Dual WinXP

[maje87c]

I have two Windows XP comps hooked together on a crossover cable. One has an fdd and the other does not. How would I make the non-fdd box a client? They are both think they are the host.

[BipolarBill]

Is that a problem? Are you talking about the browser election process? That's nothing.

Are you using Internet Connection Sharing?

[maje87c]

Both computers seem to be connected to each other, but there is no shared access. Neither can access each other's shared folders. I'm not using ICS, because when I turn that on, the connection is lost on the true host.

[BipolarBill]

What do you mean "they both think they are the host"? What makes you say that? There is no host in peer-to-peer networking.

Which is connected to the internet?

Until you set up shares on both PCs and make sure that you are logged on to both with the same user account and password, you will get nowhere. You can also add the opposite account to a PC in the Control Panel.

[Midknyte]

don't forget to put them in the same workgroup too. if you just can't get tcp/ip to work, there's always netbeui.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q301041

[AllGamer]

Are you trying to just share files or share files and share internet at the same time?

if it's the 2nd you'll need 2 nick cards if you are planning to use ICS to share the internet and files

and use the floppy on the 2nd PC

the WinXP wizard is very simple to use for newbies, so that shouldn't be a problem

just get 2 nic cards and you are set :t

[maje87c]

Well, I know that the WinXP network wizard SHOULD be easy; i've done this before. I do have two NICs in my 'host' box, and one in my 'client' box. I don't know if a file sharing connection would constitute this, but I want to be able to run a half life game between the two comps. With the other network I made, I followed the wizards instructions and all was fine. This time however, it did not work.


Also, what exactly is NetBEUI and what are its benefits?

[Midknyte]

NetBEUI is netbios enhanced user interface. It is a self-configuring, broadcast protocol. No need to put in IP addresses, etc.

[BipolarBill]

Just be sure that when you set up ICS, you are sharing the incoming LAN connection. If you share the other one, you will be disconnected from both the Internet and the client.

[maje87c]

Okay, I had previously assigned the IP addresses manually, So i set it to auto, and the 1 NIC box had everything filled in as zeroes. does that shed any more light onto the problem?

[BipolarBill]

Man...this is exasperating.

Tell us these things:

1. What type of Internet connection do you have?

2. How is it connected to the PC?

This is how it's normally done:

Cable/DSL connection to an Ethernet NIC on the Host - set to automatically obtain an IP address from the modem.

2nd NIC connected to Client PC via crossover cable.

Client is set to automatically obtain address from Host

Networking Wizard directed to share 1st connection (the one to the modem). When this is done, the 2nd NIC is given a fixed IP in the 192.x.x.x range by ICS and the Host acts as a DHCP server. It consequently assigns the address to the Client NIC and begins NAT service for the Client.

[maje87c]

okay, i followed those normal procedures, and it did not work. The comp i'm networking with doesn't have a disk drive or interenet connection, so I can't get netbuei. How would I fix this manually?

[BipolarBill]

NETBEUI is not mandatory - it's an option. TCP/IP is what you should be using. Uninstall NETBEUI from the host.

Set up sharing on the host with the host connected directly to the Internet. (disable all firewalls until this is done BTW). Be sure to select the NIC with the modem as the Internet connection to be shared.

When you are done, go to the client machine and run the wizard. Set it to connect through the other.

When done, run IPCONFIG on each PC and write down the IPs and subnet masks for each NIC. Report back here what you find.

[Midknyte]

Netbeui is a last resort type of protocol. Winxp doesn't even have it by default. for a quick and dirty file transfer, it's fine. If you want to share internet, then you gotta go with tcp/ip.

[maje87c]

ok, I never installed netbeui, so it's not a problem, and how do i run IPCONFIG?

[Midknyte]

you need to get to the command prompt.

start-run-cmd

then type ipconfig /all.

if you just go to start-run-ipconfig, then command prompt screen will just flash in front of you and close.

[kwebb]

Goto a DOS prompt, either via a start menu short cut, or just go to the run box from the start menu, type command, and hit enter to get to a prompt.

From there type ipconfig /all and hit enter

Example:

C:\ipconfig /all

[BipolarBill]

From a command prompt. If you don't know how to get one, go here:

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

In the future, it would be nice if you would be honest about your level of expertise. At least be thorough about what you have and what you haven't done. I hate playing "pin the tail on the donkey".

[maje87c]

Here's what I got. See image.

[Midknyte]

looks like ics is up and running on that system. now, set the other computer to "obtain IP automatically" in the network properties.

[maje87c]

the other one is configured to autodetect, the text looks something like this:


Windows XP Configuration



Host name.........:towerofdespair
Primary dns suffic.....:
Node type......: Unknown
IP Routing Enabled.....:no
WINS Proxy Enabled.....: no


Ethernet adapter lacal area connection:


Connection- Specific DMS Suffix:
Description....:Realtek RTL 8139 Family PCI Fast

Ethernet NIC


Physical Address....: 00-50-FC-79-E3-15
Dhcp Enabled........: yes
Autoconfiguration enabled......: yes
Autoconfiguration ip address......: 169.254.1.150
Subnet Mask..........: 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway....:

[Midknyte]

the second system is not seeing the first system. 169.254.x.x is APIPA, which means the system doesn't see a dhcp server. run ipconfig /renew. it should pick up a proper ip of 192.168.0.x.

are you sure you have a crossover cable? check that the link lights are on in the back of the computers. if the link lights are not on, then you might have a patch cable instead of a crossover.

[maje87c]

Host comp- one solid green light, one flashing
Client- One solid green light no flashing

the client's card should be blinking if traffic is flowing, according to the literature that came w/ the product..

according to the product package, the cable was crossover, but you know how unreliable suppliers can be these days. ;)

Seriously though, it's crossover.

[Midknyte]

sounds like the cable is ok. run ipconfig /release then ipconfig /renew. see if you get a 192.168.0.x IP.

[maje87c]

after I ipconfig /released, I couldn't do the ipconfig /renew, so, I uninstalled the device and reinstalled it. When I restarted the machine, I checked the network settings and it was working. ICS isn't up yet, but I should be able to use Windoze XP's built in help.