I need some tips...

[roomwithamoose]

Okay, so I'm trying me hand at networking my house together. I purchased a Linksys WRT54G Router today. I take it home, follow the instructions to set everything up. My computer (I'll call this comp 1) comes up fine with the internet. Well, I go to computer number 2, and nothing. Hmm, so I run the setup, and still nothing. The router detects comp2, the LAN connection is functioning properly, in command prompt I can ping Google, it gives the same numbers as when I ping on comp1.

Any tips? I'm new at this, so I'm sure there's plenty I'm missing. What should I check?

[bailey]

what is the O/S on computer 2 ?
both computers must be on the same workgroup, double check this.

[roomwithamoose]

WinXP Home w/ SP2 on both computers. Just checked the workgroups and put them both on the same one, and still getting the same results.

[bailey]

now try this:
turn everything off
modem
router
and all computers

turn back on in this order:

modem
router
then one computer at a time checking for the internet connection on each one before turning on the next one.

it should work good now

[roomwithamoose]

Just got back from playing Halo 2. I'll try what you suggested when I wake up. Thanks!

[roomwithamoose]

Okay, I just tried the above suggestion twice, and still no dice. I'm still getting the exact problems with trying to connect my second computer. Any suggestions???

[Panama Red]

When you say you "run the setup", are you talking about router setup or running the Home Network Wizard on XP? You only need to "set up" the router on the first machine. Then you should run the Wizard on that machine. It will tell you to reboot when you are finished. Then run the wizard on Comp 2 using the same work group name and a different computer name (as bailey said). That machine should tell you to reboot too. You should then be able to "see" each computer on the network and if you selected "share printers and files" they will already be shared for you.

[roomwithamoose]

By "run the setup", I meant the Connection Wizard in WinXP.I'm trying to run the setup wizard that came on the cd with the router, but it says that the computer isn't connected to the internet. I turned off the computer, the modem and router and unplugged the router; just keeping the modem and my one computer plugged in. Then I turned on the modem, waited a minute, then turned on the computer. I open FireFox, and the internet is ther, then I run the setup from the cd, but after checking the internet connection, it tells me that this computer is not connected to the internet. But it is. I'm a bit confused here, what am I missing?

Originally Posted by roomwithamoose By "run the setup", I meant the Connection Wizard in WinXP.I'm trying to run the setup wizard that came on the cd with the router, but it says that the computer isn't connected to the internet. I turned off the computer, the modem and router and unplugged the router; just keeping the modem and my one computer plugged in. Then I turned on the modem, waited a minute, then turned on the computer. I open FireFox, and the internet is ther, then I run the setup from the cd, but after checking the internet connection, it tells me that this computer is not connected to the internet. But it is. I'm a bit confused here, what am I missing?

Are you connecting Wireless or via ethernet?

I would not use any of the connection wizards.

Are you using DHCP? If so are you receiving an IP address from the router?
If not try a release and renew on ipconfig.

Can you see other computers in the workgroup and/or can they see you?

There should be an easy fix for this. I am figuring it is not a virus since you could get on the net without the router present.

[roomwithamoose]

Originally Posted by rasputinj Are you connecting Wireless or via ethernet? I would not use any of the connection wizards. Are you using DHCP? If so are you receiving an IP address from the router? If not try a release and renew on ipconfig. Can you see other computers in the workgroup and/or can they see you? There should be an easy fix for this. I am figuring it is not a virus since you could get on the net without the router present.

I am connecting through ethernet to both computers right now. And everything, unfortunately I didn't understand. I'd love a little explanation, and how to find out what all my settings are (and what they mean!).

EDIT: How exactly do I look to see if my computer sees the second computer? Do I go into Network Connections? If so, I don't see my second computer in there.

[bailey]

first do all the computers connect to the internet ok ?

second, go to the comand prompt on each computer and type ipconfig,

it should show you the private ip address of each computer.
post them here

example--- 192.168.1. xxx

x's being the address of each computer as assigned by the router. which is called dchp.

[roomwithamoose]

Okay, computer 1 connects okay, and technically, I guess computer 2 connects, although I can't get it to recongize the internet in a browser.

Going into command prompt, and typing in ipconfig, I get 192.168.1.100 for computer 1 (the computer with no problems) and 192.168.1.101 for computer 2 (the one that doesn't see the network). The subnet mask and default gateways are the same for both computers.

If I'm correct in assuming, this tells me that both computers should be fine with the network, but comp 2 certainly isn't. Nothing sees the internet, Windows Update, or anyother program registration that wants to log on fails to do so.

EDIT: I just want to say thanks for the help so far! This is pretty frustrating, but at least I'm learning A LOT about networking and the internet!

[bailey]

computer has the correct ip address for the network and should work fine.
it should not connect through computer 1, as they are both connected to a router, you did not set it up to connect to the internet through the lan.
change that setting and you will be fine

[roomwithamoose]

Okay, that sounds like what the problem would be. How would I go about changing that setting?

[bailey]

open the internet connection wizard and select that your already have a connection and your on a local lan network

been a long time sence I did it that way, but select other, and then you connecting through a network hub,
I think that will do it.
also make sure that they are on the same workgroup name, that is done through right clicking my computer, then click on properties, then identifaction.
I think that should take care of the problem.

[roomwithamoose]

Alright, I must be missing something, because I've tried exactly what you said multiple times and still no dice. I also tried changing settings then rebooting and still nothing. By now, I'm certain that I'm missing something very obvious and it's just sitting in front of my face.

Shouldn't I be able to see computer 2 on computer 1? Oi, I'm tired and frustrated! I think I'll go to bed and try my luck tommorrow morning. Thank you very much for the help, I'll resume my quest tommorrow!

