networking 2 xp pro computers

[TwoBills]

It all started w/xp pro 64 bit. No drivers for my printer. So I figured I would network w/my xp pro 32 bit machine and use the printer attached to it.

Well, I can't get the computers to talk thru my Belkin router. A few years ago I closed some ports in my router (security measure?) and I think that's the reason for no com. Lost my password for the router settings. Tried to default to factory settings to no avail. Still locked out. On to plan B.

Plan B: Connect the computers together w/a crossover cable and add a nic card in one machine. Use that machine (2 nic) to patch into the router, for access to the internet.
Questions: 1- Will both machines still have internet access?
2- Will I be able to access the printer on one machine and an external hdd
on the other?
3- Speaking of crossover cables, you transpose the orange and the green pairs
right?
4- Where do I find an online guide to networking for the xp software?

Any help for this networking noob will be greatly appreciated.

 

[MustISO]

First thing you should do is reset the router (if you know how to re-configure it after the reset). There should be a reset button that will put it back to default settings and login.

 

[RebateMonger]

If you want help with your router, I suggest you give the router's model number.

But it's doubtful that any router settings are affecting internal networking between your two PCs. JackMDS' web site offers help. An early thing to check is that "File and Printer Sharing" is enabled on your boxes.

 

[TwoBills]

I've connected the boxes together w/a crossover cable (no router) and still can't get them to see one another. Makes me think it''s my application of my software.

Found the reset switch for the Belkin F5D5231-4. Heh, I was reaching around and hitting the uplink button, thinking it was the reset. Probably my next move is to reset the router.
I had mechbgon helping me close some ports on this router a few years ago, but I didn't know anything then (or now, for that matter). If it ain't broke, ya know. Anyway, if I hit the reset, what kind of can of worms am I going to open?

I've just been using this router to get 3 computers online at the same time and for the firewall benifits. Hm, I'm using a Keiro firewall on the 32 bit machine and sp2 firewall on the 64 (havn't located a free, real firewall for 64 bit, yet). Gotta remember to turn those off.
FYI, both of these machines are modern boxes I've built. I've pretty much used Ghazi's xp tweaking guide to set up the os. Both are clean and fast (enough). I'll have to recheck my services for disabled ones. Also check for file and printer sharing, wherever that is.

Any feedback from my ramblings will be appreciated.

 

[Lemon law]

I have been networking two XP computers for years using windows ICS. And I can set up ICS in less than five minutes.

The fact that its not working for you tells me you have something wrong in one or both computers. So its a troubleshooting problem as long as you ditch the router. Here is what I would do step by step.

1. Download and apply a fix your winsock which will rebuild your tcp/ip stack for each computer.
2. Then go into network connections and make sure you have checked and installed on each computer, client for microsoft networks, file and printer sharing for microsoft networks, and Tcp/ip. If any are missing you may have to go to your windows disk and add them back in which you can do in add remove programs.
3. Then connect your crossover cable between your two NIC's. The connection should show on your taskbar as connected.
4. Designate one computer as the host computer. And the host computer must be the computer with internet access. Log onto the internet, don't forget to log onto the internet while setting up, then go to the control panel and run the network set up wizard on the host computer. Follow all prompts and make sure to designate the name of the network as the same on each computer. I just accept the default mshome. Since you have two XP computers, you need not make a network disk. Then go to the other computer which becomes the client computer and run the network set wizard. And if nothing is otherwise wrong, you should have a working network. And as another test, go to the control panel and turn the sp2 firewall off on both for a time because no matter what you do, it will turn its self back on. Then on the host computer, go to start--run--type cmd--press enter
to get a dialog box. In that dialog box type ipconfig /all and press enter. Your host computer should have a ip of
192.168.0.1. Do the same for the client computer. It should show a ip address of 192.168.0.xxx where xxx is any number between 2 and 254. On each computer you should be able to go start--run--cmd--enter--and in the dialog box
ping the ip of the host and the client and get a response back--to ping the host from the client, the command would be
ping 192.168.0.1 so I hope you get the idea.

If all is well, this should work, but if not, you may get some sort of idea of what is wrong. All kinds of thing could cause problems, a bad NIC, a defective crossover cable, and things like that, but then you have to isolate where the problem is. If your connection shows as limited on the task bar, you can right click on it and then select repair on each computer. It will then repair itself or show where it failed in services. And then you may have to enable that service which might be in something like the DNS resolver cache or something similar.

And for that matter, once you get ICS working, you might try your router again because what screwed up ICS for you is probably what your router needs also. But your router will use a patch cable and not a crossover cable.

Hope that helps.

 

[RebateMonger]

There's no need for ICS in this case. You already have a router.

