Home Network problems

[Brian1154]

Having a really aggrivating problem

when trying to connect a new system to my home network, i have ran into a problem

both systems are windows98 se

comp #1 AMD 1800
client for ms networks
dial up adaptor
Intel Pro 10\100 pci adaptor
Netbeui - dial up adaptor
Netbeui - Intel Pro 10\100 pci adaptor
TCP\IP - Intel Pro 10\100 pci adaptor
TCP\IP - dial up adaptor
File and Print Sharing

Identification
Comp Name - Comp1
Workgroup - home
comp description - office

card is showing installed and no problems or errors in Device Manager
when cat 5 cable from comp 1 is plugged into hub both the link\activity and the 100M light come on and stay on, in network neighborhood it will see itself and my workgroup, but will not see comp #2

comp #2 AMD 2200
client for ms networks
dial up adaptor
RealTek RTL8139\810 pci fast ethernet nic
Netbeui - dial up adaptor
Netbeui - RealTek RTL8139\810 pci fast ethernet nic
TCP\IP - RealTek RTL8139\810 pci fast ethernet nic
TCP\IP - dial up adaptor
File and Print Sharing

Identification
Comp Name - Comp2
Workgroup - home
comp description - bedroom

card is showing installed and no problems or errors in Device Manager
when cat 5 cable from comp 2 is plugged into hub both the link\activity and the 100M light come on and stay on, in network neighborhood it will see itself along with my workgroup, but will not see comp #1

I have retested both cables and the hub, both check fine
also have checked ,rechecked ,changed and rechanged all the settings on both systems , even changed the ip addresss from auto to specify
IP - 192.168.0.1 and 192.168.0.2 subnet - 255.255.255.0
that didnt help either
also, i do have the sharing set on both comps

Im about to pull all my hair out over this (and i dont have much left)

please help me out,
thank you

[sleddog]

Ignore the network Neightbourhood for a minute and check to see if you have network connectivity.

On 192.168.01 try to ping the other machine:

C:\>ping 192.168.0.2

If no response, then you have a hardware or configuration problem.

If you get a response, make sure you have at least one folder shared on each machine then at Comp1 try to 'manually' browse Comp2:

Click Start, Run, and type:

\\Comp2

[Brian1154]

thank you for your reply

"pinging 192.168.0.2 with 32 bytes of data"
"request timed out"
"request timed out"
"request timed out"
"request timed out"

i believe this one has me stumped, everything appears right except for the small fact that it wont work

again, thank you for your reply, anything else i should try?
what protocol should be the default one? i have TCP\IP dial up adaptor set as the default one

also, if this is important in the TCP\IP Properties box in networking
under the netbios tab, the "I want to enable netbios over TCP\IP is grayed out, i cannot check it

thanks again, please anything more to try?

[Brian1154]

a little more info
I really dont know if this will help or not but..

both machines can ping themselves and recieve the proper return
but neither can ping the other machine

i have triple checked the cat 5 cable and connections all test fine

[sleddog]

Well let's simplify things and check some basics.

1. Remove the Netbeui protocol from both machines, reboot both machines. Try pinging again.

2. Triple-check the assigned IP numbers, 192.168.0.1 and 192.168.0.2, and the subnet mask, 255.255.255.0

3. Power-cycle the hub (off for a half-minute, then back on). Give it a minute then try pinging again.

4. Try using ports #s other than #1 on the hub. Sometime port #1 is for an uplink and I've seen funky results when using it on a LAN. Use ports #2 and #3. Ping again.

5. Hard set both your network cards to 10mbps, half-duplex. To do this in Win 98 right-click Net Neighbourhood, properties, properties for the card, advanced tab I think. You will find an option where you can select 100mbps full duplex, 100mbps half duplex, etc. Select 10mbps, half duplex. Ping again.

(The greyed-out netbios option is normal. TCP/IP should be the default protocol for both interfaces -- the network card and the dialup adaptor. By removing the netbeui protocol we make sure it is!)

[Rick]

The TCP/IP protocol should also be listed for your NIC not just the dialup
tcp/ip Dialup modem
tcp/ip NIC name

For the network TCP/IP should be the default

[Brian1154]

first of, thank you both for your time and replies
although it still isnt working, i do feel we are getting close

will post back tommorow on the results and hopefully the success

I really do want to thank you both for your time and effort

[Jhorner1]

Brian
I did not see any mention of this, but if you have a firewall on your machines, they will not see each other until you allow access from the other IP address.

[Brian1154]

Thank you for your reply Jhorner,

i was using zonealarm, and thought it may be cousing this, but upon uninstalling it I still have no luck

I have replaced both network cards in both units and replaced the cat 5 wiring from the hub to comp 2

still nothing,
both comp can ping there own ip addresses 192.168.0.1 and .2 and get the proper responces, but they time out when trying to ping each other
both the 100M and the link \ activity lights are on the hub for both comps all seems right, but it still wont work

I am out of ideas on this one

HELP.....please......

thank you all for your suggestions

[sleddog]

Get a crossover cable and eliminate the hub. Or if you can borrow a known-good hub, try that...

[Gallaeglagh]

just a thought, the hub should have a switch which toggles straight through or crossover have you tried altering that?

[Brian1154]

after replacing cables and net cards, triple checking everything
massive amounts of hair loss,

we have success.

It was he hub. replaced it and now it all works

Thanks to everyone for their input and recomendations
espicially sleddog, thank you for your time and patience with me

Thanks again to everyone and to the PC Guide for such a great site for
all our computer questions

[sleddog]

Yeah Brian! I'm happy for you. And I can relate to the hair thing... :)