Ok im in need of help Ive got a HTPC set up downstairs and i want to attach it to my network without wires (yes i have a wireless network ). Now to save a bit of money ive dug out an old laptop and i would like to have the following... WRT54G~~~~~~~~~Laptop--------------HTPC 192.168.1.25............192.168.1.102...........192.168.1.110 ~~~ = wireless --- = wired Ive got the statich DHCP set to give my HTPC an address of 192.168.1.110 All i want is for my laptop to act as a bridge so that the HTPC can be assigned its IP and once that happens every other client on my network will be able connect to the HTPC. When i highlight the two network connections on the laptop (wired and wireless) and then connect the two, i get given the wonders of ether, "unexpected error has occured" OR it makes the bridge and the network bridge then tells me that "network cable unplugged" Im getting ticked off with this now and i cant work out why it wont work! Any ideas?
For a start, you need to have two IP addresses assigned on the laptop - one for the wireless interface, one for the wired interface. Then you need to enable routing in Windows. I'm not sure if that's available in Windows XP Home or Pro - you might need Server 2003. If it's just going to sit there and port forward, you could install Star OS. Apparrently it's great. Or any flavour Linux will have some routing functionality. Edit: I lie like a cheap Chinese watch. XP Pro will route. So, err, I'm not sure I can help ... Taxi for one!
Aye...ive got Routing enabled in the Administrative services. And ill give the laptops wired card an IP of 192.168.1.111 and see what happens. New setup WRT54G~~~~~~~~~~~~~Laptop------------------------HTPC 192.168.1.25......192.168.1.102 - 192.168.1.111...............192.168.1.110
if you set up ICS on the laptop and the HTPC it should all work. You could set it up your self (the gateway for the HTPC will be the laptops IP, the gateway for the latpop will be the routers) you will want them on different subnets so that it all works. The ICS area on the network tabs allow you to forward ports from the laptop to the HTPC.
The above suggestions should work, but imo it's not entirely reliable. I'd go for a proxy really, much less hassle and much more reliable.
Well ICS wouldnt work for what i want to do. I need Full ftp access to the HTPC. Aka when you type in the HTPCs address you get its HTTP server responding EDIT:: ok i cant be arsed any more!!! its beyond me why XP wont allow me to bridge the connection. I can use ICS but i dont want that Guess ill have to try a *nix tomorrow or later on after ive had a few beers.
ive done this on a budget and the thus the HTPC can only connect to a network via ethernet (wired). Also FTP is important but it also has a HTTP server on it that i want my clients to be able to connect to. If i have to buy an access point for it i will but i was thinking that ive got a spare laptop about why not use it for somthing. There is prob somthing wrong with the install of XP so ill try 2k or a *nix varient.
I use an old laptop as a Wireless Gateway, running OpenBSD, was pretty simple to setup (perhaps not as simple as Win* though), might be worth a go?
I think I might give it a go, Ive always been looking for another excuse to dable with *nix again. Thanks for Everyones help and ill let you know what happens when i get round to playing with it again.
Just an Update. All is well now. A fresh install of windows XP pro and upgrade so SP1 (no need to go higer for the bridge PC) and ive got a old laptop bridging away. I finally have access to the HTPC and all i need to do now is make the HTPC stream to said bridge PC to allow the stream to be re-encoded into UDP for more efficient wireless TV viewing Moral of the story? If you need bridging and it wont work. Re-install the blooming OS!
I'm suprised no one has mentioned that when plugging 2 devices directly into eachover, and not through a hub or switch that you usually need to use a CrossOver Ethernet Cable. This would cause Network Connections to show you a cable unplugged Icon, because the TX and RX lines are reversed so it will never talk.. Some network equipment can autosense the swapping of these wires and account for it with no need for a Crossover Cable, but not all equipment can do this. One may help in your application.
Lol, no worries there mate. I know about X-over and standard cables (make the damm things myself). And yes I got it all working fine and dandy on an old laptop with a 802.11b card. However the bandwidth required to stream video to and from the HTPC was more than enough for that segment of the network. It was a shame really cos it does work. But its not really a problem as ill be moving house soon and then im going to cable up the house. Thanks for the input guys
