File sharing problem on wireless network.

tomstickland

Thanks.
I've fixed the 169 problem now.
Both machines show the router as their default gateway 192.168.2.1

The IP addresses are showing at 192.168.2.2 and 192.168.2.4

New machine succesfully pings old machine.

Old machine comes up with time out errror. UPDATE: Just as I wrote that I tried pinging to see what the error message was, but it worked!

tomstickland

Further update.

The problems were related to the windows firewall. I switched that off on the new machine and configured zone alarm to put the old machine into the trusted zone.
Ping then worked fine on both machines.

I've been through the configure home/office network wizard about 15 times now and after looking at all the options I realised that we are
"this computer connects to the internet directly or through a hub...."
Last night I was using
"this computer connects to the internet through a residential gateway"

Using the correct option then it warns me that file and printer sharing is not a good idea because internet users can access the shared files and printer. So the configuration isn't good for it anyway really.

I also tried
"This computer connects directly to the internet. The other computers on the network connect to the internet through this computer" but it didn't allow that, saying that I had an internet connection but no connection to a network of other computer".

Finally, I had a look at the ADSL modem set up and that had a firewall setting in place. Is that just for external internet connections though?

I'm a bit confused by the router/modem actually. When it came it showed an ethernet connection from the computer to it. I used the USB port instead. For a laugh I tried running an ethernet cable from the new machine to the modem. This didn't seem to do anything at all - no connection light or anything. I assume that USB is a like-for-like replacement for Ethernet in terms of communication ability? Why doesn't the computer Ethernet port seem active? Is it configurable somewhere. Or is all of this just time wasting?

Chippy_Minton

The option you should pick in the Network Setup wizard is "This computer connects to the Internet through a residential gateway", and then you won't get the warning about sharing files and printers. 'Residential gateway' is XP's term for a broadband router. The "Other" - "Network hub" option doesn't use a broadband router; it uses a network hub, which is a completely different device.

For the firewall on your router, you'll probably find that it's similar to the default rules on the Netgear DG834G which I have:

1. All outbound traffic is allowed. This means that any internet access done by an application, service (or virus!) is allowed - e.g. web browser, email, ftp, Windows Update, etc. - unless you create a rule to specifically block it.

2. All inbound traffic is blocked, which means that any attempts to access the router from outside are blocked, except responses to requests from inside the firewall - e.g. web browser, email, ftp, Windows update etc.

Not sure about the USB wire, though it should work equally well with the Ethernet cable instead.

tomstickland

Ah right, thanks, I'll give that a go tomorrow then!
Someone else has told me that file sharing doesn't work on their network unless they enable the guest account on that machine.

Chippy_Minton

The Network Setup wizard enables the Guest account for you if you choose to share files and printers.

tomstickland

OK, I've already done that then. I'll rerun the wizard for residential gateway mode.

tomstickland

Todays big discovery:

ipconfig /renew will refresh the ip values.

tomstickland

I've had a read of the help files. Are you sure that a combined ADSL modem/router is a residential gateway. I think option 2 is a better description of it:

Option 1 Gateway

A residential gateway is a hardware device that works similarly to a host computer. Typically, a DSL or cable modem is connected to the residential gateway which is connected to an Ethernet hub, as this illustration shows. Internet communication is directed through the residential gateway to all of the computers on your network.

Option 2 Hub

This network configuration typically has an external DSL or cable modem connected to an Ethernet network hub. The other computers on your network are also connected to the network hub. Each computer on the network has a direct connection to the Internet by means of the network hub and DSL or cable modem as shown in this illustration. For more information about using this network configuration, see Individual Internet connections in Network configurations overview.

If you are using this configuration for your home or small office network, it is recommended that you disable file and print sharing on the TCP/IP protocol and enable it on the IPX/SPX protocol. If you share files and folders on your computers using the TCP/IP protocol, they could be seen on the Internet. Only enable IPX/SPX for file and printer sharing if you are using this network configuration for your home or small office.

This is not a recommended network configuration. It exposes all computers on the network directly to the Internet, creating potential security problems. It is recommended that there be a secure host device, such as a computer running Windows XP with ICS and Internet Connection Firewall enabled, or using a residential gateway.

Chippy_Minton

No, 'tis a residential gateway - don't know my MS uses that term when the rest of the world uses 'router'!

See section titled Use a broadband router in Protecting Your Home Network

tomstickland

OK, I'm in the process of redoing the network set up back to that option.

The system worked for a bit earlier on but now doens't work again. I can't get my conmputer with the wireless card to connect to the router/modem properly. The ipconfig keeps coming up with the incorrect numbers. I tried an ipconfig /renew and it came back saying that the DHCP server wasn't available. I've been reading the help files, so all this is something to do with allocation of IP addresses.

I've found that I can control all of these settings via the network connections properties - TCIP properties. It's set at automatic DNS allocation and server.