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Wireless network question
mccoy178:
Well, I just set up all the computers in my house on a network last night. I just modded an xbox and thought,"how cool would it be to send my music, video, and games around the house?". I used my laptop to start and once I set up a wireless network, I used my windows xp cd on the wifes laptop, the arcade, the jukebox, and and office computer. The network was named the default,"mshome". All I had to do then was right click any folder I wanted to share, click on the sharing properties tab about halfway down and then select and apply the option to share the folder on the network. After that, on any of the computers all I have to do is hit Start and select My Network Places and viola, the folders I chose to share from each computer pop right up. :applaud:
hypernova:
That's about the only thing I haven't tried-using the XP cd. Technically, I shouldn't have to, but I may have no choice but to give it a shot. I wanted to avoid having Windows setup the wireless network, as setting it up through my card/router software allows more control. Being a "casual" user, I may not need that level of control. Will give it one more shot by week's end.
Bill Mote:
Okay. Let's tear this thing down one piece at a time ...
1. Do all of your machines have IP addresses? Start->Run->CMD then type IPCONFIG at the prompt and hit [ENTER].
2. Does the subnet mask and default gateway match on all machines?
3. Do you have an IP address in the same range as the other machines on your network? 192.168.x.y where x's are equal, but y's are not.
4. Can you "ping" between machines? You'll almost certainly have to enable ICMP traffic for this to be true.
Given that everything above is correct/successful ...
1. Start on 1 machine. Create a share. On the same machine as the share do this: Start->Run->\\{machine name} This will display an explorer window with all the shared resources available on the machine. Given that you're on the machine and logged in you should have permissions to see the share. Double click the share. Worked? Good.
2. Go to another machine from which you were able to ping the machine with the share and do the same thing.
If it doesn't work try creating a share on the 2nd machine and then repeating step 2. By creating the share on the 2nd system you're ensuring that it has the necessary protocols enabled. If it still doesn't work you have a windows firewall and/or permission issue. Plain and simple.
dot
leapinlew:
--- Quote from: dot on October 30, 2006, 08:53:08 pm ---Okay. Let's tear this thing down one piece at a time ...
1. Do all of your machines have IP addresses? Start->Run->CMD then type IPCONFIG at the prompt and hit [ENTER].
2. Does the subnet mask and default gateway match on all machines?
3. Do you have an IP address in the same range as the other machines on your network? 192.168.x.y where x's are equal, but y's are not.
4. Can you "ping" between machines? You'll almost certainly have to enable ICMP traffic for this to be true.
Given that everything above is correct/successful ...
1. Start on 1 machine. Create a share. On the same machine as the share do this: Start->Run->\\{machine name} This will display an explorer window with all the shared resources available on the machine. Given that you're on the machine and logged in you should have permissions to see the share. Double click the share. Worked? Good.
2. Go to another machine from which you were able to ping the machine with the share and do the same thing.
If it doesn't work try creating a share on the 2nd machine and then repeating step 2. By creating the share on the 2nd system you're ensuring that it has the necessary protocols enabled. If it still doesn't work you have a windows firewall and/or permission issue. Plain and simple.
dot
--- End quote ---
This is all true and well wrote.
I'd like to make some additional comments:
Not only can it be windows firewall, it could be any of the other "system" suites that you may be using to protect your computer like McAffee or Symantec. These often times come with a firewall. As a general rule, avoid this software at all costs. It's root kit technology that digs so deep into windows - it'll cause you more harm than good.
One thing to check would be to make sure that both of your machines are connected to your access point. It's possible that one of the machines grabbed a neighbors access point. The best way to check this is to log into your router and check out the DHCP table. It should show all machines that have an IP from the router. You should see only your machines names in there.
Next, it's important to check that your router isn't blocking access to the machines. You said that it works via wired network and the problem only happens when doing wireless. I'm suspect of the router having some sort of security measure. While I haven't seen it, I've had various levels of success in the last few years since routers have been implementing security.
The last thing I can think of is to make sure simple file sharing is turned on. I've had lots of issues if you don't have this on in XP on a workgroup. It's never an issue with XP on a domain, but with some workgroups - it can be a pain. Here is a link describing how to turn on simple file sharing.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304040
Let us know what you did.
Bill Mote:
Access Points. Love 'em and Hate 'em.
Here are some tips that I use:
1. Change the default SSID. Personally, I use my address. I don't care if my neighbors know which network is mine. More on this in a minute. Make sure all your PCs are connecting to your network.
2. Add encryption. I wouldn't do this until you've checked all your machines per #1. WPA would be great, but WEP will do if not all your machines support WPA. Use a password that's easy to remember (here's where the zealots and I will argue LOL) -- keep it simple. I use my 10-digit phone number.
:soapbox: Remember, if someone wants on your wireless network you will not stop them. What you're trying to accomplish is keeping the casual passer-by honest. You can enable MAC filtering but honestly you're just making your own life harder. The casual passer-by will see that the network is encrypted and move on to your neighbor's network ;)
I can use a simple packet sniffer to determine what MAC addresses your accepting. I've over simplified this but it's a brute force thing and it takes less than 30 min. to accomplish. Once I have a "good" MAC address I clone it on my external NIC interface. Now your router will talk to me! Now it's just down to brute forcing your encryption key. All-in-all; do you think it's worth the headache?
I use dd-wrt on my Linksys router at home. I have my wireless network setup privately with encryption, but I also have a wireless hotspot that I leave open. I like my neighbors ;)
Back to my point ... Once you know you have all your wireless stuff jigged around you can go back to my IP testing mentioned above.
dot
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