Trouble with networking

[ncwriter]

I've been a Mac user for years, using most recently a beige G3 running OS9. Recently my son gave me a Sony PC with Windows XP (home, I guess) and I've been trying to network them. I bought a copy of Timbuktu for both computers thru Ebay but it turned out to be an outdated copy. Besides, I couldn't get it to work with the Mac. What is LDAP?

Then I tried Ethernet cables; bought one, didn't work. Set up network according to instructions, PC said cable was unplugged but it wasn't. So I bought another cable, thinking that one was faulty. Still doesn't work. I talked to son, asked if Ethernet connector worked before, he said yes, he had used it to run his cable modem previously. Mentioned a crossover cable; don't know what that is, if not Ethernet.

I've got a couple of FTP accounts set up for file transfer but I want to connect both computers and buy a new laser printer to attach to the PC, hoping I can use the PC monitor and keyboard and just the CPU of the Mac. This would cut down on the space I need to operate.

What do I do next to network these two computers? I've read some articles but sometimes they mention an IP number; where do those come from? Would appreciate any advice.

 

[bwnv]

What is LDAP? LDAP wiki Probably not what you want.

Then I tried Ethernet cables; bought one, didn't work. Set up network according to instructions, PC said cable was unplugged but it wasn't. So I bought another cable, thinking that one was faulty. Still doesn't work. I talked to son, asked if Ethernet connector worked before, he said yes, he had used it to run his cable modem previously. Mentioned a crossover cable; don't know what that is, if not Ethernet.

For computer to computer use a crossover cable. One end is reversed.
For computer to router, hub, or switch straight thru (regular) cable.

I've got a couple of FTP accounts set up for file transfer but I want to connect both computers and buy a new laser printer to attach to the PC, hoping I can use the PC monitor and keyboard and just the CPU of the Mac. This would cut down on the space I need to operate.

Get a cheap 2-port KVM. You plug the Keyboard, Video, and Mouse into it. I think iomega? makes a pretty cheap one that you don't need to buy cables for as long as the two boxes aren't very far apart.


What do I do next to network these two computers? I've read some articles but sometimes they mention an IP number; where do those come from? Would appreciate any advice.

In windows do a Start>run>cmd enter In the command prompt type ipconfig /all that will tell you what your IP address is. Not sure how to do it for the apple box though.
You could try opening a browser on it and then use the windows IP as the address to connect to. For ftp it would look something like this ftp://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx Where x=IP address. Might need a .20 or .21 after the last x as that specifies to use an FTP port.

First thing to try though is ping to see if the boxes can communicate at all.