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So much for the LAN Party...

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You should really start with the basics.

Type ping 127.0.0.1 in at the cmd prompt and make sure you get a respsonse before continuing.
If you get a time out then the problem is within the machine's network settings.
As mentioned before.
Have Client for Microsoft Networks and TCP/IP installed.
Make sure the nic shows up in device manager.
Make sure that simple file sharing is disabled.

Once this is done. Assign 192.168.0.10 for one computer. 192.168.0.11 for the next. 255.255.255.0 for both
Hook these two computers together into the hub, making sure you are not connecting to the uplink port.
Make sure the cables are standard cat5 and not a crossover cable.

Load up the game.
Make sure you select LAN under multiplayer options.
Make sure TCP/IP is selected
Depending on the game, one will have to create a game first. Then the second computer will connect.
 
Originally posted by: Philli
Thorin your a great guy and I like you a lot. But obviously you have never been to switzerland. YOu don't know what its like, man! It's horrible over there, and they don't have any semblence of mother loving men like you or I anywhere. Then I move to Philli and guess what! They dont have mother loving men here either. All there is are brother loving people. I mean it is like living in San Fransico.

And as for the sweating comment, it just so happens that my slavedrive bosses installed AC last week. And for my time wasting, well i just really like spending my time on this forum. thats all. Maybe that brotherly love is wearing off on me.
Huh? I think you are trying to pull a fast one on us. Zurich is one of the cleanest big cities that I have ever seen. So is all of Switzerland for that matter. And what the heck do you mean by "mother loving men"? You either don't understand English very well, or you are just plain wierd. Since all Swiss people speak 4 or 5 languages fluently, you just must be wierd.
 
Originally posted by: Pauli
Originally posted by: Philli
Thorin your a great guy and I like you a lot. But obviously you have never been to switzerland. YOu don't know what its like, man! It's horrible over there, and they don't have any semblence of mother loving men like you or I anywhere. Then I move to Philli and guess what! They dont have mother loving men here either. All there is are brother loving people. I mean it is like living in San Fransico.

And as for the sweating comment, it just so happens that my slavedrive bosses installed AC last week. And for my time wasting, well i just really like spending my time on this forum. thats all. Maybe that brotherly love is wearing off on me.
Huh? I think you are trying to pull a fast one on us. Zurich is one of the cleanest big cities that I have ever seen. So is all of Switzerland for that matter. And what the heck do you mean by "mother loving men"? You either don't understand English very well, or you are just plain wierd. Since all Swiss people speak 4 or 5 languages fluently, you just must be wierd.

For some reason I don't think he was serious...
 
Since this is becoming the thread to cover all common networking issues, let me ask a quick question. Using the methods described above (manually setting ip's and subnets) can you still share an internet connection through the uplink port of the hub?
 
Maby he should try blowing into the ports on the hub. It always fixed my nintendo back in the day! Seriously though if all the computers are accessable for file sharing, and there is no firewall setup, then i would begin looking at the game setup for the server and make sure that it is public and broadcasting. If so then id try to connect directly via the IP. by the way for IP i would suggest 192.168.1.100-192.168.1.103 or 169.254.0.100-169.254.0.101. I started using a router before XP so i have no experaince with assigning XP addresses manualy, but on previous versions of windows i have had problems getting the 192.x.x.x working for lan gaming. Just a thought
 
Since you verified that your computer works fine, all you have left is the cable and your friends pc's. To troubleshoot the best thing you could do is get a crossover cable to bypass your hub and connect to pc's back to back. You can buy one very cheap or make one yourself, this describes the pinout:

http://www.makeitsimple.com/how-to/dyi_crossover.htm

Once you have this cable, and a new patch cable, you can connect two pc's directly together, you should then be able to ping back and forth , if not, that friend's pc has an issue with his networking and you should try your other friend's pc.

If both pc's work ok with the crossover cable and a new patch cable, then you have a hub and or cable problem. Hope this helps.
 
