XP Home Network

[D.H. Cesare]

Morning.
Using 2 XP Home Edition computers and a Belkin 5-Port Switch we can not get both computers to access the internet at the same time, or to access each other. The Cable modem is connected to port #5 on the switch, computer "A" is connected to port #4 and computer "B" is connected to port #1. "A" can access the internet and "see" "B" but can't access the folders/files on "B". "B" can't access the internet but it can access the "C" drive on "A". Both have printer and file sharing enabled and both have "share" access enabled on the "C" drives. Each machine has it's own unique node name and each has the same workgroup name.
When connected directly to the cable modem, both machines access the internet. When connected to the switch one-at-a-time they both access the internet. But when both are connected to the switch, only "A" can access the internet and only "B" can access the other machine and NOT the internet.
Got about 35 man hours stuck in this 30 minute job and still ain't working right.
Could use all the help I can get.
Thanx

 

[Bob Willard]

Morning.
Using 2 XP Home Edition computers and a Belkin 5-Port Switch we can not get both computers to access the internet at the same time, or to access each other. The Cable modem is connected to port #5 on the switch, computer "A" is connected to port #4 and computer "B" is connected to port #1. "A" can access the internet and "see" "B" but can't access the folders/files on "B". "B" can't access the internet but it can access the "C" drive on "A". Both have printer and file sharing enabled and both have "share" access enabled on the "C" drives. Each machine has it's own unique node name and each has the same workgroup name.
When connected directly to the cable modem, both machines access the internet. When connected to the switch one-at-a-time they both access the internet. But when both are connected to the switch, only "A" can access the internet and only "B" can access the other machine and NOT the internet.
Got about 35 man hours stuck in this 30 minute job and still ain't working right.
Could use all the help I can get.
Thanx

I suggest that you replace that switch with a router.
See http://home.comcast.net/~bobwbsgs/homenet.txt .

 

[D.H. Cesare]

--
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
D.H. Cesare

Morning.
Using 2 XP Home Edition computers and a Belkin 5-Port Switch we can not get both computers to access the internet at the same time, or to access each other. The Cable modem is connected to port #5 on the switch, computer "A" is connected to port #4 and computer "B" is connected to port #1. "A" can access the internet and "see" "B" but can't access the folders/files on "B". "B" can't access the internet but it can access the "C" drive on "A". Both have printer and file sharing enabled and both have "share" access enabled on the "C" drives. Each machine has it's own unique node name and each has the same workgroup name.
When connected directly to the cable modem, both machines access the internet. When connected to the switch one-at-a-time they both access the internet. But when both are connected to the switch, only "A" can access the internet and only "B" can access the other machine and NOT the internet.
Got about 35 man hours stuck in this 30 minute job and still ain't working right.
Could use all the help I can get.
Thanx

I suggest that you replace that switch with a router.
See http://home.comcast.net/~bobwbsgs/homenet.txt .
--
Cheers, Bob
^ ^ ^
The URL above brings this result: Page URL Not Found!!

The requested page does not exist on this server. The URL you typed or followed is either outdated or inaccurate.



I tried a Netgear router on my 98 machines and never could get it to work correctly. We had about 90 man hours in it before we gave up and switched to a hub, which was much better, but never 100%. With the router, both machines were on the internet but they interfered with each other. Never could them to see each other. With the hub, both machines accessed the internet with no problems, they would "see" each other but would not access each other.

Back to the XP machines. This switch was supposed to be the answer, we thought, and according to all the material we studied and talking to a technician, it was supposed to be a "Smart Hub" and be able to fill our needs very simply.
We're 90% there with the switch, just need help with that last little hump.

The "A" machine has an issue with 2 network adapters. One adapter has all the address info so we've tried disabling the other one. Still has the issue. We've tried removing the adapter that doesn't have the addressing info, but as soon as the machine is rebooted, the adapter is back. How do you remove one of these adapters permanently?

 

[Bob Willard]

D.H. Cesare wrote <something in invisible ink>:

If you simply click on the link I supplied, that should get you to
the page. But, if you retype the link in your browser's adress
window, you are prone to many errors which can result in that
"page not found" error. Note in particular that the first part
of the URL, "http://home.comcast.net/~bobwbsgs/", is not case-sensitive,
but the last part, "homenet.txt", is; so simply retyping the entire
URL with the CapsLock on will direct your browser to the right
server and the right account but to a non-existant file. {I think
that the case-sensitivity of the FileName portion of the URL depends
on the server code -- some OSs have case-sensitive filesystems, and
some may not.} If clicking on that link really doesn't work, please
let me know what browser you use so that I can investigate.

From what you showed about your configuration, I don't think you are
90% of the way. I think you have misconfigured your switch. If you
insist on using a switch (or a hub) instead of a router, then you
should use ICS (software routing) and you should separate your LAN
and WAN traffic: on the ICS server, connect one of its NICs directly
to the cable/DSL modem, and connect the other NIC to the switch. Then,
connect the NICs of the other PC(s) to other ports of the switch.