No Subnet Mask in TCP/IP Properties

[The Subnet Masked Avenger]

I'm trying to set up a Direct Cable Connection (DCC) to
copy files from an old Win95 machine to a new WinXPhome
machine, through a parallel cable. I understand that the
two machines must have the same "subnet mask." However,
when I set up the connection on the XP side and click the
TCP/IP properties button to manually set the IP address
and subnet mask, the subnet mask is not even listed.

I used "ipconfig" at the DOS prompt and found that the XP
current subnet mask is 255.255.255.255. I need to change
it to 255.255.255.0 so it matches the Win95 machine.
(Win95 gives me an error message when I try to give it the
subnet mask that the XP machine is using.)

So, here's my question(s): Is there a way to change the
subnet mask for a particular connection in WinXPhome? Is
there some other version of the "TCP/IP protocol" that I
can download that will allow this change. Is there some
update to WinXPhome that includes such an option. (I
haven't downloaded any updates for several months.) Is
there a utility available for download that will let me
access and change the subnet mask?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[The Subnet Masked Avenger]

-----Original Message-----


Yes but you have to turn off DHCP to make the adjustment.

How do I turn DHCP on and off?

Perhaps it is already off. I have already manually set
the IP address for each machine. It's just that the
XPhome machine ONLY lets me set the IP address. There is
NO option to set the subnet mask. On more than one web
site, I have seen screenshots that show three options:

Use the following IP address:
IP address:
Subnet mask:
Default gateway:

On my XPhome machine, the last two options don't exist.
They're not grayed out, they're just not there. Is this
one of the differences between XPhome and XPprof? If so,
is there any way for an XPhome user to set not just the IP
address, but, also the subnet mask.

As you said, 255.255.255.255 is not going to work if I'm
trying to connect two machines.

Thanks for your help.