Originally posted by: SXMP
Since this is becoming the thread to cover all common networking issues, let me ask a quick question. Using the methods described above (manually setting ip's and subnets) can you still share an internet connection through the uplink port of the hub?

Nope, not to my knowledge, unless the internet connection from the uplink is going to a router. You need a router prior to hub/switch in order to share connection.

If you're gonna share with a hub/switch, have one of the computers act as a router (meaning install 2 NICs on it). The NIC that's plugged into internet connection, configure that with WAN settings (whatever info ISP says), and enable internet sharing on it. The other NIC, configure it to your LAN settings and connect that to your hub/switch, that should take care of it. Or if you don't like Microsoft's routing, get something like Sygate.

This original problem they're having with the network, I'm willing to bet you guys messed up gateway. Set gateway to yourself, that should work.
 
ok, here's my personal experience. the network I'm in:
- my pc WinXP pro. friends - win2000.
- all network settings default.
- client for microsoft networks.
- no gateways no domains.
- same workgroup (this shouldn't matter for TCP/IP games as far as I know, but it will matter on how you will see the other PCs in windows explorer).
- TCP/IP settings: my IP 192.168.0.1 - his 192.168.0.2 - subnet mask 255.255.255.0
- no firewall.
- simple file sharing disabled for me (though it too shouldn't matter for games I think).
- 100mbit switch and cards working full duplex.

this is a pretty standard config and has been mentioned several times already in this thread. the network works perfectly in windows. but here's the thing - I remember that previously when we used to play quake3 one would make a server, the other would join it after seeing it in the server list (make sure you're browsing the local games and not internet). however at one point I stopped seeing his server in the list - but I was able to join it by clicking on the specify tab and putting in 192.168.0.2 - also you can write /server 192.168.0.2 (this is in my case anyway) in the console. so if you have q3arena you can try it just the same way.. even though I wouldn't see it I could join it... which is kinda weird but it works regardless.

also - I didn't catch you post any results of the pinging of the others' computers? tell us whether it worked.
 
Originally posted by: mooojojojo
ok, here's my personal experience. the network I'm in:
- my pc WinXP pro. friends - win2000.
- all network settings default.
- client for microsoft networks.
- no gateways no domains.
- same workgroup (this shouldn't matter for TCP/IP games as far as I know, but it will matter on how you will see the other PCs in windows explorer).
- TCP/IP settings: my IP 192.168.0.1 - his 192.168.0.2 - subnet mask 255.255.255.0
- no firewall.
- simple file sharing disabled for me (though it too shouldn't matter for games I think).
- 100mbit switch and cards working full duplex.

this is a pretty standard config and has been mentioned several times already in this thread. the network works perfectly in windows.

so here's the thing - I remember that previously when we used to play quake3, one would make a server - the other would join it after seeing it in the server list. make sure you're browsing the local games and not internet.

however at one point I stopped seeing his server in the list. but I was able to join it by clicking on the specify tab and putting in 192.168.0.2 (his IP). even though I wouldn't see it - I could join it... which is kinda weird but it was working regardless. so if you have q3arena you can try it just the same way.. you can also write /server 192.168.0.2 (or whatever IP the server is) in the console.

also - I didn't catch you post any results of the pinging of the others' computers? tell us whether it worked.

edit - punctuation.. 🙂

 
i'm not gonna be any help, but I fail to see why this is so hard. Perhaps you should uninstall your Nic from every system and reinstall drivers and start over? I dunno.
 
maybe try Practically Networked read some of the troubleshooting articles. However, just about all you need to get it working has been posted. Are those Cat5 cables homemade? I've had problems before with incorrect twists and it ONLY worked at 10Mbit not 100bit .
 
with 5 computers in the house i'm living in and 6 computers in another house i helped set up with all running winxp, i just ran network wizard on each computer and internet and gaming worked no problem. i didn't have to mess with setting ip addresses and subnet like i did with win98 and winme. sounds like a wierd problem.
 
