Connecting two PCs . Help needed.

T

tifosi

Skilled
Hi ,
I've got to connect my PC to a laptop.
I've got all the hardware necessary(I think so).

Theres an Intex Ethernet card on the PC and the laptop has got an inbuilt LANcard...for connecting I'm using a crossover cable(CAT5..it says) since i want to connect directly without the use of hub.

Now the problem is that two days ago after I set it up , it was working fine..but today it stopped working all of a sudden..
I went to My Network Places > Workgroup(on the laptop) ... and then it crashes.
If I do the same on the PC , it just shows an empty workgroup.

the comp is running win 2000 and the laptop winxp sp2.

I hope I am clear in what I'm saying....help needed urgently .

Thank You.

BTW ... the LAN says its connected.

 
I am not much experienced in networking , but still

u tried to ping other system ??

You mentioned that laptop system crashes when you go to workgroup setting , its quite possible that some thing is wrong with network drivers , try reinstall them.
 
Yeah try pinging each from the other.Also disable firewalls if any including the default windows in sp2.Though I doubt its because of a firewall,since a crash is a strange.

Also could you post the details of the IP address,subnet...blah blah configured under each?
 
I dunno wats a network driver .. so I reinstalled the LAN card .
After doing that I'm getting this error.(see attatchment)

Now, If I ping my PC from the laptop , i get a reply, but if I ping the laptop from the PC I get a request timed out message(firewall is turned off).

Wats the cause? do i have to replace the wire or something?

And yeah about the IPs
Laptop - 169.254.60.130
PC - 169.254.60.139

Subnet - 255.255.0.0

Thanks.
 

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Your problem seems to be that you havent configured the IP address settings under each host's network connections.

The 169.254.x.x is a Automatic Private IP Addressing[APIPA] which the host recieves once if its unable to get a IP address either from a DHCP server or if its unable to get it due even if its been manually configured under certain cases.

Manually set the IP address setting as follows for the 2 hosts.

Laptop:
IP : 192.168.0.2
Subnet: 255.255.255.0

Leave the rest of the settings as default[only if you want to have a working LAN & not share a internet connection for which you will have to give us more details]

PC:
IP :192.168.0.3
Subnet: 255.255.255.0
For pc's to be visible under network places you need to share resources[files/folders]
Right click the file/folder you want to share & configure it appropriately under "Sharing & Security" tab.

Now post back with your results.
 
i have a PC n Laptop connected here. Both are running WinXP pro SP2.

the IPs i used are:

PC: 192.168.0.1
Laptop: 192.168.0.2

subnet: 255.255.255.0

try 255.0.0.0 also.
 
1. Its best to assign an IP address to the Desktop PC alone

IP address : 192.168.0.x

Subnet Mask : 255.255.255.0
Set your laptop to "Obtain an IP address automatically".
That way, your PC acts like a DHCP server and automatically assigns all the necessary IP parameters to your laptop once its connected.
2. Next, make sure both your PCs are set to use the same Workgroup. Go to Control Panel -> System. Select the "Computer Name" tab , click on Change. (This is as far as WinXP is concerned, hopefully Win2K will have the same procedure) Make sure both your PC and Laptop have different 'computer names', but make sure they use the same 'Workgroup'. The default workgroup name preferred by WinXP is "MSHOME", you can set up whatever name you wish, just make sure both PCs have the same Workgroup name. Apply all changes, restart.

As Digen said, you have to be sharing files/folders as well for them to show up in your network places.
 
what if one system is xp home and the other is WIN98SE well i had a torrid time configuring a crossover cable network even though the same dual boot win98se system can network seamlessly when under winxppro
 
I have no problems what so ever configuring disparate hosts in this case Win9x & XP[Pro or Home].
What problems did you face exactly? Could you give us a few details how you went about configuring it?
 
when configuring windows xp it asks you to make a setup disk (when you use the wizard) make it and use it on windows98, also it is preferable to have an ip assinged for windows 98 (dont make the last ip number as 1 use 2 or 3) also make sure both computers have the same workgroup. i have configured windows xp home (laptop) and windows 98 se (desktop). we also share an internet connection
 
blaster said:
I think in windows 98SE you have to install netbui protocol for workgroup.
Click to expand...
Sorry but thats not true.NETBUI isnt a routable protocol in the first place.Networking with Win9x systems TCP/IP works fine.
 
Sorry people I was away and I cudnt gic any feedbaack.

@digen, what I posted is exactly the problem that I am facing.

I will try out whatever u ppl hav said tomorrow :)

Thanks
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I've just managed to network 2 pc's peer to peer!
Wasnt easy, one whole day of dissapointment.
Eventually did the following - Decreased the link speed to 10 Mbps.
 
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