how does one set up a simple, home peer-to-peer Windows 2000 network???

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bob Hatcher
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B

Bob Hatcher

Open a command window on each system and ping each other. Are they pinging?
Yes! The network hardware is okay. Simplfy. Remove all unecessary software
protocols.
Bob
 
Thanks for the input, but that somewhat went over my head. How do I use
ping? Don't I have to set up TCP/IP protocols and IP addresses first and
stuff like that? Don't know how to do that. I'm feeling my way around in
the dark here.
Click to expand...

If the Network card was installed in the machine prior to Win2000
or if you bought it that way, IP is likely installed but you are correct
it needs configuration SOMETIMES.

But Microsoft arranged the new IP so that if you ONLY want a Peer-to-Peer
network it may JUST WORK.

Check the NIC Properties (Start/Settings/Control Panel/Network and Dialup
Connections

Look at the NIC properties...from the first popup hit Properties button for
the software
stuff (when you get the one with "Show Icon in Taskbar" you might want to
CHECK it
so that from now on you can go to the task bar and get to the first dialog
hardware-properties -
from the Taskbar -- icon is two little overlapping computers that blink
their screens dark
to aqua blue if the net is working and transmitting packets.)

Ok, on the net software properties -- the IP entry is USUALLY AT THE BOTTOM
of
the list (why not the top? why not alphabetical? No one knows.) Select IP,
view the
properties.

if it's set to automatically obtain an address, GOOD, STOP. Don't change it.
Make sure the other machine is set this way.

By default, Win2000+ and Win98+ machine with IP installed will do Automatic
Private IP Addresses (that's a mouthful so most people call it APIPA and it
means
the machine just makes up an address.)

Now this would be a bad idea except the machine does it from a certain range
and both machines will use that range -- making sure they don't use the same
number.

IF (big IF) your hardware network is correctly installed and the cables are
plugged in
etc -- then you are all set.

Open a command prompt: Start\Run: type CMD<enter> will do that. (Learn
to
leave this open ALL the time -- it will make you SMARTER.)

From the command prompt: ping 127.0.0.1
If that works, IP initialized but it doesn't necessarily mean you can
communicate with
the other machine so next try:

ping OtherMachineName

IF that works, you have BASIC IP connectivity. Then you can share you
drives
(Administrative Tools\Computer Manager) and connect through the browser
usually.

Note: You cannot connect to the Internet with JUST this setup -- your
address
is from a special LOCAL range, and you have NO default gateway or DNS
server configuration for these clients -- they will broadcast for name
resolution
and can only communicate on ONE NET since they don't know about any
gateways (AKA routers.)
 
I have a home network all wired up with Windows 2000 Professional installed
on both my PC (1.2 GHz Celeron) and laptop (Toshiba 4280 ZDVD).

I am using the following hardware:

- NetGear FA310TX Fast Ethernet Adapter (for the desktop)
- Belkin F5D5010 CardBus Network Card Adapter (for laptop)
- NetGear FE104 Fast Ethernet Hub (4 ports)

I have installed the device drivers for the laptop card and the desktop
adapter as well (for the laptop, when I plug in the Belkin card, Windows
2000 recognizes it as a "Realtek TRL8139(A) - based PCI Fast Ethernet
Adapter." It seems to work, so what the heck....)

I have the following networking components installed on both PC's:

- Client Service for Netware
- Client for Microsoft Networks
- File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks
- NWLink NetBios
- NWLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS Compatible Transport Protocol
- NetBEUI Protocol
- Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

Then for both PC's, I right-clicked "My Computer" then clicked on the
"Network Identification" tab, then clicked on the "Network ID" button, then
selected the button "This computer is part of a business network, and I use
it to connect to other computers at work" then selected "My company uses a
network without a domain" then entered "WORKGROUP" as the workgroup name.
I did this on both computers. Then, I reboot both.

The desktop's computer name is patrick-z0r19fe and the laptop's name is
patrick-6kkiqlt, and both have the workgroup: WORKGROUP.

After rebooting, when I try to browse computers at "My Network Places" the
computers can seem to find themselves but not each other. In other words,
the computers can't see one another.

I checked all the wiring, etc. and both lights at the hub connection and the
adapter card are green, so I doubt that wiring is the problem. The cables
were both ready-made Cat 5e cables.

I then tried to do a search for "Windows 2000 peer to peer network" at
Google to find some help. I tried following the step-by-step guides at the
Microsoft Support site and a couple of other "how-to's" but still could not
get the damn thing to work.

So, this posting is a last resort. I'm ready to pull my hair out.

Any suggestions, please post here or e-mail to me at: (e-mail address removed)

Thanks in advance.