Originally posted by: Apotherix
Me and my friend tryed to test the network on games like Delta Force: Black Hawk Down and Desert Combat, but they still aren't showing up. I set all the subnet masks to 255.255.255.0, and I set the IP addresses to 192.168.x.253, and put just 1 and 2 in for the x. So what am I doing wrong? Now I can't even get file sharing to work. I just tried to use the auto IP address thing a couple of times, and noe dice either.

whoa dude, your IP addresses and subnets dont match.

subnet mask 255.255.255.0 means all computers must have c1.c2.c3.X IP addresses if they are on the same segment, (that is they are connected via a hub or switch) where c1 c2 and c3 are constant for all computers on the segment.

furthermore, if your network is not connected to the internet, you can really use any IP addresses you please. but, if it is connected to the internet, use 10.x.x.x or 192.168.x.x as these are "non-routable addresses" used for computers connected to the internet via a gateway, (Like a linksys broadband router, or other brand whatever)
 
is there a switch on the hub? like a normal and uplink switch... usually to link up computers.. it needs to be set at uplink...

 
Originally posted by: virtualgames0
is there a switch on the hub? like a normal and uplink switch... usually to link up computers.. it needs to be set at uplink...

If it has that switch you only set it to uplink, sometimes called crossover, if you are connecting it to another hub or switch not a PC. If you are plugging a PC in that spot you leave it as normal.
 
Originally posted by: mikecel79
Wow so many answers and not one person told him exactly how to set it up yet. Ok well I'll tell you. It's just simple networking.

Go to the first PC and set the IP address to 192.168.0.2 and subnet mask to 255.255.255.0. Then go to the 2nd PC and set the IP address to 192.168.0.3 and subnet mask to 255.255.255.0. Then go to the third PC and set the IP address to 192.168.0.4. Make sure when setting the IP addresses your setting it on the NIC. Once setup you should be able to see each PC and have no problems playing games.

When you first set it up you said you used 192.168.x.253. Well they weren't all in the same subnet and you had no gateways or routers setup to cross over into their subnet. Hence filesharing stopped working.

Don't worry about IPX, Netbuei, or anything else. You only need TCP/IP for the games your using.

edit: Fixed typo in IP address

mikecel79 is absolutely correct, if you follow his advice you should have no problem getting this to work. In a class C network you set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0 and the IP adress must be within 192.0.0.0 - 223.255.255.255. In a class C the first three x.x.x.0 are your network address and the last one is 192.0.0.x is your host. When you changed the third one every time "192.168.x.253" you had a different network address for each machine(the only way to connect those is with a router like Mikecel79 said). THe network address must remain the same on all three machines!! only change the host number.

So for example:

First i set my subnet mask to 255.255.255.0 making my network a class c.

Now its time to change the IP address:
First Machine: 192.168.1.1
Second Machine: 192.168.1.2
Third Machine: 192.168.1.3
Fourth Mahine: 192.168.1.4
etc etc etc

See how i didn't change the first three?

Don't put anything in the the gateway field.
Don't put anything in the DNS ones don't uncheck get DNS server automatically or whatever.

Now like Mike said above for modern games you only need TCP/IP running to play them, the last time i needed IPX/SPX was with Starcraft. I have used this method to play the exact same games you specified like BF1942etc..



