Internet browing issues on home LAN.

[thodges5]

I have a two PC LAN setup at home via a crossover cable sharing a DSL connection. The server has no browsing or internet related problems, but the client doesn't like to display certain pages. Example: When I check mail from an online account from the client PC, it will let me read the email, but if I chose to reply, it will not display the page. I don't even get any errors, IE6 just sits there like it's trying to load it. Also does this on certain websites.

I tested this by going to the server PC and doing the exact same thing and it worked fine.

My initial thought is that this is an internet connection sharing problem over the crossover cable.

This is not really a problem, as I can just use the server PC, however, it is a little annoying when something does not work right.

Any ideas on where I might start looking to correct this problem. TCP/IP configuration, browser settings?

Thanks............TH

[DrZaius]

Hi thodges5,

Could you describe your setup? Is the modem USB? How are you using a crossover cable and connecting the DSL at the same time?

[Confused]

Probably because the email is sent to the IP addr. of the gateway machine, and when you go to reply it see's that client machine has a different addr. and therefore hangs.
Chas

[thodges5]

DR. - The DSL Modem is connected via an ethernet adapter. The server has a second ethernet card which connects to the card on the client via crossover cable. I share the pppoe connection on the server with the second ethernet adapter on the server.

I can browse the internet fine from both machines. It's just the client that has a problem loading certain pages as I described in my original message.

It I go to Hotmail from both machines, the server will let me read and reply to mail just fine. The client machine will load the page and let me compose new mail and/or read mail, but will not let me reply. All I get, is the browser sitting there trying to open the page.

I also see this when I visit other webpages. For example, I was trying to download the Shock Machine via the client PC. The website would never load. I had to go to the server PC, download it and save it on the client.

Last night, I was trying to visit a certain website. The client PC would not load the page, but the server PC would load it fine.

This is the kind of strange behavior that I'm seeing with this client connection.

Hope this helps.

[obyteme]

what OS are you using for both machines?
For your DSL, do you have an assigned IP or are you pulling the IP from your provider?

[thodges5]

Both machines are running W2K and server PC's IP address for the DSL connection is dynamic.

[Confused]

On the clien machine. Have you checked, Tools, Accounts, and verified that your DSl account is defined?
Chas

[thodges5]

Not sure what Tools > Accounts you're refering to.

[obyteme]

I think he means in Outlook.

To tell you the truth, your best option may be to get yourself a DSL router. Outlook does not seem to like ICS in some instances. Better to have the router do NAT for you.

[Confused]

Obyteme is corect. I mean from Outlook Express screen, click on Tools, choose Accounts and check if DSL is defined on your client machine. Check you gateway PC first and see how it is set up, to give you an idea how to set up the client PC.
Chas

[thodges5]

I figured you were referring to Outlook. I am using Outlook 2000 so the menu options are a little different, however, I'm not using the client for email purposes. I am mostly concerned with the browser not loading certain pages when the server loads them fine.

I am planning on going with a DSL router in the near future, but in the meantime, I was hoping to figure out the current problem. The reason I have not gone with a router yet, is because I am considering the wireless option. Obviously, this will require the purchase of more than just the router and since it is more expensive, plus the cost of the NIC's, I am trying to be patient until the prices drop a little more.

Does anyone have experience with wireless?

[Confused]

Excuse me but I thought you were trying to reply to mail from the client PC.
Chas

[obyteme]

I have installed numerous Cisco wireless products. Right now, to be honest, you may want to consider going with a wire based networking product. One that uses your phone lines or power outlets for networking, here is a good article on the technology ( http://www.anandtech.com/IT/showdoc.html?i=1568 )there is a link in the article where they compared wireless to wirebased also. If you still want to go wireless be careful. There are a lot of different manufacturers out there now but some of them are not interoperable with others. For instance this type AP will only work with same brand NIC. Price wise they are still pretty high, most Access Points (AP's) are around 300 - 400$ and you can get starter kits that include an AP and 2 NIC's for around 600-700$. Two sites to check out are mobileplanet.com and igo.com they specialize in all types of wireless. Hope this helps.

[thodges5]

Confused: The "reply" problem was from the client PC, but it was when I was trying to reply from my hotmail account not my actual mail client. When I chose the reply option from Hotmail, the page would never finish loading to give me the actual opportunity to finish the reply.

Certain websites have this similar symptom where the page starts to load but never finishes.


Obyteme: My plans for wireless were to use the Linksys Wireless Broadband router and Linksys wireless NIC's. I'm not set on this wireless plan, but it was my alternative to my wired plan.

[obyteme]

You know, I think that Linksys is proprietary...now I am not 100% sure but you may want to make sure. Reason is you may be able to purchase other brands of NICs at a lower price sometimes. Something to think about.

[yankeetwin]

To me, it sounds more like a cookie problem. Are cookies enabled on you IE6 on the client?

[thodges5]

Cookies are enabled and as far as I can tell, the browser configuration is the same as the server's browser.