[bailey]

ok, I know how you feel, it is late at night and I should get to bed my self.
maybe tomarrow someone else can help by wording it differantly or maybe a bit more detail for you. xp always does everything automaticaly for me and all I need to do is change the workgroup name and it on the internet.

[glc]

Turn the XP firewalls off, along with any 3rd party firewalls you may have. Both computers are getting proper IP addresses, so they should both have Internet access and see each other - IF they are in the same workgroup, file and print sharing is enabled, and something is shared on each computer. You may also have to enable NetBIOS (this is on the WINS tab in TCP/IP advanced properties). XP Home only uses simple file sharing, so you almost have to run the wizard. You do not have to run the router CD, you administer the router through its Web interface at http://192.168.1.1 .

[Carpedebass]

Tell us about you firewall solution. Are you running the Windows firewall? If so, disable it and see if that helps. It may be configured incorrectly. Also go to your Firefox Browser and open Tools>Options>General>Connection Settings and tell us what is checked.

[roomwithamoose]

Good morning everyone! Time to get back to work on thins connection. I don't have work today, so I'll be here all day!

As for firewalls, I have WinXP firewalls on both computers and the Linksys firewall on from the router. When turning all firewalls off (which makes me nervous!) I still don't get anything.

In Connections for Firefox, I've got "Direct connection to the internet" selected. There are numbers in other boxes (ie proxy), but those aren't selected.

I wasn't able to find a place to activate the NetBIOS, where exactly is the TCP/IP properties window located?

[roomwithamoose]

Okay, I guess I've had a development. I brought my Win98 machine into my room. I've had some older files on it that I've wanted to bring over to my newer computer, and plus I wanted to see what would happen if I plugged it into the network.

Well, I bring it in, plug it in, change the Workgroup name, reboot, set the internet connection, reboot, and poof! I have internet. I also can see both of the other computers on the network, I transfered all my files over to my newer computer. One thing is that I can't see the Win98 machine on either of the WinXP computers.

So what does this tell me? It reassures me that the network isn't all messed up. And it shows me that the problem is definitely in the second computer, and most likely some software or seeting issue. Does this provide anymore information?

[glc]

This is 2K, but XP is similar.

[roomwithamoose]

Man glc, that rocks! Unfortunately, it resulted in no change, but thanls for that much effort!

Does stuff like this happen often when it comes to networking? I mean, this is getting almost ridiculous. Everything says that I have a connection, I can confirm this connection and see the second computer in my network, all the equipment works, other computers work on the network, and from all the help and suggestions that you have all given me, I'm at a loss.

I think I'm going to reinstall WinXP and see what happens. It's a brand new build, and with no internet I didn't put anything on the computer. Does anyone think this is a bad idea?

[bailey]

I don't think you need to go to that extream to fix the problem.
you could just remove the network connections in the control panel and let xp reset everything.

[roomwithamoose]

Alright, sounds good. I'll give that a whirl and see what happens.

[Redfallon]

Originally Posted by roomwithamoose Man glc, that rocks! Unfortunately, it resulted in no change, but thanls for that much effort!

no doubt, that was great glc, and xp does look almost identical

Originally Posted by roomwithamoose Does stuff like this happen often when it comes to networking?.

I had similar problems when I set up my first network, it takes patience, but you'll get it.

Originally Posted by roomwithamoose I think I'm going to reinstall WinXP and see what happens. It's a brand new build, and with no internet I didn't put anything on the computer. Does anyone think this is a bad idea?

NO! I wouldn't go that extreme, as Bailey said. deleting network adapters and starting from scratch that way would be better. Maybe try winsockxpfix, google it.

[roomwithamoose]

I'm back with the same problem! No changes, I just took a few days off of trying to figure this out, but I think I'm ready to start in again.

A friend from work told me that the Winsock may need to be repaired, so he gave me a Winsock Repair utility called WinSockFix. I ran it, getting happy because I figured this HAD to be it. After reboot, nothing new. It came up with the exact same problem. Are there other Winsock utilities that I can try? Is there a way to confirm that the Winsock is or is not damaged?

Sorry to sound desperate, but I kinda am. Anyone have other ideas? At this point if someone told me to put peanut butter in the ethernet I'd probably try it!

[bailey]

just for the fun of it, go to the one computer that does not see the internet and open the comand prompt and type this

ipconfig/all
and post the results here, I just need to see the results to reassure myself.

[roomwithamoose]

Okay, ipconfig/all:

Host Name ... : levins
Primary Dnx Suffix ... : (blank)
Node Type ... : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled ... : No
WINS Proxy Enabled ... : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection

Connection-specific DNS Suffix ... : (blank)
Description ... : NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller
Physical Address ... : 00-E0-4C-D0-2C-71
Dhcp Enabled ... : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled ... : Yes
IP Address ... : 192.168.1.101
Subnet Mask ... : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway ... : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server ... : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers ... : 24.52.223.219
24.52.223.218

Lease Obtained: Wed, Nov 17 2004 8:24:47
Lease Expires: Thurs, Nov 18, 2004 8:24:47

That's what it gives me. It doesn't show me anything new, but that doesn't mean anything. If there's anything that I shouldn't post, let me know or a mod can edit it for me.

One change: I got my computer to have access to the second computer's Shared Folder. I don't think it helps with the no internet connection, but it's better than before.

[sataraid0]

Read all the posts and know your frustration with this problem cuz went thru same thing here. Don't know what really fixed the situation, however, the only thing that has not been mentioned is this.

Seems silly, but when I fired up the browser on second computer it said it could not or there was not an internet connection. So, I shut the browser down then reopened it and ...............Bingo, it connected. Go figure......I didn't, was happy to have everything working.

So, maybe you wanna try that.........maybe work better than peanut butter.

Sure hope it helps...............................................Sterling