Ashamed to be asking this

[hammermtl]

Hey guys

I'm doing some work on a friends computer. I have a KVM switch so i can share my moniter mouse and keyboard. I also plugged a lan cable between the two computers. My computer is running XP pro and his XP home.

My computer is on a wireless network and i want to connect his computer to mine and share my internet connection. When i plug in the lan cable, i get the message on both computers that a cable is unplugged when it isnt.

How can i succesfully link the 2 computers?

Thanks

Josh

[rikgale]

Have you checked that you are using a cross over cable and not a normal lan cable?

[AuxJus]

What kind of LAN cable are you using?

Component (Computer, Printer) to - HUB/SWITCH = Straight Cable.

Component - Component = Crossover Cable.

From what you say, use a crossover and you should be fine.

[hammermtl]

it is a regular lan cable

what is a crossover cable?

[hammermtl]

Fastcat 5e

premium snagless patch cable

rj45 male/male * ethernet/token ring

this is what it says on the package

If this is not what i need, what should i go buy?

[rikgale]

You will be probably looking for the words "Crossover" on the packaging. A patch cable is another way of saying "regular lan cable"

You can modify one type of cable to be the other type of cable, but dont ask me how as never tried.

[hammermtl]

thanks i'll go buy the crossover cable now

With that the connection should be fairly automatic ?

[rikgale]

You'll have to setup the IP addresses on each machine or setup one of the machines as a DHCP server. Try google for setting up a small computer to computer network, there are bound to simple guides out there somewhere.

[maxamoto]

You will be probably looking for the words "Crossover" on the packaging. A patch cable is another way of saying "regular lan cable"

You can modify one type of cable to be the other type of cable, but dont ask me how as never tried.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you're using WinXP on both boxes you just need to wait a few minutes for them to figure out that there is no DHCP server present. At that point they will assign themselves an IP address in the 169.254.xxx.xxx range. You should then be able to share folders, printers, etc. Regards,

B)

[rikgale]

If you're using WinXP on both boxes you just need to wait a few minutes for them to figure out that there is no DHCP server present. At that point they will assign themselves an IP address in the 169.254.xxx.xxx range. You should then be able to share folders, printers, etc. Regards,

That's my 'something new' learned for the day, cheers.

[hammermtl]

I connected the 2 now via the crossover cable

the second compueter gives IP 169.254.229.45 and is connected

while my computer has the limited or no connection message.

I'm not sure what to do at this point

[Zxian]

Try manually assigning IPs to the two computers.

Under the network connection properties, select TCP/IP and then Properties. Enter a unique IP for the two computers (say 10.0.0.1 and 10.0.0.2) and the same Subnet Mask (perhaps 255.255.255.0). Then see if you can ping back and forth between the two computers.

After that, it's just a matter of running the network setup wizard on the two computers and putting them on the same Workgroup.

[hammermtl]

ok i got it to connect

i went into the properties of the NIC and manually entered my ip adress

Now both computers say connected but i still can't see the other computer in my network places.

I actualy did this before you wrtoe that

my computer is already on a network called MShome should i create a new workgroup for the second computer or can i join it to MShome?

[Zxian]

You need to have both computers on the same workgroup. Otherwise they won't be able to see each other in Windows' file sharing.

Try manually going to the share directory on the other computer. For example, if the computer name is "Comp" and the shared folder is shared as "Folder", type the following into the address bar.

\\Comp\Folder

That should get you in. Windows sometimes needs a little kick to get the file sharing working between computers.

[KJxp]

And make sure you disable any firewalls on the computers (well, until everything works). They usually block file-sharing requests without saying anything.