One Way Lan

[lost1010]

ok, so im 15 and I like to play alot of games with friends when they come over. I have 2 computers, one is a laptop with vista, the other a XP computer, and their both connected to my router to get LAN in games. Unfortunatly this has been really getting on my nerves, my computer can only lan one way (ex. playing warcraft 3 the laptop HAS to host, and it is slow. It actually stops alot of games from being playable) I've been trying alot of things but nothing seems to work. My laptop can ping my XP machine but it cannot ping the laptop, even though both comps can access each others shared files. Also the laptop has no firewalls up as i just checked. One thing that i thought could have been affecting it is that my router only has 2 ports one for normal ethernet and one for usb ethernet, but that must work because both CAN connect.

[BipolarBill]

What you have is not a router - it's a modem.

You are using the USB connection to one PC and then using Internet Connection sharing to the other.

You are much better off with a 4-port router. You can get one cheap. With that, either PC can connect without the other. Connect the router to the Ethernet port on the modem and then plug each PC into a port (or get a WiFi router and use WiFi for the laptop).

[lost1010]

Sorry for the belated reply.

Ok, so i got what you are saying(can't believe i thought it was a router) but should my modem give me this LAN connectivity? even knowing it's very limited they can still join to a degree and share some items. Do most modems do this? and finally is there anything you could recommend to me(routers, hubs, brands?)?

thanks

[747simpilot]

You could share the Internet access from the modem with the desktop's ICS (Internet connection sharing) feature. The desktop needs two LAN ports though. One for the modem and one connected to the laptop. Windows XP Internet Connection Sharing


Your best bet is to use a router. Router's WAN port plugs into the modem and the LAN port of the router go to your computers.

Newegg.com - LINKSYS WRT54GL IEEE 802.3/3u, IEEE 802.11b/g Wireless-G Broadband Router - Wireless Routers I have never seen a 14x winner on Newegg before. Wow!

[nemowolf]

Your modem has limited NAT abilities to split the internet connection accross the USB and the ethernet port. Check your IP's and see if your in the same Subnet. My guess is that your getting the generic, 192.168.x.x style IP but because your modem doesnt have standard features like a router, you cant get normal connectivity.

As BPB mentioned, a router will greatly assist you with working on your network. Since you have a laptop, i would recommend similar products to 747 as its a wireless and wired router. Linksys, D-Link, and many other brands make solid products and there really isnt much of a difference if your not sure of what to do with a router.

Stay away from Switches and Hubs, they are not what you need. Do some google searches on Switchs and Hubs for an explaination of what kinda work they do and compare that to a router.