Win2K/ XP Network Question for Newbie

nodnerb2 · February 18th, 2003, 06:31 AM

Hi,

I am trying to join two laptops together with an RJ45 Patch Cable

First of all, Can this be done this way or do I need something else to join them?

Second, I get an error message from both machines saying the Cable is unplugged. It's a new Belkin Cable which I will wander down to the shop with ( I am in the centre of London at the mo)and exchange anyway. Hopefully someone here will have been able to get me sorted by the time I get back.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Cheers

Nodnerb2

tmx468 · February 18th, 2003, 06:34 AM

When connecting 2 or PC's through a hub or switch, patch cables are all you need. Connecting 2 computers together directly (card to card) you need a cross-over cable (also known as a twisted pair). Either you couyld get a new cable, or an adaptor that sits on one end of the cable. That will solve your issues!

muno · February 18th, 2003, 06:48 AM

Or break down the cable and change the places of the farthest pair

-M

tmx468 · February 18th, 2003, 06:51 AM

Of course, that would require a set of crimping tools at your disposal! (IMHO anyway).
Your PC shop should either have the adaptor or a cable in stock, so there should not be a problem. One thing to note: the default workgroup name in win 2000 is WORKGROUP, whereas the default in XP is MSHOME. They need to match to see each other!

muno · February 18th, 2003, 07:48 AM

It's completely irrelevant what the workgroup is.

You can see the other computer as long as it is in the same subnet. With w2k/xp private addressing they will be.

Ip range for that is 169.254.x.y with subnet of 255.255.0.0
-M

DVNT1 · February 18th, 2003, 07:59 AM

Quote:

One thing to note: the default workgroup name in win 2000 is WORKGROUP, whereas the default in XP is MSHOME. They need to match to see each other!

Quote:

It's completely irrelevant what the workgroup is

nodnerb2 · February 22nd, 2003, 06:38 AM

Hi,

Thanks for the replies.

I went down to the store and got a cross over cable, this allowed both the Laptops to know there was a connection.

I ran the setup wizard on the XP Box and it had me create a Netsetup wizard disc for use on other PC's on the N/W. This would not run in 2K. In 2K the only options I can find for linking to another machine are via Parallel, Serial, IR or Phone Cable.

If someone could point me to somewhere I can get a step by step guide for complete novices I would be very appreciative.

Thanks in advance

Cheers

Nodnerb2

muno · February 22nd, 2003, 12:42 PM

You do not need to run any wizards.

Let automatic privater ip addressing handle the addresses.
See what the address is on computer1. eg. 169.254.53.50

Ping that above address from the computer2. If you receive reply, you're good.
If you don't, you might want to tell us what the error is.

If you do receive a reply, you can then go connect to network shares of the other computer.
Share a drive/folder from computer1, mind what the share name is.
Then, start explorer in computer2, select 'tools->map network drive', enter to the address as follows \\<computer1 ip>\<shared folder>

If you have disabled guest account, you need to specify the account that tries to access the shared resource. eg. <computer1>\administrator
-M

S.D.Willie · February 22nd, 2003, 12:50 PM

i would log on using the same account in both laptops. if thats not possible create the accounts needed. i dont think its necessary though, not totally sure. yeah you dont need to run the wizard on Win2k, just run through it on XP.

also, make sure you dont have XP's firewall option turned on or zone alarm running too. make sure file sharing ia enabled as well on both units.

SD