Home Network on the Fritz

  • Thread starter Thread starter Gary
  • Start date Start date
G

Gary

I have three Dell Desktop Computers networked together
with Cat 5 cable using a 2 port Linksys Router, 4 port
linksys switch and Roadrunner Cable modem. Identical NIC
cards. Two of the computers are Dell 2100 Series and the
other is a more powerful Dell 4300 series. All are
running over 500 megabites of RAM. A Dell technician in
Bombay India helped me manually configure IP addresses on
all three computers a couple months ago, but suddenly I
lost all connectivity. When I call back to Dell in hopes
of finding the same or equally talented Dell Technician,
after about an hour on hold, I was informed that for an
additional $200 per hour they would assist me, however, I
still have several months left on my extended software
support warranty. So anyway, can someone explain how to
best configure my network settings?

Mahalo....Gary
 
"Gary" said:
I have three Dell Desktop Computers networked together
with Cat 5 cable using a 2 port Linksys Router, 4 port
linksys switch and Roadrunner Cable modem. Identical NIC
cards. Two of the computers are Dell 2100 Series and the
other is a more powerful Dell 4300 series. All are
running over 500 megabites of RAM. A Dell technician in
Bombay India helped me manually configure IP addresses on
all three computers a couple months ago, but suddenly I
lost all connectivity. When I call back to Dell in hopes
of finding the same or equally talented Dell Technician,
after about an hour on hold, I was informed that for an
additional $200 per hour they would assist me, however, I
still have several months left on my extended software
support warranty. So anyway, can someone explain how to
best configure my network settings?

Mahalo....Gary
Click to expand...

There should be no need for manual IP addresses. Your router can
configure each computer's TCP/IP settings:

1. Make sure that the router's DHCP server is enabled and that it has
a pool of at least 3 IP addresses to assign. Check the router
documentation for details.

2. Run XP's Network Setup Wizard on each computer, and tell it that
the computer connects to the Internet through a "residential gateway",
which is what it calls your router.

If you want to use manual IP addresses:

1. Assign each computer a unique IP address in the same subnet as the
router's LAN IP address. That's typically (but not always)
192.168.1.x for a Linksys router.

2. Set each computer's default gateway to the router's LAN IP address.

3. Set each computer's DNS server address to your ISP's DNS server.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
Back
Top