richard

Hi there

I have an XP sp2 pc connected to my broadband cable via a USB port. I share
that internet connection so that if i want to connect my laptop (also xp sp2)
to the internet for a while i plug in the LAN cable from the pc to the
laptop. And of course i can also copy files between the two. All is well
there and has been for a couple of years.

Now i have a new pc at home, as well as the original, and i wanted to do the
same - just connect it to the other pc now and again to swap afew files and
for internet access particularly for virus updates and Windows update.
However when i plug the LAN cable from one pc to the other nothing happens -
it just says 'Network Cable Unplugged' constantly and nothing is flashing. I
installed XP SP1 at first. I've now installed SP2 and still no joy.

I can connect a LAN cable from the laptop to the new pc and all is well, so
there's no hardware problem. But not to the original pc?? It's really odd.
there's just no connection at all, never mind sharing the internet! I haven't
done anthing to the network settings so i'm completely at a loss as to why.

I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it, but the pcs are both my own
and on the 'WORKGROUP' workgroup. The laptop however is works and belongs to
a domain. Though i would have expected the laptop to have had problems
connecting, not the other way around!

And both the original pc and the laptop are completely up to date with
Windows updates, but of course the new one isn't as i can't connect it to the
internet yet!

I know one answer would be to stop messing around with temporary networking
and go get a router, but this setup has been just fine and easy for so long i
just wanted to do the same :-)

I would greatly appreciate any help at all!

Regards,
Richard

richard

By the way, i turned all the firwalls off and still no joy :-(

chuck

Richard,

Is the "LAN cable" a cross-over or straight-thru cable? Most computer to
computer connections require a cross-over cable; some computers have an
auto-crossover port. Maybe the laptop has one of those.

If your broadband modem has an Ethernet port, you're right, a NAT router would
be a better solution. But only if it has an Ethernet port.

Do you manually configure the IP settings on the laptop, or does the first
computer provide those?

--
Cheers,
Chuck, MS-MVP [Windows - Networking]
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/
Paranoia is not a problem, when it's a normal response from experience.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck mvps org.

richard

Hi Chuck
Thanks for the reply. I wasn't aware the laptop may be able to
auto-crossover. That would explain how it is able to connect to both desktop
pc's but they can't connect together. I had just assumed it was a crossover
cable because it worked before, but it doesn't specifically say that it is.
It has lots of wriiting on it - 'TYPE CM 24AWG 75°C (UL) E188630 CSA LL81295
FT4 ETL VERIFIED TIA/EIA-568-B. 2 CAT.5 Patch Cable UTP EVERNEW 5D26CD022' -
nothing very meaningful to me! I'll go get one so i can be certain.

I have manually configured an IP address on computer #1 (the one connected
to the internet) because it's quicker - it would take a couple of minutes
'Aquiring Network Address' until i did this. I've now put a manual IP on both
computer #2 and the laptop, and the same subnet mask, but still no joy. The
laptop is still able to connect to both easily.

Thanks again,
Richard

chuck

Richard,

The label "Patch Cable" generally indicates straight-thru. A crossover cable
would probably be labeled "Crossover Patch Cable" or "Crossover Cable". Many
computers and switches / routers have a feature called "Auto-MDIX", which
eliminates the need for a cross-over cable when connecting to a crossover port
at the other end of the cable.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/08/what-is-crossover-cable-and-why-do-i.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/0...-why-do-i.html

You should always have a cross-over cable or device handy, for diagnosing
network problems. Auto-MDIX is becoming more common, but don't count on it
becoming universal.

And as I write repeatedly, if you have a LAN with a DHCP server and a computer
isn't getting a DHCP assignment, you have to fix the problem. Don't just
manually assign an address.

--
Cheers,
Chuck, MS-MVP [Windows - Networking]
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/
Paranoia is not a problem, when it's a normal response from experience.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck mvps org.

richard

Thanks again Chuck
I now have a new cable and it works, so the old one wasn't a crossover cable
after all.

Cheers,
Richard

chuck

That's great news, Richard. Thanks for letting us know.

--
Cheers,
Chuck, MS-MVP [Windows - Networking]
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/
Paranoia is not a problem, when it's a normal response from experience.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck mvps org.