Having non-Windows firewalls installed and disabling Windows Services makes it potentially more difficult to offer assistance. The "normal" advice for sharing folders between two Windows XP Professional PCs would be:

0) Turn off "Simple File Sharing" in XP Pro.
1) Enable File and Printer Sharing on both PCs
2) Establish "matching" User Accounts/Passwords on both PCs (so that each will recognize a remote connection.
3) Share at least one folder. Set SHARING to "Full Control - Everyone" and set up Security Permissions as desired.
4) Wait at least ten minutes for NetBIOS over TCP/IP to discover the other computer.
5) Browse to the other computer using Internet Explorer: \\othercomputername

Edit: But JackMDS' web site will do a better job of describing this stuff....

As long as you haven't turned off necessary Services, this will work fine. If you are having name resolution issues (NetBIOS), then you may have to browse using the other PC's IP address rather than it's computername. With non-Windows firewalls, you'll have to open them up for file sharing.

 

[TwoBills]

"Windows ICS" Now there's a term that every network noob should Google. I'm glad I didn't find the reset button on the router on the first try.
I'm trying to access the printer/drivers that are on the 32 bit os w/my 64 bit os, so ICS seems the way to go. Although the router would work also, I just don't want to fool around w/the settings. I've got enough settings to fool around with. I'll still patch into the router with the server I'm going to have.
My first move is gonna be checking the continuity on the crossover cable, then workin' my way thru Lemon's and Rebate's posts.
I do thank you guys. I feel you've put me on the road to printing w/this 64.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: TwoBills
I'll still patch into the router with the server I'm going to have.

To save you future head-scratching, be aware that your server (attached to the router) won't be able to see the PC that is connected through ICS. ICS performs a Network Address Translation, and only allows connections one way.

 

[TwoBills]

Q]To save you future head-scratching, be aware that your server (attached to the router) won't be able to see the PC that is connected through ICS. ICS performs a Network Address Translation, and only allows connections one way.[/quote]

So, if I use ICS I won't still won't be able to print thru the client PC?

 

[JackMDS]

Using ICS is like putting anoter Router in the middle of your Network.

The part before the ICS becomes like the Internet to the part behind the ICS.

With a Router you can open ports, with ICS you can not.

 

[RebateMonger]

I browsed the Belkin's User Manual. It's a typical SOHO router. The only way you can interfere with INTERNAL network communications is with the MAC address filtering. That will go away when you reset the router. Other than that, any problems with communication between PCs on your LAN would be caused by problems on the client PCs, and not by the router.

 

[Lemon law]

I personally think ICS is a good way to go in networking if you are only networking two computers. Making a router an un needed complication and expense. And yes, with ICS, its easy for the client computer to share a printer installed on the host.

But going beyond that two and only two computer case, a router becomes almost a network necessity. But I sure can not think of a reason to try to combine a router and ICS. And I suggested to the OP that if nothing else, ICS would be a good starting point for his networking troubleshooting since he was not sure if his router was not screwed up or not configured correctly. And by taking the router out of the equation, it would be far easier to find out if other problems
were also preventing networking via the router.

But as Rebate Monger somewhat correctly pointed out, most software firewalls can and will block ICS networking if they are not configured correctly. And I should have gone into more depth on that. Right now I use comodo 3 which is not only the highest rated software firewall, its freeware, and handles ICS almost *automatically via its stealth port wizard. The *lone difficulty is one needs to gasp read the help files to learn how to do it. But if any user of comodo 3 is having difficulty using ICS with comodo 3, please feel free to PM me and I will step by step explain it. Or you can temporarily set comodo 3 to disabled on the host computer to see if the ping networking tests then work. Which will then tell you its the host computer's comodo3 firewall that is blocking ICS.

And for that matter, its also possible and very easy to just configure the sp2 firewall to allow networking by accepting the files and printer sharing option, but then you don't want another software firewall on those computers messing with the sp2 firewall. And since the OP indicated he already had other software firewalls, I pointed out the SP2 firewall always turns itself back on in the process of setting up ICS. And thus must be again turned off if you have another software firewall.

 

[TwoBills]

I've actually got 3 PCs on this router. The 3rd one is an old ME machine that still works fine.

My original plan was to connect the 2 xp machines using ICS w/the host going to the router, along w/ the ME machine. My short goal, now, is to get the 2 xp machines to talk thru the crossover (minutes away ).

I now realize that there's basiclly 2 ways to network these machines, and my thick head is spinning a bit. But, bear w/me, you guys have given this old dog a lot of new tricks to learn. I'm grinding away here.

But, bottom line, at this point, is to use ICS to confirm my connections, reset my router, plug all 3 machines into the router, and go from there. I should be able to access the 32 bit printer/driver w/the 64 bit, right?

The ME machine is a non issue at this point. I'll be upgrading that machine, in the future, and loading xp on to it. Then I'll try ICS again.