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Why XP Is Slowly Killing Me

bobber205

bobber205

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Nov 15, 2005
2,182
1
Oregon
Here's the deal. Step by step.

*sighs*

1) I have a macbook that boots into Windows XP.
2) I have a desktop PC that has XP
3) I have an ethernet cord.
4) The macbook has a working wireless router internet connection.
5) The router is NOT within range. It is many rooms away in the house. It would cost 200 dollars for a cord in range.

I want to be able to:

1) Connect the ethernet cord and have a active ethernet connection
2) Being able to play games over the lan with the other computer near my desk with my brother
3) Not damage keyboard from frustration in process.

Here's what I've tried.

1) I tried setting the ip of the laptop to 192.168.0.50, the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0 (the router's 255.255.255.248). The same subnet mask for the desktop and an ip of 192.168.0.100 -- FAIL
2) I tried giving my laptop an ip of 192.168.0.34 and have the desktop get the ip and everything autmatically. -- FAIL
3) I tried yelling. -- FAIL ;)
4) I tried praying to Gates -- FAIL! :)
5) I tried 3 different cords, all with the same results. -- FAIL
6) I tried setting both computers to get the ip info "automatically". One would eventually say "limited connectivity".
7) I tried disabling the wireless for each of these different tries. -- FAIL


Now I can access all shared folders from each computer. When I do so, packets are exchanged. Same with pinging. The cable should be good.

I have pics if you need them.

I even tried some carp called NetBEUIS. Didn't work. Hmm. What else did I do?

Now this was ALL working until suddenly one day it stopped. I don't remember the setup. It was weeks ago when I set it up. I've also tried all "wizards" that XP wanted me to. No dice there.

I am SO desperate to get this to work. I would like to eventually share the net connection between computers,but if I had to eventually turn that off, that would ok too. (I had to when it WAS working).

Please. Any advice appreciated!
 
H

Hobofuzz

macrumors regular
Oct 9, 2006
129
0
If your router's IP is 192.168.1.1, then you can't be using 192.168.0.xxx IPs. You should have no trouble playing games over your LAN as long as every computer is connected to the router.

The subnet mask should be the same on every device in your home, otherwise they won't play nicely together.

Also, are you saying the wireless isn't in range, or the router isn't in range for a wired connection?

Explain your situation a little more and I might be able to help.
 
H

Hobofuzz

macrumors regular
Oct 9, 2006
129
0
iBookG4user said:
Have you tried buying a repeater? Since you say that the wireless router is not in range, that may solve your problem.
Click to expand...

Or they could just
1) Buy a bigger antenna
2) Increase the transmit power of the router

And the subnet value should be the same on all devices.
 
balamw

balamw

Moderator emeritus
Aug 16, 2005
19,365
979
New England
A netmask of 255.255.255.248 is very restrictive as it only allows for 10 addresses in the subnet. Are you sure this is the LAN netmask and not the WAN netmask (i.e. the one for your network not the one from your provider).

B
 
mkrishnan

mkrishnan

Moderator emeritus
Jan 9, 2004
29,776
15
Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Wait, I don't understand the router not in range thing quite either. It would be a very cheap option to buy a WiFi card for the desktop PC...maybe less than $20. And then put it on the same network.

Not that internet sharing from the Mac shouldn't be easy.
 
bobber205

bobber205

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Nov 15, 2005
2,182
1
Oregon
You know. I may just go for a wireless card.

The router is in range:

I tried going to my wireless connection and turning on ICS. In the advanced windows I turned on DHCP (68).

I got a warning about how since my ethernet was going to be set to 192.168.0.1 (the ip of my router) this would interere with my other connections! It did!

I tried changing my router's ip to 192.168.100.1 but then it took me forever to get to an ethernet computer (that was connecting even after the change after a reboot) and restart the router.

How can I change settings in windows so that error doesn't come up?or do I HAVE to change my router's ip? (lame!)
 
balamw

balamw

Moderator emeritus
Aug 16, 2005
19,365
979
New England
bobber205 said:
I tried going to my wireless connection and turning on ICS. In the advanced windows I turned on DHCP (68).
Click to expand...
Avoid ICS or any kind of Internet Sharing. You'll essentially be creating a new private network inside your private network and makie all kinds of things not work well.

Your best bet if you can afford it is to buy one of the "wireless gaming adapters" a.k.a a wireless bridge and stick a wired switch behind it so you can connect a bunch of computers to it.

That is if I get the situation you're trying to hook up.

B
 
H

Hobofuzz

macrumors regular
Oct 9, 2006
129
0
You really shouldn't need to do anything to achieve what you want to do here. I can do what you're trying to do, and I didn't have to change any configurations on my router. Make a backup of your current router settings, reset the settings to default, and see if that works. You really shouldn't have to do anything to play games over the LAN. As long as each machine is part of the LAN, it should have full, unrestricted access to all resources and machines on that LAN (ignoring software-based security settings).
 
balamw

balamw

Moderator emeritus
Aug 16, 2005
19,365
979
New England
bobber205 said:
I'll look into PCI too.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...32809980+1133010139&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=31

Those are some. What do you recommend? BTW the USB range problem. My router is about I'd say 20 feet max away, less in a straight line. Too long for a cord as it would have to go through the hallway.
Click to expand...

Would the antenna on the desktop have a clear line of sight to the router or have to go through the metal case of the desktop? I found that when I was using a similar USB adapter, I had to put it on the end of a 3' USB extension cord taped to the wall to get equivalent coverage as my notebooks or my iMac.

Definitely best to keep the antenna away from the big metal box as much as possible. Even with PCI.

I'd still consider the switch+bridge route as it'll give you a super fast connection to all ethernet devices within the room and won't need you to keep one machine on to have connectivity.

B
 
H

Hobofuzz

macrumors regular
Oct 9, 2006
129
0
balamw said:
Would the antenna on the desktop have a clear line of sight to the router or have to go through the metal case of the desktop? I found that when I was using a similar USB adapter, I had to put it on the end of a 3' USB extension cord taped to the wall to get equivalent coverage as my notebooks or my iMac.

Definitely best to keep the antenna away from the big metal box as much as possible. Even with PCI.

I'd still consider the switch+bridge route as it'll give you a super fast connection to all ethernet devices within the room and won't need you to keep one machine on to have connectivity.

B
Click to expand...

What exactly are you two trying to do?

To keep connectivity, the only thing you should need is the router. If you're using another computer that would have needed to be on all the time to keep connectivity, you're overcomplicating this.
 
bobber205

bobber205

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Nov 15, 2005
2,182
1
Oregon
balamw said:
Would the antenna on the desktop have a clear line of sight to the router or have to go through the metal case of the desktop? I found that when I was using a similar USB adapter, I had to put it on the end of a 3' USB extension cord taped to the wall to get equivalent coverage as my notebooks or my iMac.

Definitely best to keep the antenna away from the big metal box as much as possible. Even with PCI.

I'd still consider the switch+bridge route as it'll give you a super fast connection to all ethernet devices within the room and won't need you to keep one machine on to have connectivity.

B
Click to expand...

It wouldn't have a clear "line" but it would be close The base is positioned sideways anyway.

Basically I want to get XP to get a LAN going between my macbook and my pc. That's it. XP is being a dork. read my first post. :D

ICS is out of the question anymore. I just want my redpc to get on the network like it does when my computer is on OS X, which windows can't seem to handle. LOL!

EDIT: Idea! Should I go into the living room, write down the ip and stuff info that my G4 ethernet connected machine uses, and put that into my LAN connection in the desktop PC? Or would I still need ICS?
 
H

Hobofuzz

macrumors regular
Oct 9, 2006
129
0
Yes... keep ignoring me...

You're really making this way too complicated. All you need to do is have every device connected to the router and you can play games on them over the LAN. It should work out of the box.
 
bobber205

bobber205

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Nov 15, 2005
2,182
1
Oregon
Desktop PC won't reach router. Would need to buy a basic ?hub? and connect the computers that way.

I heard OS X doesn't matter whether the cable is crossover or not. Is that true? and is it true for linux also? (b/c I am having no problems with those OS's.)
 
balamw

balamw

Moderator emeritus
Aug 16, 2005
19,365
979
New England
I'd still like to have a diagram as to what you have and what it is that you are trying to do. :p

Here's what I think you are trying to do.

