Networks Linking 2 x PC does not work.

Ok any ideas/help here is greatly appreciated.

PC #1
two NICs (one for cable modem one for LAN)

PC #2
one NIC

One length of straight patch, one coupler, and some x-over link the two.

PC #1 is set to IP 192.168.0.1 on the LAN (Cable works fine BTW)

PC #2 is set to 192.168.0.2.

Now PC #1 can find PC #2 (most of the time), PC #2 never sees PC #1.

WTF is going on here!?!

 

Assuming that the protocols etc on each pc are identical, i can only say that it could be a conflict between the two NICs - try ripping out cable modem NIC and test - btw you didn't mention your OS.

 

Doh! both PCs running win2K Pro.

 

no no no, this sounds like a classic case of NetBios / Windows file sharing being a right arse.

you'll probably find if you type the name of the computer straight into a browser that it will work, eg. \\computer2

the way to test it's not hardware, just so we can eliminate that, is to ping the other machine (do this from both computers)

to do that, get a command prompt up and type: ping 192.168.0.1 (from pc2) and ping 192.168.0.2 (from pc1)

if that works, there really is nothing wrong with what you've done. It's just windows being extremely crap.

 

Yeah, that was something I did a while ago. I posted this problem on computing.net and someone there said pinging doesn't mean anything, as it just pings your IP stack or something.
Basically I took that as crap cos the ping shows the same symptoms as going through My Network Places.
Sometimes it works sometims it doesn't. eg sometimes all attempts time out, sometimes all are successful. Mostly it's a mix.

Both machines use TCP/IP BTW. My guess is it's Plug and Pray. Maybe the NIC on one of the machines is conflicting with something else (even though Windoze says it isn't). Am I talking bollocks here or what?

 

well if the pings don't work you can't rule out a hardware problem - could be the cabling that's to fault

 

IMO it sounds like the cables are wired wrong

 

I'm gonna play about some more this afternoon. I don't think it's the cable (mainly coz I'll look pretty damn thick if it is!:rofl: )

 

on the back of either of the lan nics are u getting a connection light, and a send and recieve light going??? when u first turn on the pc on the third boot screen (last on before windoze) you should see some packets being transmitted. ie light blinks, which is the start of the windows protocol....if nothin happens there and u dont get a link light its definatly a faulty wire....or faulty crossover....

 

link lights can be really misleading

i can unplug from my network and the link network and the link light will still be on.

all i have to say is that make sure that the nic are in right, and then see if the cabling is messed up in there. you might have just accidently put in the 2 straight instead of 1 straight and 1 cross.

 

Definately one straight and one cross cos I can actually transfer files from PC#2 on the rare occasions when it actually works.

Error message on PC#2 when trying to find PC#1 is 'network path not accessible'.

 

do what i did put every thing on auto and hope it works also if u are useing it for gameing then u should have ipx/spx for network gameing mabe that is conflicting with ur tcp/ip heres another way if fixing it

clean format each comp and start again with out configing ne fing just install the nics and ipx/spx file and printer sharing and it should work ( i always do it when my network stuffs up it sumtimes is a corupt windows file that doesnt show up )

hope it works :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

 

Without reading all the above posts all I can suggest is first check that you can ping the computers, ei can 192.168.0.2 ping 192.168.0.1 if they can yo know the tcp/ip protocol is working ... I have also found that NETBEUI or woteva that protocol is helps allow each computer to see the other and share files. Tho I am not an expert when it comes to networking.

 

Hi,


Here is a good trouble shooting technique.

First of all, you should not need any protocol besides TCP/IP. If you have NetBuei, remove it.

Second, ping 127.0.0.1 on each of the computers. You should get responses back from both PCs. 127.0.0.1 is a loopback address and pings back confirm TCP/IP protocol is working.

Third, try to other PC via an IP address. eg. ping 192.168.0.1
and vice versa.

If you are getting pings back from the remote PC, you are assured that the connection is working properly. If this does not work, then...

Check the IP address and the subnet mask again.

Check that the Lan Link light is lit on both NIC's.

If the two PC's are directly connected to each other, make sure you are using a RJ45 crossover cable.

Do a "route print" command from the command prompt on both the systems and see what the routes are saying. If necessary, post the routes in a new post.

In very rare cases, two NIC cards may have an identical mac hardware address. In this case, they will refuse to talk to each other.

Finally, try to see if you can ping with the cable modem unplugged.

If you can ping the remote IP addresses, the you should be able to see the shares by typing \\192.168.0.1/2


Please try these techniques and let me know if you need more help.

 

ok just wanna no suttin can u network linux or unix or whateva its called can u network it with a windoze computer

 

I remember, the Far East cloners that cloned everything so well on the chips, they even cloned the MAC address... teehee... had to sort that out a few times myself...

 

Hey Fly,


U Too.....

I remember I was helping a friend out a few years back setting up a network, he has acquired these old NICs .... all of them had the same mac address...

I took me a lot of agro, (about 2 days worth) before I was able to figure out the problem.

 

OK.

pinging the loopback addy works fine (127.0.0.1)

When pinging PC #2 from PC #1 most results time out. However about one in 20 gets a reply. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

Vice versa, the same situation occurs with slightly less time outs.

IPs checked.

PC #1 192.168.0.1
subnet : 255.255.255.0
LAN link LED flashes.


PC #2 192.168.0.2
subnet : 255.255.255.0
LAN link LED on.



Unplugging modem and disabling the NIC doesn't seem to help.

 

All right,

Well the mac addresses are different, so it is not that.

The way I am reading this is that PC2 has two network interfaces.

One of them is 169.254.25.129
This is the microsoft TCP Loopback driver. This should be removed unless you have it for a specific reason.

The other connected to the LAN is 192.168.0.2

Here are things to try!!

Remove the MS Loopback adapter.

Set up 192.168.0.1 as your default gateway on PC2.

Try and type in the following command at the cmd prompt
"route add 0.0.0.0 mask 0.0.0.0 192.168.0.1"

If this command gets it working, you can put in a more permanent version on the next reboot. This will make it a persistent route and the system will remeber it between sessions.

"route -p add 0.0.0.0 mask 0.0.0.0 192.168.0.1"

Let me know how that works out!!!

 

OK

Loopback disabled

Default gateway set on PC#2

"route add 0.0.0.0 mask 0.0.0.0 192.168.0.1" at the cmd prompt

Same problem. Requests time out about 95% of the time when pinging. NIC LED on PC#2 is solid. on PC#1 it seems to flash at high frequency when it's on.


just to recap BTW.
LAN NIC on PC#1 is a 10Mb/s NIC set to full duplex.
LAN NIC on PC#2 is a 10/100 set to 10 full mode.
Both were installed with plug and pray under Win2K Pro. Was wondering, could this be a PnP conflict?