Patrick
 
Get rid of all the extraneous protocols - all you need is TCP/IP. Assign
them each unique TCP/IP addresses in a nonroutable range like 172.30.1.0 -
make sure the subnet mask is the same (255.255.255.0 will do).

Then see if you can ping one from the other - in a command prompt, type

ping 172.30.1.30 <enter>
where that's the IP address of the other computer. If you get replies,
you're good. After a lil bit, NetBIOS/broadcast should make sure that you're
able to see each computer in network neighborhood. Then all you need to deal
with is setting up the shares, and making sure that login credentials match
to make sharing easier.

See http://www.homepcnetwork.com/index.htm?faq1.htm for more help.
 
Bob,

Thanks for the input, but that somewhat went over my head. How do I use
ping? Don't I have to set up TCP/IP protocols and IP addresses first and
stuff like that? Don't know how to do that. I'm feeling my way around in
the dark here.



Patrick
 
Open a command window on each system and ping each other. Are they pinging?
Yes! The network hardware is okay. Simplfy. Remove all unecessary software
protocols.
Bob
 
Bob Hatcher said:
Open a command window on each system and ping each other. Are they pinging?
Yes! The network hardware is okay. Simplfy. Remove all unecessary software
protocols.
Bob
Click to expand...

Keep the tcp/ip, client for microsoft networks, and the file and printer
sharing. Remove the rest as all except the NetBeui are for Novell, and you
would not need them. And NetBeui, while ok is also not needed for what you
are doing. Windows 2000 will attempt to make a connection by using every
protocol you install. So just Install the protocols you will be using.
TCP/IP for the internet, client for microsoft, and file and printer sharing
so your two computers will talk together.

After that is done. And your hub and computers are connected, does the
network icon show a good connection? If the ICON shows no problem your
network is probably ok.
To display the local area icon if not already displayed. Right click on
network places. Highlight local area connection, and then right click, and
you will see check box for display icon. The Icon should have appeared
though if it did not see the local area network anyway.
Now as the other person said see if you can ping the other computer.
If you cannot ensure the hub is configured correctly. If you can ping, then
it might be that the computers are not set up to share. You have to go to
each computer and select what you want to share.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/directory/worldwide/en-gb/hnetwork.asp
 
Do you know the difference between a regular cat5 cable and a crossover
cable? My guess is you have a crossover mixed in with your network.

If you had a crossover cable, you wouldn't need the hub. You'd plug
directly in from the cardbus to the nic. You can tell which card you have
by holding the rj45 jacks from each end right next to each other. If their
colors are exactly the same, it's not a crossover.

The pinging idea isn't so hard. You just pull up the msdos command prompt
under programs, accessories. Then type ping (your ip address on the other
machine). But generally, on a network as simple as your making, it either
works or it doesn't.

You could also try to run the home network setup wizard.

Scott
 
Scott said:
Do you know the difference between a regular cat5 cable and a crossover
cable? My guess is you have a crossover mixed in with your network.

If you had a crossover cable, you wouldn't need the hub. You'd plug
directly in from the cardbus to the nic. You can tell which card you have
by holding the rj45 jacks from each end right next to each other. If their
colors are exactly the same, it's not a crossover.

The pinging idea isn't so hard. You just pull up the msdos command prompt
under programs, accessories. Then type ping (your ip address on the other
machine). But generally, on a network as simple as your making, it either
works or it doesn't.

You could also try to run the home network setup wizard.

Scott
Click to expand...

Would crossover cables work without a hub with two lan network cards?
 
That should be an inexpensive way to network two computers. I suspect my hub
is too slow for today's internet. It's a SOHO hub and was purchased in '98.
I'm not trying to get both computers on the internet, I'm just trying to
network two computers so I can test applications.

It turns out that I have a 3com networking card built into one of my
machines that I've ignored since I've bought it. I also have a separate 3com
(2 yrs old approx.) so I can keep the cards the same make. With crossover
cables I should be all set to network? No hub needed? No internet needed?
 
That should be an inexpensive way to network two computers. I suspect my hub
is too slow for today's internet. It's a SOHO hub and was purchased in '98.
I'm not trying to get both computers on the internet, I'm just trying to
network two computers so I can test applications.

It turns out that I have a 3com networking card built into one of my
machines that I've ignored since I've bought it. I also have a separate 3com
(2 yrs old approx.) so I can keep the cards the same make. With crossover
cables I should be all set to network? No hub needed? No internet needed?
Click to expand...

Yes. Yes. Yes. In that order ;-)

btw, if your hub is capable of 10mbit operation, it can easily keep up with
'the internet', and the half-duplex operation won't bother you much at all...

/daytripper
 
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