 
Originally posted by: mooojojojo
ok, here's my personal experience. the network I'm in:
- my pc WinXP pro. friends - win2000.
- all network settings default.
- client for microsoft networks.
- no gateways no domains.
- same workgroup (this shouldn't matter for TCP/IP games as far as I know, but it will matter on how you will see the other PCs in windows explorer).
- TCP/IP settings: my IP 192.168.0.1 - his 192.168.0.2 - subnet mask 255.255.255.0
- no firewall.
- simple file sharing disabled for me (though it too shouldn't matter for games I think).
- 100mbit switch and cards working full duplex.

this is a pretty standard config and has been mentioned several times already in this thread. the network works perfectly in windows. but here's the thing - I remember that previously when we used to play quake3 one would make a server, the other would join it after seeing it in the server list (make sure you're browsing the local games and not internet). however at one point I stopped seeing his server in the list - but I was able to join it by clicking on the specify tab and putting in 192.168.0.2 - also you can write /server 192.168.0.2 (this is in my case anyway) in the console. so if you have q3arena you can try it just the same way.. even though I wouldn't see it I could join it... which is kinda weird but it works regardless.

also - I didn't catch you post any results of the pinging of the others' computers? tell us whether it worked.


I tried almost this exact setup up at my uncles's house, and it works flawlessly, in games from Counterstriketo Diablo II.

I'm thinking it might be the cable, so I am going to test them today.

Another possibility is my two friend's motherboards. The have MSI K7N2-L's, and they seem to have some bugs to work out. Has anyone else ever had any problem with the onboard LAN on this board?d
 
Originally posted by: Apotherix
Originally posted by: mooojojojo
ok, here's my personal experience. the network I'm in:
- my pc WinXP pro. friends - win2000.
- all network settings default.
- client for microsoft networks.
- no gateways no domains.
- same workgroup (this shouldn't matter for TCP/IP games as far as I know, but it will matter on how you will see the other PCs in windows explorer).
- TCP/IP settings: my IP 192.168.0.1 - his 192.168.0.2 - subnet mask 255.255.255.0
- no firewall.
- simple file sharing disabled for me (though it too shouldn't matter for games I think).
- 100mbit switch and cards working full duplex.

this is a pretty standard config and has been mentioned several times already in this thread. the network works perfectly in windows. but here's the thing - I remember that previously when we used to play quake3 one would make a server, the other would join it after seeing it in the server list (make sure you're browsing the local games and not internet). however at one point I stopped seeing his server in the list - but I was able to join it by clicking on the specify tab and putting in 192.168.0.2 - also you can write /server 192.168.0.2 (this is in my case anyway) in the console. so if you have q3arena you can try it just the same way.. even though I wouldn't see it I could join it... which is kinda weird but it works regardless.

also - I didn't catch you post any results of the pinging of the others' computers? tell us whether it worked.


I tried almost this exact setup up at my uncles's house, and it works flawlessly, in games from Counterstriketo Diablo II.

I'm thinking it might be the cable, so I am going to test them today.

Another possibility is my two friend's motherboards. The have MSI K7N2-L's, and they seem to have some bugs to work out. Has anyone else ever had any problem with the onboard LAN on this board?d



I have not used that paticular board but I did see some of the things you have going on when at a LAN party with 3 people using the K7S5A's on board LAN. The boards themselves did not have a MAC Address of thier own and just used all zeros. I had to go into the properties of each NIC and change the last digit of each ones MAC to 1,2,3 etc and after that all was well.
 
I have not used that paticular board but I did see some of the things you have going on when at a LAN party with 3 people using the K7S5A's on board LAN. The boards themselves did not have a MAC Address of thier own and just used all zeros. I had to go into the properties of each NIC and change the last digit of each ones MAC to 1,2,3 etc and after that all was well.

Umm I hope you mean IP address. The MAC address is hardcoded into the firmware for each NIC.
 
Yeah, I'm almost certain it is my cables...

Every time I have every tried to network using them, it has either failed entirely or else only worked half-way.

Ever time I have tried networking using someone elses cables, it has worked flawlessly after not too much trouble.

I was reluctant at first to consider the possibility, because I jsut bought the cables from Staples - (Ethernet Patch Cat5 cables - how could you go wrong?) I didn't even make them myself, so I don't know why they could be bad. Maybe they are just a certain variety? Oh well, I'll try it with different ones.
 
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