Hi, My name is stupid, I can't set up my network...

[SanchoPanza]

I know, here we go again, I'm sorry but I am pulling my hair out trying to get my new wireless network working, to no avail...

Here is my system:

Old Computer, now in basement with Athlon 1.4, running Windows ME, and having a D-Link 802.11b Wireless USB Adaptor.

New computer, AMD XP 2500+, with Win XP, with an ethernet 10/100 card. I have roadrunner connection, cable modem, with the ethernet cable from modem running into my WAN jack on my D_Link 802.11b Wireless router. Ethernet cable (Cat5) running from Lan1 line on router into network card.

Both computers can access the internet, but neither computer can see the others, no matter how many ways or times I run the network set-up wizards.

I have disabled anti-virus on both machines, disabled the Win XP firewall, then I set up a network (MSHome) from my main new XP computer. I shared all folders on both machines, then took the Win XP CD to the basement computer and ran "set up network" from the accesories tab. Still no network.

It seems like there is some fundamental step I am missing, one that the various FAQ'a don't mention, but no matter how I do it, neither computer can spot the other one. I have set up a few different 'workgroups' and all, but I just can't figure it out. I am at my wits end..

Please help!

 

[BeanDip]

Sounds like one or the other is not configured for NetBIOS which would be needed to discover each other.

On the Win Me PC make sure File and Print Sharing is loaded and at least file sharing is turned on in the network Control Panel.


On the WinXP go into the TCP/IP properties for the network card, click the Advanced button and choose the WINS tab, and set the NetBIOS setting to "Enable NetBIOS for the connection"

If you still have problems then make sure that your workstations can ping each others IP address.

 

[JackMDS]

Welcome to the Network Forum.

May be this can Help: Sharing Disk Drives Between Computers on Windows Network.

:sun:

 

[SanchoPanza]

Thanks for the welcome, I've actually been lurking here for a long time, I just lost my old log-in. (Which caused a bit of a problem since it recognized my old email...)

It looks like I may have got it working, but now I have another ignorant problem! It seems my secondary computer has become the HOST (according to D-Link's online set-up site) Is there a way to change which one is the host? My main pc is not even really listed, just the other one (though both have internet, and both pc's are shared...)

I am about to delve into the security merasures, but wanted to iron out this glitch. Thanks in advance, and thanks for the replies, I can always count on the anandtech crew!

 

[zxcvb]

why do you need netbios turned on I thought that was for Cisco products

 

[BeanDip]

Originally posted by: zxcvb
why do you need netbios turned on I thought that was for Cisco products

NetBIOS is part of the TCP/IP suite. It is a way to make computers recognized each other by name on a network without a centralized server acting as DNS or WINS.

I searched around and found this writeup that explains it well.

Don't get NetBIOS and NetBEUI confused. NetBIOS is a TCP function. NetBEUI is a chatty non-routable protocol that Microsoft embraced in the 90's because it made small networks a breeze to setup. But as the Internet took off and Operating Systems centering more on TCP/IP have rendered NetBEUI no longer useful.

 

[SanchoPanza]

Again, thanks for the replies. My network seems to be up and running, but I have a few more things I am trying to do.

See, I want to control internet access from the upstairs computer to the downstairs computer. Specifically, the main PC is mine, while the other computer will be for the kids use. I would like them to have some limited internet, but I don't want it to be always on.

In a perfect world, I would find a good "parental control" software to block distasteful sites. Then, I would also be able to turn the downstairs computer's internet access on or off from this PC, without having to go downstairs and without interfering with the file-sharing of the network itself.

Does anyone have any opinion on how this could best be worked?

Oh, and happy Independence Day!!!!!

 

[imported_FishTaco]

Check your router, you should be able to set what time of day your upstairs computer gets access to the internet.

Use the router's static DHCP to assign upstair's computer a static IP. The set up a filter to only allow that IP access during a specified time of day. Assign your computer an IP and set its filter to 24 hr access. Then setup a filter to block all other IPs from accessing the internet.

Your router does have some primative url keyword blocking and domain blocking. Not sure how well they work.

 

[ScottMac]

NETBIOS / NETBEUI are not part of the TCP/IP suite.

Microsoft is / was using TCP/IP to encapsulate NETBIOS / NETBEUI.

NETBIOS / NETBEUI are not (in themselves) routable protocols (they have no "network" portion in their address). Encapsulating them in TCP/IP made them routable. They have also been encapsulated in IPX (it used to be the default ~Windows 95/98).

NETBIOS was originally used by IBM for their Broadband (and then Token Ring) networks.

When it came out, PCs (~AT class / 286 and 8088 PCs) didn't have the guts to competently drive a network while maintaining the internal processes. By creating a network version of BIOS, the logic to control the network was offloaded to processors on the NIC.

The basic process was to intercept a "Drive Not Found" error on INT 13 (IIRC) then route those errors to the NETBIOS logic on the NIC (which would then see if it was a valid network request and either handle it or send back an error).

These were all part of the "LANMAN" suite, promoted by Microsoft (I believe) and adopted by several manufacturers (3COM, DEC, IBM, others).

NETBIOS / NETBEUI are peer-to-peer protocols designed for LAN use. They are ancient in the context of networking. While they are one of the few L2 protocols with some connection-oriented properties (if requested by the calling application), they still basically suck for all but the smallest networks.

BTW: NETBIOS = Network Basic Input / Output, NetBEUI = Netbios Extended User Interface.

I believe what the others are saying is to make sure NETBIOS / NETBEUI is enabled on all of the machines (along with TCP/IP) because that's what (older) Microsoft OS uses for browsing (Network Neighborhood, My Network Connections, etc). There are still some chances for incompatibility, but this would be a good starting point.

FWIW

Scott

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: BeanDipNetBIOS is part of the TCP/IP suite. It is a way to make computers recognized each other by name on a network without a centralized server acting as DNS or WINS.

NetBIOS is On by default in WinXP.

:sun: