Windows XP Networking Issues

[Guest]

I am trying to make a network out of a laptop and desktop. I am running
Windows XP on both. I performed the wizard on both of the computers and
selected that the computer connects to the internet through a gateway/router
on both of the computers. I can't connect to the internet on my laptop. I
can't see the laptop from my desktop and I also can't see my desktop from my
laptop. I am getting very frustrated trying to connect these computers, what
am I doing wrong.

 

[Malke]

I am trying to make a network out of a laptop and desktop. I am
running Windows XP on both. I performed the wizard on both of the
computers and selected that the computer connects to the internet
through a gateway/router on both of the computers. I can't connect to
the internet on my laptop. I can't see the laptop from my desktop and
I also can't see my desktop from my laptop. I am getting very
frustrated trying to connect these computers, what am I doing wrong.

It's hard to say because you don't give many details. Are both computers
wired (ethernet) or is the laptop trying to connect wirelessly? In any
case, here are some links to help you. You might want to start with MVP
Hans-Georg Michna's network troubleshooter to narrow down where the
problem lies.

http://www.michna.com/kb/wxnet.htm
http://www.bcmaven.com/networking/faq.htm
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/howto/
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/filesharing.htm (Home)
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp_filesharing/index.htm
(Pro)

Malke

 

[Guest]

Both of these computers are connected to the Linksys router through a
ethernet card. And when I ran the wizard on my laptop and selected to
connecting to the internet through a gateway/router, it set-up a bridge for
my connections. Is this correct? If not how can I get my computer to see
each other and share an internet connection. What other details are necessary?

 

[Chuck]

Both of these computers are connected to the Linksys router through a
ethernet card. And when I ran the wizard on my laptop and selected to
connecting to the internet through a gateway/router, it set-up a bridge for
my connections. Is this correct? If not how can I get my computer to see
each other and share an internet connection. What other details are necessary?

Luke,

With a Linksys router, connected directly to each computer, when you run the
wizard, you should select:

"This computer connects to the Internet through another computer on my network
or through a residential gateway."

The Linksys is a residential gateway.

One of the problems with the wizard is the bridge setup. If you have two
connections on your computer, it automatically sets up a bridge. You need to
delete the bridge manually, from Network Connections - Advanced, after running
the wizard.

 

[Guest]

Networking Wizards are great when they work and sadly, they leave you
clueless when they don’t work.

Can we get clear what you actually have? More importantly, when you say a
router, do you mean a router which leads on to a separate modem or do you
mean a single router-modem? When you say “both computers are connected to the
Linksys router through a Ethernet cardâ€, you do mean don’t you that each
computer has its own Ethernet card?

You need to make sure both computers and the router and the modem have
matching addresses in the same Subnet Mask. Most routers and modems leave the
factory with default addresses in the 192.168 … or 10.0 … range. If you have
a separate modem and router, and one uses the 192 … and the other uses the
10… that alone will thwart your efforts. Hopefully you will be able to change
either of them by using a standard browser, but you may need a special
utility supplied by the maker. All machines must also be in the same Work
Group.

Which addresses you use may be entirely up to you but the router maker, the
modem maker or your ISP may constrain your choice.

Assuming you plan to use 192… then you may have 192.168.1.1 for the modem,
192.168.1.2 for the router and 192.168.1.3 and 4 for the computers, in which
case all of them would need the subnet mask 255.255.255.0.

You could hope TCP/IP Properties will correctly Obtain an IP Address
Automatically to each connection but you can’t check.

To check, Right click My Network Places >Properties>Local Area
Connection>Properties>Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)> Properties.

Check the Default Gateway, Preferred DNS Server and Subnet mask. Default
Gateway may be the Router or the Modem and Preferred DNS Server may be the
Router or the Modem or a Server IP supplied by your ISP.

 

[Guest]

My routher is connected to the DSL modem and then both of the computers are
connected to the router through their own Ethernet cards. Where do I check
the IP Address of the router?

 

[Guest]

Start>Run>type in "CMD". When the Command Prompt window opens, type in
"ipconfig /all" (without quotes). You will see a display showing IP
addresses (and other info); the IP address displayed for Default Gateway will
be your router's IP address.