Having problems networking 2 computers?

Question

Hi folks, i know this topic's probably been covered at great length but help it's driving me nuts!!
We have a cable modem, netgear router, 2 xp pc's. 1 with netgear wireless card, 1 with belkin wireless card. I've managed to get the main pc up and running but the 2nd one isn't playing fair. It's managed to connect to the router and says it's connected to the tinternet but when i try, comes up page not displayed. Router has no encryption. probably something simple like not checking a box but help would be good

Answer 1

Make sure the IP Addresses of both computers start with 192.

(Hit START, RUN) In the Box type CMD then hit OKAY

In the dos box, type IPCONFIG and hit ENTER

See what the IP Addresses are.

If they are not both 192, that's your issue. Make sure they are set to be dynamically assigned in the Network setup on the faulty PC, called "DHCP" (there should be no numbers typed in the boxes assigning an IP address)

If that does not do it and both have 192 addresses already, you need to repair the TCP/IP stack of the second PC.

Go to www.majorgeeks.com

Download LSP Fix

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4180.html

After you get it all going, make sure you turn on at least WEP encryption.

Answer 2

that's the same setup as in my house, almost.

so no.1 is definitely talking to the big bad world? I ask because the cable modems you get from Telewest or NTL can be very fussy about the order things are switched on. If in doubt, pull the plug on the modem and the router, leave for 30 secs, plug in the modem, let it go through its sequence, then plug the router. But anyway, you probably covered that.

Can the two computers see each other? Try sharing a directory on the one that works -> windows explorer (not IE), select a directory, right click, choose Sharing And Security, tick "share this folder on the network", and give it a name (say "fred"). Let's say the computer that works is called "hamster" on the network.

On the other computer, right click "my computer" and click "map network drive". In the Folder box, type \\hamster\fred (or whatever they are really called) and see if it finds it.

Do the same in reverse.

If it doesn't work either way round, second PC isn't talking to the router. If it works either way, then it is.

If you CAN get the PCs to see each other it doesn't mean they are managing to talk TCP/IP, which is the language of the internet. Make sure both of them get their IP addresses automatically, or if manual, make sure they go 192.168.0.x where x is a number bigger than 1 and is different on each machine. You do that in start -> connect to -> pick the wireless connection, click properties, find TCP/IP, and set it there.

- open a DOS box (menu -> run, type "cmd") and try the following commands
ipconfig (see what's connected to what - you want to see an IP address called something like 192.168.0.x)
ipconfig /release (disconnect it)
ipconfig /renew (then try to get the connection back)
ping www.google.co.uk (you should get an answer)


Oh and by the way - if the wireless signal isn't "very good" or "excellent" then silly errors will result. Connections that are "weak" might as well not be there at all. Move the router, or buy a packet of Pringles, eat them, and sellotape the tub onto the router antenna, pointing towards the second PC. Or so I'm told.

Answer 3

First, I would enable encryption. Second the only thing I can suggest is repairing the connection and see if that works. If not, go to Start > Run type cmd, press enter and at the prompt type ipconfig and hit enter. See if the computer is seeing a valid IP address, if it is... I haven't got a clue. If it is not, then something is wrong with the way the connection is set up. Also, although it may be connected, if the signal strength is weak or the bandwidth on the connection to it is low (2Mbps or less) then it won't be able to access the network even if it indicates "connected".

Answer 4

go to start > run > cmd
type ping google.com

if you get something like
Reply from 64.233.187.99: bytes=32 time=119ms TTL=238
then you need to check the settings in your browser (such as cache settings, cookie, proxies and such) all the info onthat can be found on google.com

if you get "Ping request could not find host google.com. Please check the name and try again." or something that isn't a reply, then you need to fix your dns settings.

an easy way to do this is to go to start > control panel > network connections

right click on your connection (im assuming your wireless in this case) > click on properties

in the box, scroll down to "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" > click it > click the "properties" button.

there is a radio button that is labeled "use the following DNS server addresses" click it.
in the first box, put 4.2.2.2

click ok, click close, try ping google.com again

if it works, you are set. if not, take it to a pro. there are too many possibilities to be covered here.

Answer 5

in case you're promptly linking 2 computers together you ought to use a crossover cable a brilliant-unfold ethernet wont do it, thats why you're no longer getting the alternative, there's a distinction interior the way the cable is under pressure on a crossover...

Answer 6

if you have any wireless telephones (not cell phones) or microwaves close to this second computer, the waves could be interfering with the adpater. network adapters, cordless phones, and microwaves all have 2.4GHz wave frequencies, and any of those could mess up the signal.

Answer 7

reboot