You have two computers in a bedroom that you want connected wirelessly to a router across the hall and wired between the two computers for gaming. Does that about cover it or did I misunderstand something?

EDIT: You can certainly make do with all of the connections are wireless to the router, but I was trying to server your desire for a wired connection in the mix. I also originally thought there were three computers in the room, but don't find mention of the third anymore.

EDIT2: It is correct that Macs will autosense and do not need a crossover cable, but I'm not sure if that extends to when the Mac is running Windows, so it is better to use a crossover or hub/switch.

B
 
bobber205

bobber205

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Nov 15, 2005
2,182
1
Oregon
Very close.
I want my macbook to be on the internet and network wirelessly. I want my xp box to be connected to network and maybe internet via an ethernet cord (be it just the cord, hub, or actual wireless card).

This is while both computers are in OS X.

This works while macbook is OS X and desktop PC is linux.

WARNING #1: When you enable ICS, the network adapter connected to the local area network is assigned a static IP address of 192.168.0.1. The client computers are assigned other IP addresses in the 192.168.0.x range. These addresses may not be compatible with an existing network
Click to expand...

That's my problem!
 
H

Hobofuzz

macrumors regular
Oct 9, 2006
129
0
bobber205 said:
Desktop PC won't reach router. Would need to buy a basic ?hub? and connect the computers that way.

I heard OS X doesn't matter whether the cable is crossover or not. Is that true? and is it true for linux also? (b/c I am having no problems with those OS's.)
Click to expand...

Is any computer in your home connected to the router using Ethernet?
It's always a good idea to have at least one machine connected directly to the router in the case of a bad configuration, since anything directly connected to the router can access it (as long as you have the password).

You don't need a switch or a hub or any of this expensive stuff. A switch is simply a device that takes one wired connection and turns it into a bunch of wired connections. A router does all you'll ever need for a simple home LAN.

What you need to do is enable DHCP on your router and have every machine connect to it. You should never have to deal with subnet masks and gateway settings unless you were running an enterprise server or have an ungodly number of machines in your home. Everything you're trying to do should work out-of-the-box.

Does your desktop PC have any internet connection?

And yes, to connect two computers directly using ethernet, you must use a crossover cable. A regular ethernet cable has no method of telling what end to assign an IP address to, just like how USB has a slave device and a master device. What a crossover cable does is cross 3 (IIRC) wires over so both devices are set as the master, so that both machines believe they are connected to a server.
 
bobber205

bobber205

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Nov 15, 2005
2,182
1
Oregon
Hobofuzz said:
Is any computer in your home connected to the router using Ethernet?
It's always a good idea to have at least one machine connected directly to the router in the case of a bad configuration, since anything directly connected to the router can access it (as long as you have the password).

You don't need a switch or a hub or any of this expensive stuff. A switch is simply a device that takes one wired connection and turns it into a bunch of wired connections. A router does all you'll ever need for a simple home LAN.

What you need to do is enable DHCP on your router and have every machine connect to it. You should never have to deal with subnet masks and gateway settings unless you were running an enterprise server or have an ungodly number of machines in your home. Everything you're trying to do should work out-of-the-box.

Does your desktop PC have any internet connection?
Click to expand...




DHCP is on on my router. I'm using it now in fact. A G4 has an ethernet connection. After messing with the setting via a browser, the G4 was all I could use to fix it. :D

Look at quote above. That's why my I can't share internet in windows. :(

EDIT: The desktop is what I WANT to have a net connection.
 
H

Hobofuzz

macrumors regular
Oct 9, 2006
129
0
bobber205 said:
DHCP is on on my router. I'm using it now in fact. A G4 has an ethernet connection. After messing with the setting via a browser, the G4 was all I could use to fix it. :D

Look at quote above. That's why my I can't share internet in windows. :(

EDIT: The desktop is what I WANT to have a net connection.
Click to expand...

All you need is a wireless device then. Everything that connects to the same router is part of the network, so once you get your desktop PC connected to the router, you should be all set.

I also highly recommend you have at least one machine you can connect to the router via ethernet in the case that you accidently botch your settings. There have been times when I've changed a wireless setting and been unable to connect to the router wirelessly, so I just go on the wired computer and change the settings from there.
 
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