OT: Need Help With Home Networking

Fyron · #1 July 15th, 2004, 07:10 AM

Is the modem capable of serving as a router? Check the box before you go out and buy wireless network cards...

Just install Linux as a router on that PC you were going to install 2k server on. No need to buy anything extra, other than another 10-15 dollar network card.

David E. Gervais · #2 July 16th, 2004, 01:04 AM

Hey AT, I had/have that same problem. My brother and I can both access the internet (DSL) but we can't see each other over our home network. We both have Win XP Home. I even paid an IT guy to come and try to make the home network work, in the end things got screwed up really bad, and both my brother and I had to format and re-install. We have basically given up on getting the home network to work.

When we have something we want to share, we send it via e-mail, or if it's big, just burn it to a CD.

Before Win XP, I was running win 98 and my brother was running win NT Pro. We both had access to the net and could see each other fine. So I blame WinXP. it's the only thing that has changed on our systems. And I can't understand how a mixed system 98 & NT could work while both systems running the same OS can't. (Oh, we tried the network setup wizard and created a 'network config' floppy disk. It crashed my system and I had to format and re-install. So stay away from that option.)

Nuf said, Cheers!

QBrigid · #3 July 15th, 2004, 02:12 PM

Quote:

(Oh, we tried the network setup wizard and created a 'network config' floppy disk. It crashed my system and I had to format and re-install. So stay away from that option.)

I can see if it was XP to Windows 9x. But XP to XP and without a hub or router the floopy has never failed.

I have seen this advised on a lot of gaming sites and all with success to include my families home network.

How did the network professional you paid for install your network did he also have to reformat your drive. Maybe it was something you already had installed and the new format resolved it?

Ragnarok · #4 July 15th, 2004, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David E. Gervais:
...

WinXP Home is your problem there. XP Professional would work just fine as here at work we have no problems with it. But if we used Home Edition there is no way a network would work.

Slynky · #5 July 15th, 2004, 02:44 PM

We have 3 PCs on our router that have XP Home and there is no problem mapping drives.

Thermodyne · #6 July 15th, 2004, 04:09 PM

XP home will p2p just fine. It just can not be joined to a domain, intent being to keep it out of the corp. world.

For a small (<5) system home network, read up on the ICS feature built into Windows. Look in the help file, there are direction on how to impliment it there.

David E. Gervais · #7 July 15th, 2004, 05:14 PM

First, we use a hub. Second, the IT guy was not what I would call professional. he managed to get our computers to see each other via direct 'ping' and by using the run //ken and run //david we saw each other instantly. but going through the regular explorer and clicking on network places etc, took forever (aka 10 mins while the computer stays 'locked' in scanning mode) or reported not found. I even at times could not see my own computer through the 'network places'. We set up shortcuts to "run //ken and run //david" which worked until one of us rebooted our computers. after that the IT guy gave up and we abandonned the idea of getting our network to work.

Anyway, the point/arguement is pointless. I'm not about to go through all that hassle to get the network working again. We get along fine without it, not a big loss.

Also, when all this happened, like I said we had a fully working network including internet access prior to both of us upgrading to XP. We got XP for xmas and installed it at the same time (we both have our own copy, not one copy installed on two computers.) I believe it's a problem with XP.

Oh, I forgot about another 'event' after about a year we tried to get the network thing working again, and managed to finally 'see' each other. it Lasted all of two weeks. then MS came out with SP1 for XP. it killed our home network.

Oh the joy of having Windows as your OS. Before you suggest 'Linux' or a dual boot system etc, that's not going to happen. I'm primarily a gamer and artist. Linux has very little to offer me in the gaming arena. and running a windows 'emulator' in linux to play games is stupid.

but, I digress, did I say I digress, well I do. Sorry.

End of story. Cheers!