Problem setting up a network bridge

[Guest]

I have a wifi router and a laptop which I use on a regular basis to connect
to the internet

I also have a desktop machine which is not wifi capable but connects to the
router via a cable

both machines work and connect without incident

for reasons I won't bore you with I have had to move my desktop machine to
the same area I use my laptop and would like to be able to use my desktop
without running a very long cable through some high traffic areas to connect
the desktop to the router, so I tried to set up a network bridge

on the laptop I highlighted the wifi and the lan adapters and selected
"bridge connections"

once the bridge was made I connected the laptop lan adapter to the desktop
via a crossover cable

then I booted the desktop

first off I got a duplicate IP address warning on the laptop

so I set the desktop to a fixed valid IP address just outside the range
assigned by dhcp on the router, set the desktop gateway to the address of the
laptop and set the DNS to the router address

then I tried again

this time no warnings came up and the laptop was able to connect to the
internet ok

the desktop could ping addresses and use nslookup to resolve names but
attempts to use internet explorer failed with page not found errors

I've had a look on the knowledgebase and found this item
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/303743/en-us which covers the duplicate
address problem

would this be the cause of the internet explorer problem too ? and is there
any way round this short of waiting for my router manufacturer to come up
with a firmware update ?

 

[Marc]

for reasons I won't bore you with I have had to move my desktop machine to
the same area I use my laptop and would like to be able to use my desktop
without running a very long cable through some high traffic areas to connect
the desktop to the router, so I tried to set up a network bridge

on the laptop I highlighted the wifi and the lan adapters and selected
"bridge connections"

once the bridge was made I connected the laptop lan adapter to the desktop
via a crossover cable
first off I got a duplicate IP address warning on the laptop

so I set the desktop to a fixed valid IP address just outside the range
assigned by dhcp on the router, set the desktop gateway to the address of the
laptop and set the DNS to the router address

I've had a look on the knowledgebase and found this item
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/303743/en-us which covers the duplicate
address problem. would this be the cause of the internet explorer problem
too ? and is there any way round this short of waiting for my route> r
manufacturer to come up with a firmware update ?

Start here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_bridge
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/.../en-us/hnw_understanding_bridge.mspx?mfr=true

o Use the Windows Wireless Zero for wireless control
o Use the router's IP as the default gateway and DNS
o Leave DHCP enabled on the router
"Network Bridge" cannot get an IP without DHCP
o Use 4 unique static IP addresses:
1 Router or Wireless Access Point (already set, usually .1 in the subnet)
2 Laptop Wireless Adapter
3 Laptop Ethernet Adapter
4 Desktop Ethernet Adapter
(you can use DHCP, but Network Bridge is buggy ...)

o Crossover cable is correct, but not reqiured if using GbE
o Power up the laptop last, everything else should already be on
o Verify the two computers can communicate with each other,
if they cannot communicate before the bridge
they cannot communicate in the bridge
they must be connected and communicating to bridge

o If the bridge doesn't work, restart the laptop
o Walk away, come back in 3 minutes (buggy...)
o Once it works you can Logout and it keeps working

What brand and model router is it?
What brand and model laptop wireless adapter and what version driver?

 

[Guest]

Start here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_bridge
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/.../en-us/hnw_understanding_bridge.mspx?mfr=true

o Use the Windows Wireless Zero for wireless control
o Use the router's IP as the default gateway and DNS
o Leave DHCP enabled on the router
"Network Bridge" cannot get an IP without DHCP
o Use 4 unique static IP addresses:
1 Router or Wireless Access Point (already set, usually .1 in the subnet)
2 Laptop Wireless Adapter
3 Laptop Ethernet Adapter
4 Desktop Ethernet Adapter
(you can use DHCP, but Network Bridge is buggy ...)

o Crossover cable is correct, but not reqiured if using GbE
o Power up the laptop last, everything else should already be on
o Verify the two computers can communicate with each other,
if they cannot communicate before the bridge
they cannot communicate in the bridge
they must be connected and communicating to bridge

o If the bridge doesn't work, restart the laptop
o Walk away, come back in 3 minutes (buggy...)
o Once it works you can Logout and it keeps working

What brand and model router is it?
What brand and model laptop wireless adapter and what version driver?

Thanks for that, I'd stupidly got my fixed gateway address wrong, it's
working now