trouble assigning IP's to machines

[tmwhalens]

on my home network, which currently has two machines nested behind a LinkSys router and connected to the internet via a cable modem, the machines do not have ip's assigned by me. rather, i have chosen (please pardon my lack of networking knowledge) to use the "automatically assign IP's" option instead of assigning IP's manually. when i try to assign them manually i wind up with no shared devices (even though i permitted sharing the printer and files on one machine in the Network Neighborhood properties) and no internet connection. what am i doing wrong?

[iisbob]

Why aree you trying to assign them manually?

The router should have a DHCP table for your system's to use, that's why you choose " automatically assign an ip ".





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iisbob

The man who sets out to carry a cat by its tail learns something that will always be useful and which never will grow dim or doubtful. -- Mark Twain.

[jeremy23_2002]

Let me get this right? You have a LinkSys Cable/DSL router/switch that you want to use to share one internet connection with all machines connected to it right?

So here's the deal. If you choose to allow the router to assign IP addresses for all the computers connected to your network automatically you must select the "Obtain an IP address Automatically" option in your network settings in your control panel.

You can allthough manually set the IP address for all your machines connected to the router by choosing "Specify an address" option within TCP/IP settings. I think you would be best of letting the router assign IP addresses Dynamically (DHCP) using NAT (Network Address Translation) .

This is how it works. Your router obtains one IP address from your ISP (Internet Service Provider). Your router has a local network adress. Most likely 192.168.0.1 by defualt but your router may differ. Anyhow this is your LAN (Local Area Networks) gateway computer meaning it supplies all the other computers connected to it with IP addresses. You should let your router assign Ip addresses automatically for you. Much less headache for a beginner atleast until you get the hang of this network stuff.

Read the manual or quick start book that came with your router it should show you step by step how to configure your TCP/IP settings and how to set up your router as a DHCP server.

Other important things to remember. Make sure each computer on the network has a unique network name and the same workgroup name. For example my computers name is JEREMY and my workgroup name is WORKGROUP and the other computer on the network is BOB and he uses the same workgroup name which is once agian WORKGROUP. This specifies each computer as a seperate computer by giving each it's own name and associating each computer into common network by giving them the same workgroup name.

Also make sure to turn on file and printer sharing within network setting of both computers (they both must have this enabled to share files and data between each other). Once you have enable File and Printer Sharing you must specifically specify what you would like to share. For example, say you wanted to share the C: drive on BOB's computer you would have to navagate to bobs C: drive right click the C: drive and go down to the bottom of the drop down menu and select sharing. Choose full acess if you arn't worried about someone hurting valuable data or files and choose a passwork and acess type if you are worried about who and what type of access people have to your computer.

It's all a bit confusing so I suggest you goto this link and read up on basic networking concepts: http://www.practicallynetworked.com/ good luck!

[This message has been edited by jeremy23_2002 (edited 04-14-2002).]