I forget) when
data is passing through.

Yes I read the article you referred. I have used two straight through cables
to connect to the switch. Alternately, I have tried a cross-over cable by
directly connecting LAN-2 of the desktop to the laptop. In fact I have a
spare cross over cable, which also I have tried, with no change in result.

It looks that perhaps the task of home networking between just two
computers is much too simple for the XP-Prof SP2 to perform it with ease!

Hari
 
C

Chuck

Yes Chuk,
I am refering to the lights at the back of the computer on the cards. My
desktop has two similar cards, each has only one light. When the connection
is OK, they are green. I have recently used these, one by one, to connect to
another LAN, the same for which you find the IPCOFIG information as LAN-1.
The lights blink when I connect to and work on that LAN.

The LAPTOP card has one green and one orange light. The green is ON when
connected. The orange blinks (or may be it ts constantly on, I forget) when
data is passing through.

Yes I read the article you referred. I have used two straight through cables
to connect to the switch. Alternately, I have tried a cross-over cable by
directly connecting LAN-2 of the desktop to the laptop. In fact I have a
spare cross over cable, which also I have tried, with no change in result.

It looks that perhaps the task of home networking between just two
computers is much too simple for the XP-Prof SP2 to perform it with ease!

Hari
Click to expand...

Hari,

There are many things that can go wrong with a network, so ease is not something
you'll always find. But if you work on the problem (patience and persistence),
it can be solved.

So maybe a little detail about the other LAN that you connected to would be in
order. Did you do this before or after this problem came up? Which computers
did you connect to the other LAN?

You're right about the lights. On most network cards, the Green light indicates
Link (connectivity), while the Yellow light indicates Transmission (activity).
The Green light should be solid, while the Yellow light may be either blinking
(light activity), or solid (heavy activity).

For my money, you need to check the Windows Firewall service. Make sure that
it's Started and Automatic, on both computers. If you don't want to use the
Windows Firewall, then disable it, but don't have the service stopped.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/your-personal-firewall-can-either-help.html>
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/06/services-running-on-your-computer.html>
 
L

Lee Harris

The IP address 169.254.... on the laptop indicates that it is not recieving
an IP address from a DHCP server. In your case, this would be handled by
Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) if you are trying to get both computers to
share the same Internet connection. You will need 2 network adapters
installed on the machine which has the connection to the Internet. I assume
this is your Desktop machine.

If you want to configure this manually follow these steps on the desktop
machine:

1. Install a second network adapter in the desktop machine.
2. Connect adapter #1 to your Internet connection and adapter #2 to a hub
or switch.
3. Access the TCP/IP properties of adapter #2. (you can type ncpa.cpl on
the run line, and it will open the Network Connections Window).
4. On the TCP/IP properties of adapter #2, type the following IP address:
192.168.10.2 then hit the tab key. This will automatically fill in the
subnet mask values.
5. Open a command line. (type cmd on the run line).
6. Type the command ipconfig /all. This will give you the IP address
adapter #1, and the IP address of the DNS servers among other things. Here
are the lines you need to look for in the output after typing the
command:

IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . :

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . :
7. Return to the property sheet for adapter #2. Enter the IP address of
adapter #1 as the Default Gateway.
8. Enter the IP address of the DNS servers, and click OK until you have
closed the properties.

Follow these steps on the laptop:
1. Access the TCP/IP properties of the network adapter
2. On the TCP/IP properties of adapter, type the following IP address:
192.168.10.3 then hit the tab key. This will automatically fill in the
subnet mask values.
3. Enter the same values for the Default Gateway, and DNS servers as you did
for the desktop machine.

Final steps:

In order for the machines to see each other you need to make sure they are
both in the same Workgroup. Follow these steps:
1. Type sysdm.cpl at the run line. (this command opens the systems
properties dialog).
2. Click the Computer Name tab.
3. Make sure the the Workgroup: value is the same for both computers. If
you need to change this value, click the Change button. It needs to be the
same for both computers.

This should get you going with both machines having access to the Internet
and being able to share files between them.
 

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