Tough MS Networking question

[konichiwa]

I have a small home LAN setup in my...home. My roommate works at a big corporation and carries uses his laptop both at home and at work. His network at work is very complicated and has a whole lot of MS networking stuff I have no idea about (domains, logon scripts, enterprise-networking stuff, I don't know what you call it).

Problem is that he'd like to be able to plug into the home LAN to get access to the cable modem we have shared. I tried a program called NetSwitcher, but it seems to rudimentary, it only changes the IP addresses, subnet masks, etc, etc, and doesn't edit the complicated stuff he has to log onto his network. Basically I need a solution that will allow him to switch between two networks very easily. Any ideas?

 

[JackMDS]

It very much possible that his company added some setting done by their IT people and there is no public program out there that can handle it. .

If you want to look at another Net- Selecting program take a look here:

http://ut-zone.com/selectanet/

 

[Dyngoe]

Hi,
While it may be possible that your rommates company has setup some unique networking properties, it does not mean that setting up your lan is impossible. What we need to know is some basic information:
1. What OS is the laptop running
2. What OS is the PC running that is connected to the cable
3. Is there any unique software running on the laptop?
4. What are the TCP/IP settings of the laptop
With this info, we should be able to get you up and running. Anything else I could say would be a straight up guess. Get back to us.
As Always,
D

 

[Daniel]

I'm suprised netswitcher couldn't do it, I was using it to change ips, subnet, gateway and to a domain vs workgroup model for a bit, ultimately it had some wierd errors and they ended up switching it but it seemed to do just what you wanted. Did require a reboot for all those things but aside from that is was much easier than manually going in and editing stuff every time I went to a different location.

 

[Woodie]

Assuming he's running Windows...

NT & 2000 have "Hardware Profiles". Put in a different NIC when he gets home, then it'll boot with the home hardware settings.

Still need more info, though.

--Woodie

 

[konichiwa]

1) Windows 98

2) Windows 2000 -- but we're about to purchase a SOHO gateway to share the connection to replace Windows' ICS

3) Unique as far as the network? Not that I know of -- there are some application-specific softwares on there (he is a Real Estate Agent) but other than those, pretty much standard applications -- MS Office, IE, Outlook Express, etc. However, I'll ask him specifically and get back to you if I'm mistaken

4) Network components:

• Client for Microsoft Networks
• Dial-Up Adapter
• Network of Xircom CreditCard Ethernet 10/100 + 56k modem
• Toshiba FIR Port Type-DO <-- Infared
• Toshiba PCI FastEther LAN on Docker II <-- NIC on the docking station

Bindings:

• Fast Infared Protocol -> Toshiba FIR Port Type-DO
• NetBEUI -> Dial-Up Adapter
• NetBEUI -> Network of Xircom CreditCard Ethernet 10/100 + 56k modem
• NetBEUI -> Toshiba PCI FastEther LAN on Docker II
• TCP/IP -> Dial-Up Adapter
• TCP/IP -> Network of Xircom CreditCard Ethernet 10/100 + 56k modem
• TCP/IP -> Toshiba PCI FastEther LAN on Docker II

Identification:

• Computer Name: Tim
• Workgroup remax---.com

Access Control:

• User Level Access Control -- Obtain list of users and groups from: remax---.com

TCP/IP settings on Toshiba PCI FastEther LAN on Docker II:

• DNS Enabled:
  • Host: Tim
  • Domain: remax---.com
  • DNS Servers:
    • 192.168.23.253
    • 204.97.xx.xx
    • 204.97.xx.xx

• Uses DCHP for WINS Resolution
• Obtains IP Address/Subnet Mask automatically
• NetBIOS over TCP/IP enabled (and the box is greyed out)
• Bound to Client for MS Networks
• Settings are identical for the Xircom Combo Card (10/100 + 56k modem)

[/list]

...another thing that might be of interest -- an alert box pops up when the system is loading Windows on-bootup that says something to the extent of &quot;do not attempt to logon unless you are an authorized user&quot; -- this pops up even when he is not at work,m so this leads me to believe that some of these weird MS Networking things are installed on the actual laptop.

Thanks for any help anyone can give me!

 

[Woodie]

Hmmm. I'm not a 98 expert...hope somebody else can help.

On the &quot;access only if you are...&quot; message: That's a registry poke on '98, so wouldn't matter too much.

-Woodie

 

[Garion]

I would check NetSwitcher again. It allows you to save profiles with pretty much ALL of the information in the network control panel. You can set domain, login scripts, etc. I just downloaded V3.2.2 and it has everything you're looking for.

- G

 

[sadb0i]

yea...netswitcher is the key...if you need help setting up netswitcher pm me...

 

[lilnnjaboy]

If he has the docking station lan card, then he can do it really easily. The LAN card for the docking station should be set up for your Cable modem if the docking station is at home. Now if the Xircom card is being used at work and the docking station is set up for home, there shouldn't be any problems. 2 network cards set up for 2 different networks....perfectly fine. And in order to not have the Xircom settings boot up, just remove the card, and the setting should set itself back to what it should be...or just Escape (ESC) out of them.

Now for windows 2000 you can actually set up 2 different lan settings and disable and enable which ever one you want without restarting your computer which is really cool. But since your roommate has got the necessary hardware then you guys should be set. The only thing to set for the Toshiba docking LAN card should be the TCP/IP setting for the cable modem or if you want to share files, have the NetBEUI

 

[RedBeard0531]

Make shure that when you connect to your home lan that you disable proxie in your browser. Easiest way to do this is to open a browser and under the tools menu chose internet options. Goto connections, and click on Lan Settings.

hope that helps.

 

[igiveup]

Well, the problem is that the computer is set up one way for a domain and certain DNS settings. Unless you change these you won't be able to use the internet. Simple as that. Unless of course he could get a VPN setup and hit that over the internet, thus avoiding changing all of his settings. He would be limited to whatever the IT staff decided to let him have (logon times, etc) and I am sure that there would be issues if he started to download MP3's or something, but you never know.