Internet Connection Services and home network questions

  • Thread starter Thread starter Howard Woodard
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Howard Woodard

I have a home network with 4 computers (2 XP and 2 Win98SE machines) connected via a 4 port switch. Other than one of the Win98 machines not having its shared directories always showing up correctly -- don't have a clue why not -- the network seems to work just fine. All of the computers share the DSL connection and the networked printer just fine.

When I look at Internet Connection/Properties/Advanced (Services running on your network that internet users can access) I see two entries that are checked. Both are named "msmsgs(192". When I hi-lite the entries and click on "Edit" I see that the first entry is defining an external port number for TCP/IP and the second entry defines an external port number for UDP. This shows up on the XP and Win98 computers.

I don't remember ever specifying in the network setup wizard any services that I wanted to share with internet users. Does anyone know why these are getting set up/checked, what they are for, and whether they should be or not?

Also, on the Win98 computer that doesn't seem to stay current (on the network) with what directories are shared -- sharedocs shows up sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. A shared Zip drive is still showing up even though I disabled the share. -- when I shut it down it will give me a dialogue/confirmation box saying that there are one or more users connected to the machine and asking if I still want to shut it down. I don't remember having seen that message before it started getting a little wierd on sharing.

Any answers, ideas or insights on any of this.

Tia,

Howard
 
One other thing that I forgot to mention:

Whenever I click on "My Network Places" from my XP machine, instead of immediately showing them (like it used to do) it now gives me the little "searching flashlight" icon. After a while it will complete and then show me the various directories that are shared across my network -- though they are incomplete.

However, If I click on "Workgroup Computers" and then click on the Win98SE computer that doesn't seem to presenting its shares correctly in "My Network Places", I get the right list of directories -- all of them -- and can access them just fine.

Howard
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I have a home network with 4 computers (2 XP and 2 Win98SE machines) connected via a 4 port switch. Other than one of the Win98 machines not having its shared directories always showing up correctly -- don't have a clue why not -- the network seems to work just fine. All of the computers share the DSL connection and the networked printer just fine.

When I look at Internet Connection/Properties/Advanced (Services running on your network that internet users can access) I see two entries that are checked. Both are named "msmsgs(192". When I hi-lite the entries and click on "Edit" I see that the first entry is defining an external port number for TCP/IP and the second entry defines an external port number for UDP. This shows up on the XP and Win98 computers.

I don't remember ever specifying in the network setup wizard any services that I wanted to share with internet users. Does anyone know why these are getting set up/checked, what they are for, and whether they should be or not?

Also, on the Win98 computer that doesn't seem to stay current (on the network) with what directories are shared -- sharedocs shows up sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. A shared Zip drive is still showing up even though I disabled the share. -- when I shut it down it will give me a dialogue/confirmation box saying that there are one or more users connected to the machine and asking if I still want to shut it down. I don't remember having seen that message before it started getting a little wierd on sharing.

Any answers, ideas or insights on any of this.

Tia,

Howard
 
Sounds like you are using ICS. If so, I suggest you forget ICS, get rid of
your 4-port switch, purchase a 4-port router and connect it's WAN port to
the DSL modem. Then connect a NIC in each of your computers to a port on the
router, using straight-through CAT 5 cable. That way, every one of your
computers are totally independent of the other ones in that no computer (as
a host) has to be up and running before the other ones can access the
internet. For further info on the subject, go to
www.practicallynetworked.com.

Some routers even have a printer server port, so that the printer is always
accessible. The one I use is an SMC7004ABR 4-port router with printer port
server.
 
Thanks. However, I'm not -- at least not intentionally -- using ICS. When
I ran the wizard I told it that all of my computers attached to a hub (in
this case its a Linksys WAP w/4-port sw and router) and that the "hub" had
the connection to the DSL modem (Cisco 678 router).

Howard
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