Adding a PC to a existing network

[foolishone]

So I have had this network for a year with a Linksys Wireless Router 802.11g, with one PC wireless and one connected right to one of the router's ports.

I am attempting to add another PC, through a port in the router via cat5 cable. When I go to the recently connected computer it doesn't receive anything from the router. The router is setup with defaults and then some custom stuff like PPPOE and DHCP (even was giving out like 50 addresses to try and see if anything would work, it hasn't), which in the future would be static, but one problem at a time. The Cat 5 cable is about 100ft long, the attempting computer is about a 100ft feet away. Is the distance the problem? I am willing to try anything, so start from the top. Both PC's are running Windows XP Home, and the one that I am trying to connect does so through a PCI ethernet card.

Very funny, when I pull out the ethernet cable in the back, it still says I am connected at 10 Mbps, to something I haven't even told it to connect to, nevermind there is nothing there.

^fo

[bailey]

eathernet id good up to 100 meters, so that is not a problem.
make sure that the system is on the same workgroup, this is the most common problem

[foolishone]

I just tried it. I set up a new network connnection with computer name COMPUTER3 and Work Group Name OFFICE, as that is what the wireless and the other computer are under, and it didn't work. I disabled the connection, and reconnected and it came up with an Invalid IP Address, 0.0.0.0 connected at 10 Mbps. I clicked Repair and after a few minutes it comes up with a crazy IP address, way different than the router DHCP, and a message that says that Windows couldn't renew the IP address, contact the network administrator, also connected at 10 Mbps.

^fo

[foolishone]

After looking at another thread, I checked to see that the Cat 5 cable is crossover or not, the cable is not crossover.

[DougL]

have you tried pinging the router or another PC? try pinging 127.0.0.1 to make sure the network card is functioning correctly on the PC

Doug

[foolishone]

pinged the local host and it came back all good, card is working

pinged the router 192.168.1.1, default, and came up "destination host unreachable", obviously four times

[foolishone]

I do have a coupler on the cat 5 line because of the length. I am going to see if the coupler is faulty by getting a new one and trying again. The cat 5 line is brand new, just out of the package. As far as I know the medium, the wires, throughout the connection are perfect.

EDIT: Just for giggles, the PC did have a wireless connection that worked, until I uninstalled the Belkin driver for it. The problem didn't change.

[DougL]

Are all the ports enabled on the router? is it possible to disconnect the one functioning PC from the router and connect the 100 ft cat 5 cable to that port knowing it is functioning correctly i.e. just to test the cat 5 line?

Doug

[foolishone]

Yes, it is very possible and I will definitely try and also see if the port is closed.

^fo


UPDATE: Tried as suggest. Switched the cat5 ports and 1) the "100ft computer" still not connected and 2) the other computer worked in the other port just fine. CONCLUSION: both ports work

[foolishone]

Every time I try to connect on the "100ft computer" I get an Invalid IP address of 0.0.0.0, connected at 10 Mbps

No option to close the physical Cat 5 ports on the router

Crusing around the router setup, I noticed that by default it was set up as a gateway. *shrugs* "Has worked so far so why change it?" It shouldn't effect the "100ft computer"

[foolishone]

I just tried to browse the and I WORKED. But it is not going through the network. The status says Automatic Private Address, some wierd IP address, and it connected at 10 Mbps. Everyone on the network gets an IP address from the router and, what, this PC doesn't? I am going to see if file sharing works.

UPDATE: F&P sharing doesn't work and why is it only connected at 10 Mbps?

[glc]

You have a network cable or NIC (ethernet card) issue. You get an automatic private address when it can't find the DHCP server. If you have a KNOWN good cable and NIC, google for "winsockxpfix", download that and give it a try.

[foolishone]

Ran winsockfixpfix 1.2 and I tried to connect and still came up with Invalid IP address, 0.0.0.0, connected at 10 Mbps. Click repair, came up with auto private address, all after I created a new connection, it has to be the NIC

[foolishone]

IT WORKS!!!!!!

I plugged in a different NIC I had laying around, put it in the PC, booted it up, Windows automatically detected and installed the card, and all I have to do was just basically accept the incoming information, two clicks


I just want to thank DougL, bailey, and most of all glc for narrowing it down to the card as faulty. I have never hated a piece of green plastic so much, nope don't have an American Express yet.