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Thread ID: 85954 2007-12-28 14:15:00 Network Help Luppi (12974) Press F1
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625452 2007-12-28 14:15:00 Hello.

I would like to create a PC Network between 2 computers.I have bought the right amount of network cable,and two TP-Link 10/100 Mb Network Adapters (model TF3239D).

The "master" PC is a 1,1Ghz Pentium and has a cable internet connection,and two PCI slots where the network cards go.This computer already has a network adapter that is used for the current internet connection,so i have installed one of the two TP Link Network Adapters on the free PCI Slot next to the current network adapter,and plugged one end of the network cable in this network adapter.

The other PC Is an Intel Pentium 2 working at 266 Mhz,that has 4 PCI slots.This computer did not have a network adapter,so i installed the other network adapter i bought on one of the PCI slots,plugging the other end of the network cable into the network adapter.

Now,when i turn on the 1,1Ghz Pentium,both network adapters are recognized on the computer,but the newly installed adapter i put in has the "Network Cable Is Unplugged" message and the X over it in the tray.So i install the driver from the CD i get,it copies a .sys file to system32/drivers,i restart the PC,but the same message appears.

The other PC also perfectly recognizes the network adapter i installed,but it has teh same "Network Cable Is Unplugged" message with the X over it in the tray.I try installing the driver from the CD,i point out the exact directory for the Hardware Manager to search in,but it doesn't find any file that needs to be installed.

Both network adapters are "Working Properly" according to Device Manager,but even if i try to create a Network using the "ignore uninstalled hardware" option or whatever,it still doesn't do nothing.

What am i doing wrong and how can i get this network to work?
Luppi (12974)
625453 2007-12-28 16:14:00 What operating systems are they?
What sort of cable are you using, if you connected them directly the cable needs to be crossover
borax (7078)
625454 2007-12-28 16:37:00 XP Professional on both.

Light-Gray cable with ends like these:

jabsplace.co.uk

So it's crossover.
Luppi (12974)
625455 2007-12-28 17:05:00 Luppi
Have a look at this (practicallynetworked.com).
There might be more pages on this particular subject. This site has been my big help when I set my network.
NT
notechyet (4479)
625456 2007-12-28 17:18:00 XP Professional on both.

Light-Gray cable with ends like these:

jabsplace.co.uk

So it's crossover.

Its impossible to tell from that picture. The connectors of patch cables and crossover cables look the same, you need to look at the order of the wiring, this is the convention for a crossover cable:

www.incentre.net
borax (7078)
625457 2007-12-28 19:34:00 As borax has stated you need a crossover cable for this type setup.

a crosover swaps the rx and tx pairs at each end

rx - tx
tx - rx

easy way to tell if your cable is straight or crossover
put the rj45s side by side if wire colors match exactly as they appear in order going to the pins, it is a straight through cable
beama (111)
625458 2007-12-28 19:53:00 Crossover cables often but not always have crossover stamped on them, but it would have said on the packet. gary67 (56)
625459 2007-12-28 21:01:00 I have the cables and stuff in my other apartment but from what i've seen in pictures,i think it's a straight cable,because it's gray like that and has the same kind of ends. Luppi (12974)
625460 2007-12-28 23:07:00 First up, if you look at the network adapters themselves, when the cable is plugged into both PC's a green light should light up on both network adapters. If this is so, then you should have a working link between the two. If they don't light up, then a new (crossover cable) is probably what is required.

Once you have a link between the two, windows XP will probably pop up with a popup box saying "Limited or no connectivity". This is because by default windows XP relies on DHCP (for eg: a router/switch) to assign IP addresses to the adapter. You do not have a DHCP server in your setup, so both adapters will need to be set up with a static IP address (the most common is 192.168.1.x or 192.168.0.x)

To do this open the control panel, click on network connections. right click the appropriate network adapter and select properties. Select TCP/IP protocol from the list and click properties. Select the "use the following address" (or similar wording) and put in your IP address and subnet mask.

Both PC's must have an IP address of 192.168.1.x (or 192.168.0.x or...) and the same subnet mask (windows XP fills this in automatically). x MUST be different on each PC, and can be any number from 0 to 255
Sherman (9181)
625461 2007-12-29 00:04:00 Outer sheaving on the cables means nothing, I have Blue, Gray, Red, Yellow, Purple and Black Cables so they can be what ever you set them up as,
Its the wiring in the RJ45 plugs that makes the difference.

If you want straight through thats easy, if you want crossover, which you need to connect two PC's directly, without a hub / router then you have to wire then appropriately This Picture (www.danpex.com)here shows you how the wiring needs to be. This one here (www.comsol.com.au) gives a better " Actual picture" of both straight through and Crossover
wainuitech (129)
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