connecting to internet just fine, can't see other computers!

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misfitsfiend

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 18, 2003
Messages
1,293
i have a belkin wireless g+mimo router. it's been good so far, but after i built this new pc i can't figure out why my laptop and this computer can't see each other. the pc is connected via ethernet and the laptop wirelessly. they both get awesome connections on the internet, but it's really frustrating me that they can't see each other.

i have network discovery, file sharing, and public folder sharing turned on with no passwords.

when i got to 192.168.2.1 to set up the router, it won't recognize anyone on the DHCP client list unless i reset the adapter. even then it will only sometimes display the pc, but it won't ever display the laptop, even if i'm accessing it from there.

thanks!
 
misfitsfiend said:
when i got to 192.168.2.1 to set up the router, it won't recognize anyone on the DHCP client list unless i reset the adapter. even then it will only sometimes display the pc, but it won't ever display the laptop, even if i'm accessing it from there.
Click to expand...

I'm really not tracking with what you are saying here. What do you mean by "recognize"?

Try this, on the laptop go to start > run > cmd > ipconfig copy what it say and then do the same with the desktop.
 
desktop
dhcp enabled- no
autoconfig enabled- yes
ipv4 address: 192.168.2.2
subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
default gateway: 192.168.2.1
dns servers: 192.168.2.1
netbios over tcpip- enabled

laptop (wireless)
dhcp enabled- no
autoconfig enabled- yes
ipv4 address: 192.168.2.137
subnet mask 255.255.255.0
default gateway: 192.168.2.1
dns servers 192.168.2.1
netbios over tcpip- enabled

laptop (wired)
dhcp enabled- yes
autoconfig enabled- yes
ipv4 address: 192.168.2.3
subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
default gateway: 192.168.2.1
dns servers 192.168.2.1
netbios over tcpip- enabled

when i ping the laptop from the desktop when it's wired (192.168.2.3) it works fine. when i ping the wireless it times out. (192.168.2.137)
 
misfitsfiend said:
when i ping the laptop from the desktop when it's wired (192.168.2.3) it works fine. when i ping the wireless it times out. (192.168.2.137)
Click to expand...

Okay, that is what I would have thought. The ipcong looks okay. There's not an obvious misconfiguration. Its odd to me that when wireless, the notebook IP address is 192.168.2.137? Do you have two pools of addresses? Normally DHCP hands out the next address regardless of the LAN (wired or wireless).

We could do a test to configure the notebook in wireless mode with the "wired" configuration.
 
misfitsfiend said:
desktop
dhcp enabled- no
autoconfig enabled- yes
ipv4 address: 192.168.2.2
subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
default gateway: 192.168.2.1
dns servers: 192.168.2.1
netbios over tcpip- enabled

laptop (wireless)
dhcp enabled- no
autoconfig enabled- yes
ipv4 address: 192.168.2.137
subnet mask 255.255.255.0
default gateway: 192.168.2.1
dns servers 192.168.2.1
netbios over tcpip- enabled

laptop (wired)
dhcp enabled- yes
autoconfig enabled- yes
ipv4 address: 192.168.2.3
subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
default gateway: 192.168.2.1
dns servers 192.168.2.1
netbios over tcpip- enabled

when i ping the laptop from the desktop when it's wired (192.168.2.3) it works fine. when i ping the wireless it times out. (192.168.2.137)
Click to expand...

Hang on, this is odd. When wired, the notebook says DHCP enabled. But when wireless, it says DHCP not enabled. Still though it has a configuration.

Set the notebook up wireless
Go to start > Settings > Control Panel > Network Connections
Right click Wireless Network Connection
Select Properties at the bottom
Scroll down to Internet Protoco (TCP/IP) and double click it
Is Obtain an IP aadress automatically selected? Is Obtain a DNS server address automatically selected?
 
msabo said:
Hang on, this is odd. When wired, the notebook says DHCP enabled. But when wireless, it says DHCP not enabled. Still though it has a configuration.

Set the notebook up wireless
Go to start > Settings > Control Panel > Network Connections
Right click Wireless Network Connection
Select Properties at the bottom
Scroll down to Internet Protoco (TCP/IP) and double click it
Is Obtain an IP aadress automatically selected? Is Obtain a DNS server address automatically selected?
Click to expand...

i have both computers using a static ip. the laptop was using 192.168.2.137, i just now switched it to 192.168.2.3 to try to make things a little less confusing. when i click network on the desktop the laptop shows up, but it won't let me access it.

i think this has something to do with them having static IPs. thanks for all your help...
 
misfitsfiend said:
i have both computers using a static ip. the laptop was using 192.168.2.137, i just now switched it to 192.168.2.3 to try to make things a little less confusing. when i click network on the desktop the laptop shows up, but it won't let me access it.

i think this has something to do with them having static IPs. thanks for all your help...
Click to expand...

It actually shouldn't matter, unless the static config is messed up. Why are you doing static? Using 192.168.2.3 will likely become a problem because that address is an address from the DHCP pool. But for now just leave it.

Okay, for grins, try and PING the notebook from the desktop and the desktop from the notebook. Can the Laptop access the desktop?
 
msabo said:
It actually shouldn't matter, unless the static config is messed up. Why are you doing static? Using 192.168.2.3 will likely become a problem because that address is an address from the DHCP pool. But for now just leave it.

Okay, for grins, try and PING the notebook from the desktop and the desktop from the notebook. Can the Laptop access the desktop?
Click to expand...

the desktop can't ping the laptop, but the laptop does send a successful ping to the desktop.
 
misfitsfiend said:
the desktop can't ping the laptop, but the laptop does send a successful ping to the desktop.
Click to expand...

Can you set everything up for DHCP? Is there a reason you needed to go static? My gut tells me the config is broked somewhere.
 
grrr now i really opened up a can of worms! i've tried setting both connections back to dynamic by making ip and dns auto assigned, and now the laptop says "unidentified network." i've enabled dhcp in the router settings, and the laptop shows up under dhcp, but it says limited connectivity.
 
Can you show the route table in the router? I suspect you have an old static route still in there which needs to be deleted. I'm still not clear why you were doing static routes in the first place.

You may want to consider resetting the router to factory and begin the set up from scratch. That way you know you are starting from a clean slate. If it won't do DHCP server properly, then you have a problem with the router.
 
haha i reconfigured the security settings, so now they're both on the internet. it's funny because now they both ping AND see each other, but when i double click the other's icon from either computer they both fail to connect. oh well, thanks for your help...
 
misfitsfiend said:
haha i reconfigured the security settings, so now they're both on the internet. it's funny because now they both ping AND see each other, but when i double click the other's icon from either computer they both fail to connect. oh well, thanks for your help...
Click to expand...

So now you have IP working throughout. Make sure you have sharing enabled and any firewalls properly configured.
 
Make sure both computers have the same workgroup. Some Windows default to "workgroup" as the workgroup and others use "mshome". Go to "My Computer" on each computer and make sure the workgroup is the same. If not, change one of them to match the other one. I use mshome, but sometimes on a new install Windows defaults to workgroup and I have to change it to match. They won't talk to each other if they are on different workgroups. All computers on the network should have the same workgroup.
 
Also, if you are running software firewalls on both computers (like Zone Alarm,etc), you have to set the other computer's IP address in the firewall under "Firewall/Zones". Just add the IP address of the other computer.
 
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