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On 24/09/01 at 13:30 Jerry Flanders wrote:
>I am about ready to throw in the towel. All I need is one sure way to set
>up basic networking so these two stupid computers can talk to each other
>via the ethernet cards and crossover cable I have installed. No internet
>connection is involved.
I have some experiences with crossover cables, and they should run okay
under any operating system, always speaking about interconnecting only two
computers, of course... Crossing over is a electric question, and the operating
system won't be aware of the changes...
In case of troubles, the first protocol to use is NetBEUI, since it's
pretty simple: actually, it's so simple you have not to, or you can not (hi),
configure anything.
If NetBEUI doesn't succeed... you are in big trouble... And you
shouldn't assume everything is fine because of previous possitive experience!
The usual steps I run when that kind of troubles are (icon translation
could be different than written):
-For "seeing" another computer in the "Network Environment" explorer,
you MUST have the "Sharing Files and Printers" service installed.
-Open the "Network" icon, and immediately, click "OK". Sometimes,
Windows will note some faulty configuration, and will ask you for the Win98SE
CD!
-Check that the cards are actually recognized by Windows (My
Computer->Properties->Device Manager). Look for any network device marked with
"X" (disabled) or "!" (faulty).
-Check that the link speed and duplex is the same for both cards. Try
to avoid "Automatic" or "Default" values: for a good start, set the cards to
10MBps, Half Duplex.
-Swap the cards between the computers... Sometimes, subtile physical
design differences come from card to card.
-Check for updated drivers for your cards.
-Some cards provide software for testing the card and/or the network.
Use it.
-If possible, try different brand and/or model cards. Try to avoid the
cheap ones... they come expensive later, in terms of headaches!!!
-Check the cable itself, and the RJ-45 connectors. If you can, you
should even build another cable. If you can borrow a hub, it can give you hints
about faulty connections. You can check continuity with an standard multimeter,
but don't faithfully trust it: things are very different with AC currents at
frequencies of megahertz, as we all should know!
-Try uninstalling anything from the "Network" icon (clients, protocols,
services, adapters), shut down the computer, remove the network card, restart
the computer, shut down it again, install the network card, and reboot the
computer. If automatically recognized, let the installation ask for the
necessary components from the Win98SE CD, and reboot the computer when asked.
After the reboot, you surely will have TCP/IP as the protocol: install NetBEUI,
and check the network.
If all of this fails...
73,
Fidel Leon - EA3GIP
ea3gip@ea3gip.net
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